List Of Books & Short Stories Written By Munshi Premchand
Find the ultimate collection of Munshi Premchand, the legendary novelist of Godaan. The legendary short stories of Idgah and the socially relevant plays of Karbala. Let's take a look at the complete list, which is a reminder of the timeless classics that shaped modern Hindi and Urdu literature.
In Hindi literature the first name that likely comes to mind is Munshi Premchand. How can we forget his novels, which we used to read in school? It's a nostalgic feeling. But did you know that Munshi Premchand's real name was Dhanpat Rai Srivastava?
Munshi Premchand was born on July 31, 1880 in Lamhi, a small village near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. At the age of 8 the small, innocent Munshi lost his mother, leaving him with a deep sense of loneliness in his heart.
After his mother passed away, his father, Ajayab Rai, a low-paid post office clerk, got remarried. However, the little Dhanpat had a difficult relationship with his stepmother. Premchand had a tough childhood in which he faced neglect. This theme shows up often in his stories.
Growing up, he had a challenging life. At the age of 15 he married a girl with whom he had zero compatibility. A year later his father died. This put 16-year-old Premchand in charge of a household of five. He had his stepmother and her kids to care for. He had no income to support them.
Munshi Premchand wrote over 300 short stories, 14 novels, and 3 plays. Let's learn more about this incredible Hindi writer. He gave us some of the greatest stories, many of which became movies and plays.
Education Against All Odds
Premchand wanted to finish his M.A. and be a successful lawyer, but his family was very poor. This made it hard for him to complete his studies.
But he determined to complete his college studies. To achieve this, he walked five miles every single day to get to Queen's College in Varanasi. Now, everything comes down to money. He grew up in a poor family. After his father died, all the household duties fell on him.
He started taking tuition classes for small kids and earned only 5 rupees a month. He kept only 2 rupees for himself and sent the remaining 3 rupees back home. When you have to survive on two rupees for a month, cost-cutting becomes a regular thing.
He saved money by skipping meals and wearing old torn clothes. He even sold his favourite books and winter coat to buy food. But even with all these hard times he still passed his matric exam. Because he passed, he finally got a small job as an assistant teacher in a government school.
Second Marriage and Stability
Premchand was never happy with his first marriage. He didn't know the woman he was getting married to and shared zero compatibility with her. But something happened. Her name remains a mystery, but she was the daughter of a wealthy landlord. Also, she was older than Premchand.
His stepmother and his first wife used to quarrel a lot over things, and one day she tried to hang herself. Luckily, she was saved and sent to her parents' home. However, she never returned, and Premchand never took the initiative to bring her back home.
In the 1900s, strict rules governed second marriages. Yet, Premchand broke these rules. He married a child widow named Shivrani Devi in 1906. This was a big change for him. Shivrani Devi was very supportive, and she also wanted to be a writer. She brought a lot of peace, happiness, and some extra money into his messy life.
The Genesis of "Premchand"
Dhanpat's first choice was never Premchand. He first used the pen name Nawab Rai to write books. In the year 1908, Nawab Rai, a.k.a. Dhanpat Rai, wrote a book titled Soz-e-Watan containing five patriotic stories. But at that time, writing about stories of patriotism was strictly prohibited. When it reached the ears of the British Government, they became furious, believing that the book was against them.
It was easy for them to hunt down who Nawab Rai was. After gathering all his details, they entered his house, searched it, and banned his book. They even burned around 700 copies of it in public. They made it clear that if he wants to write something, he has to ask for their permission first.
But Dhanpat didn't want to stop writing. His book gained positive reviews from the readers. While he was searching for a solution, his friend Dayanarayan Nigam suggested he adopt a new name to trick the British. That's when he landed on the name Premchand. Munshi Premchand, who became the king of modern Hindi novels.
Literary Mission & Later Years
Premchand quit his government job in 1921. This was after Mahatma Gandhi launched the Non-Cooperation Movement. He then focused on writing books. He worked as a journalist and ran his printing shop Saraswati Press. He even started editing some famous magazines, such as Hans and Jagran.
Before him, most people wrote only stories about magic, fairy tales, and old history. But Premchand changed everything by writing about real-life problems. His work mostly revolved around themes covering how poor farmers had too much debt.
How cruelly landlords mistreated them. How caste issues created problems in people’s everyday lives. He wrote his last big book, 'Godaan', in 1936 which became one of the best books ever written in India.
List of Books & Short Stories Written By Munshi Premchand
Munshi Premchand wrote a huge volume of very moving literature that changed Indian writing completely. Here is the complete list of his most definitive novels and iconic short stories.
Famous Novels by Premchand
| Book | Published (Year) | About | Themes Covered |
| Seva Sadan | 1919 | The struggles of an unhappy housewife named Suman who eventually ends up in a red-light district. | Prostitution, women's rights, and societal hypocrisy. |
| Premashram | 1922 | A detailed story centred around the intense conflict between poor farmers and greedy landowners in a village. | Landlord oppression, peasant rights, and economic injustice. |
| Rangbhoomi | 1925 | A blind beggar named Surdas bravely fights to save his ancestral land from being taken over by an industrialist. | Industrialisation, forced displacement, capitalism, and peaceful protest. |
| Nirmala | 1927 | A young, beautiful girl is forced to marry an old widower with kids, leading to a tragic breakdown of the family. | Dowry system, mismatched marriages, and the suffering of women. |
| Pratigya | 1929 | A young idealist vows to marry a widow and works hard to reform society's harmful cultural practices. | Widow remarriage and social reform. |
| Gaban | 1931 | A young clerk steals government money just to buy expensive jewellery for his demanding, jewellery-loving wife. | Middle-class greed, moral downfall, and societal expectations. |
| Karmabhoomi | 1932 | Young, educated individuals join hands to fight against British rulers and help untouchables get their rights. | Freedom struggle, youth idealism, and untouchability. |
| Godaan | 1936 | A poor peasant named Hori longs to own a cow but gets trapped in endless debt by cruel village lenders. | Peasant exploitation, debt traps, caste politics, and rural poverty. |
Iconic Short Stories by Premchand
| Short Story | Published (Year) | About | Themes Covered |
| Duniya ka Sabse Anmol Ratan | 1907 | A young lover searches for the most precious thing in the world to win his lover's hand. | True patriotism and the sacrifice for national freedom. |
| Bade Bhai Sahab | 1910 | An elder brother keeps failing his exams while trying to be a perfect role model for his smart younger brother. | Education system, elder sibling pressure, and practical wisdom over books. |
| Panch Parmeshwar | 1916 | Two best friends become bitter enemies over a dispute in a village court but realise that justice is bigger than friendship. | Village justice, morality, and unbiased truth. |
| Shatranj Ke Khiladi | 1924 | Two lazy aristocrats are so addicted to playing chess that they ignore the British army taking over their kingdom. | Decadent royalty, political laziness, and the fall of Awadh. |
| Poos Ki Raat | 1930 | A poor farmer and his loyal dog spend a freezing winter night guarding their field because they cannot afford a blanket. | Extreme poverty, weather hardships, and farmers' struggles. |
| Idgah | 1933 | A poor four-year-old orphan boy named Hamid uses his Eid pocket money to buy a pair of tongs for his grandma. | Selfless love, maturity beyond age, and poverty. |
| Kafan | 1936 | A lazy father and son beg for money to buy a shroud for a dead family member but spend it on food and alcohol instead. | Extreme poverty degrades human morals and leads to total desperation. |
Death
Years of poverty, overwork and stress from his printing press had caught up with him, and he developed gastric illness in his stomach. Premchand passed away on 8 October 1936 in Varanasi at the age of 56.
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