In honor of legendary Hindi author Munshi Premchand’s 145th birthday, Lucknow University’s Hindi Department recently hosted a national seminar titled “Contemporary Society and Premchand’s Relevance.” The event celebrated Premchand’s lasting influence on Indian literature and social thought.

Vice-Chancellor Prof. Alok Kumar Rai kicked off the event by placing flowers at Premchand’s statue in the university’s literary garden. Prof. Rai emphasized how Premchand’s writing connected literature to real life, stating, “Premchand used the language of the people to raise awareness about issues like gender inequality, poverty, and moral decay.”

Dr. Vandana Chaubey from Varanasi, an invited scholar, highlighted how Premchand transformed Indian storytelling by making the everyday struggles and voices of the marginalized the focus of his fiction. “Before Premchand, literature was often about fantasy and elite concerns. He introduced realism,” she explained.

Another speaker, Dr. Siddharth Shankar from Chhapra, pointed out that Premchand’s fiction held a mirror to the socio-political realities of early 20th-century India. He stressed, “His characters weren’t royalty or warriors, but farmers, laborers, and women trapped in oppressive traditions. That was revolutionary.”

The seminar served as both a tribute and a powerful reminder of how literature, as practiced by Premchand, can be a force for empathy, awareness, and social change.