Representation of the Peasants and Dalits in the Literature of Premchand

Munshi Premchand (Dhanpat Rai) is arguably the greatest and finest writer in the Hindi and Urdu literature. His realistic and non-romantic portrayal of the characters and narrative makes him different from his contemporaries and even the post-independence writers. His corpus still remains effective because his characters are simple, with simple desires, values and morals. The narrative is also simple and straight-forward. Krishna Datt Paliwal rightly points out that Premchand still remains relevant because he draws most of his characters from the rural-agrarian background. "He did not create, but presented his characters."

Premchand's corpus is vast, with 302 short stories, 15 novels, 3 plays, 86 journalistic essays, around 700 editorial comments, around 150 book reviews and some translation works. In his works, he brought into fold the many forms of manipulation and exploitation, be it gender, class, caste or religion. His literature is robust because of, as Gulzar said, "Utopian Idealism of Premchand". In one of his speeches at Madras in 1934, he had said, "Without idealism, what is the use of literature? Without idealism, it is only to entertain and satisfy the lust for amazing."

Approaching the Question of Caste Subjugation

It is beyond any argument that Premchand was the first person in the pre-independence phase to write about the marginalisation, subjugation and exploitation of the Dalit community. Kamal Kishore Goenka identifies Premchand's 40 short stories depicting Dalit life and thought. This, he argues, is certainly not a dominant trend but represents a separate stream of writer's humanity and sensitivity.

It is interesting to note that Premchand's first story with the plot relating to the upliftment of the Dalit community, 'Dono Taraf Se', was published in Urdu in March 1911. It was a time frame when neither Gandhi nor Ambedkar had entered the scene of movement for Dalit upliftment. Gandhi came back from South Africa in 1915. The sanyasi's speech in 'Sirf Ek Awaaz' (published in 1913) reflects what the author thought. Similarly, stories like 'Sadgati' (1930), 'Rashtra ka Sevak' (1930), 'Mandir' (1927) etc. reflects the politics revolving around the concepts of purity and untouchability through the Dalit body.

   

However, in the later years, Gandhi's impression can clearly be seen in his thought process. In 'Hans', he wrote: "We accept that we have done injustice to the Shudras. We exploited, dominated and crushed them. This injustice has pained Gandhiji the most, a saint who worked for their betterment for the whole of his life."  He dreamt of a caste-less society in future independent India. In a critical essay titled 'Kya Hum Vaastav me Rashtravadi Hain' (Are We Truly Nationalist) published in Jagran on January 8, 1934, he wrote; "The nationality for which we are dreaming, won't have any caste bound by birth, it will be an empire of our workers and peasants, where no one would be a Brahmin, a Harijan, a Kayastha or a Kshatriya. Where everyone would be an Indian, either each person would be a Brahmin or everyone would be a Harijan."  

Kamla Kishore Goenka has made an interesting observation that Premchand's Dalit literature is a literature of empathy, which carries the same pain as sympathy. In 'Thakur ka Kuan' (1932), Premchand depicts how people from lower castes were even denied access to essential objects such as water. He was certainly influenced by Gandhian call for Dalit entry into the temples when he wrote 'Mandir'.

Peasant Consciousness and Struggle

Premchand thought that he owed his 'rural brethren' that they should feature in his literature. His protagonists mainly came from an agrarian background crushed under the class hegemony of the landlords and their agents, the colonial state and their officials, the moneylenders and priests. Though sometimes the protagonists perish due to the exploitation, there also exists some kind of poetic justice. In fact, nationalism and peasantry were the central themes in his writings. 

In the initial phase (1903-18), the issue of peasants does not find a frequent mention. Shashi Bhushan Upadhyay thinks that it is because, in this phase, Premchand wrote mainly in Urdu, which catered to elite urban culture. Besides, the rise of Gandhi, his peasant movements in Champaran and Kheda and the Russian Revolution in 1917 drastically changed his literary paradigm in his second phase of writing. In Rangabhoomi's protagonist (published 1925), we see a clear impress of Gandhi. Many scholars believe Surdas symbolises Gandhi and the idea of a struggle between good and evil with mass support.

Peasantry occupies a central role in his novels such as Premashram, Rangabhoomi, Karmabhoomi and Godaan. In Gaban (published 1930), though indirectly, he stressed the superiority of rural culture over the city life. 'Sava Ser Genhu' (1924) is an excellent portrayal of a peasant by a moneylender. In the same story, he also portrays the problem of the bonded labour which continues from one generation to the other. The author leaves a note in the end: "Please don't consider it as a figment of the imagination. It is a true story."

Criticism: Revolutionary or Not?

Dalit and Marxist writers have criticized Premchand for not professing a revolutionary solution to the problems of Dalits, peasants and workers. Such critics believe that a revolutionary solution to such problems feels more practical than Gandhian or Tolstoyan solution. He seeks to pin hope on certain changes of the heart rather than a steadfast revolution by the Dalits or peasants.

   

But, at a deeper level in Premchand's works, there is a presence of a spirit of resistance which can be located in the most neglected and marginalised groups such as Dalits and women. Manohar in Premashram, Surdas in Rangabhoomi, Chaudhari in Karmabhoomi, and Hori and Dhania in Godaan are all revolutionaries in their own capacity. Surdas in Rangabhoomi fights a prolonged battle against the factory and its supporters who want to take away his land. In Karmabhoomi, the situation becomes so desperate that peasants have to rebel.  

There is a certain revolution in 'Mandir' where a mother who was considered untouchable revolts against the hegemony of upper castes on temple entry. In Godaan, Harkhu Chaudhary, a Chamar, even goes to the extent of putting a bone in Brahmin Matadin's mouth when she harasses a Dalit girl. This act was aimed at making Matadin a Chamar. According to Virendra Yadav, the Dalit discourse of Godaan is the symbol of the internal fragmentation of the Hindu society which forces Matadin to throw away his sacred thread.  

It would not be incorrect to say that Hindi and Urdu literature has not seen any other writer like Premchand. As Gulzar puts it: while his contemporaries were busy writing either the escapist romantic fiction or the slogan-ridden stories, he found his protagonists in Chamars, kisans, and the corrupt Brahmins.

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