For every language, there are authors whose contributions to literature in that language is so seminal that they shapes the form of that literature for decades or centuries afterward. In the case of the Hindi language, one of these authors is Munshi Premchand (b. Dhanpat Rai).
Premchand's short stories and novels did much to push the writing of his time in the direction of literary realism, thereby intertwining it in questions of social justice and social change. These questions have only become more important with time, both in India and around the world, making Premchand's works particularly relevant in the present day.
Many of Premchand's writings, however, have only recently begun...
