1

CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF ‘’GODAN’’ WRITTEN bY

MUNSHI PREMCHAND

Subject: English
Submitted to: - Submitted by:-

Mr. Pratyush Kaushik ADHISH

PRASAD
Roll no: - 904

Semester: 2nd

Session: - 2013-18
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am very thankful to everyone who all supported me for I have completed my project effectively
and moreover on time. I am equally grateful to my English faculty: Mr. Pratyush Kaushik. He
gave me moral support and guided me in different matters regarding the topic. He had been very
kind and patient while suggesting me the outlines of this project and correcting my doubts. I
thank him for his overall supports. Last but not the least, I would like to thank my friends who
helped me a lot in gathering different information, collecting data and guiding me from time to
time in making this project despite of their busy schedules ,they gave me different ideas in
making this project unique.

Thanking you

ADHISH PRASAD
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CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that my Project Work entitled “Critical Analysis of Godaan Written by Munshi
Premchand.” Submitted by Mr. ADHISH PRASAD is the record of work carried out during
semester-II of First Year B.A.,LL.B. Course for the academic year 2013-2018 under my
supervision and guidance in conformity with the syllabus prescribed by Chanakya National Law
University.

Place: PATNA. GUIDE

Date:19/04/2014
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

i. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
ii. CERTIFICATE
iii. AIMS & OBJECTIVE
iv. HYPOTHESIS
v. RESEARCH METHEDOLOGY

CHAPTERIZATION

1. INTRODUCTION…………………….…………………………………………………..6

2. LIFE SKETCH OF PREMCHAND……………..………………….………………….…8

3. WRITING STYLE OF PREMCHAND TOWARDS SOCIETY……………….….……15

4. SUMMERY OF GODAN……………………………………………………….……….19

5. CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF GODAN…………………………………………….……..25

BIBLIOGRAPHY
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AIMS AND OBJECTIVE

The researcher’s aim for making this project is to find out the way of writing or writing style of
Premchand towards society and briefly read his Novel “Godaan” and then critically analyze it.

HYPOTHESIS

The researcher hypothesizes that:-

1. Premchand had written a lot of Stories and Novels, and all his Novels and Stories are based
on Social ethics and social deprivation of earlier India.

2. The Novel “Godaan” of Munshi Premchand is an ethical based novel which contains
exploitation of the lower class, exploitation of Women, Castism, etc.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The various books and websites are referred for this topic. The sources from which the material
for this research collected are secondary. So the methodology used in the research has been
Doctrinal. No non-doctrinal method has been used by the researcher in this project.
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INTRODUCTION

Dhanpat Rai, better known by his pseudonym Munshi Premchand, was a famous Indian author
and poet who ushered into the Modern Hindi and Urdu literature with his writings. His first
novella, Asrar e Ma'abid was first published in Awaz-e-Khalq, an Urdu Weekly, after which he
became associated with an Urdu magazine Zamana, writing columns on national and
international events. The writer is mainly recognized for his creations that always contained a
social message and raised voice against the social evils pertaining in the Indian society. His
creations brought the era of realism in the Indian literature at that time, when only fantasy
fictions and religious writings were dominating it. Premchand embodied the social purpose and
social criticism in his characters that are subjected to the different circumstances and act
accordingly1. The great novelist is ranked among the greatest authors of the 20th century in
India.

The main characteristic of Premchand's writings is his interesting storytelling and use of simple
language. His novels describe the problems of rural and urban India. He avoided the use of
highly Sanskritized Hindi and instead used the dialect of the common people. Premchand wrote
on the realistic issues of the day -communalism, corruption, zamindari, debt, poverty,
colonialism, etc2.
Premchand's writings have been translated not only into all Indian languages, but also Russian,
Chinese, and many other foreign languages.

He had written a lot of fantastic and ethic based Stories and Novels which contains social evils in
the Indian Society. One of them is Godaan, which means “The Gift of a Cow”.

It was first published in 1936 and is considered one of the greatest Hindustani novels of modern
Indian literature. Themed around the socio economic deprivation as well as the exploitation of
the village poor, the novel was the last complete novel of Premchand. It was translated into
English in 1957 by Jai Ratan and P. Lal translation; a 1968 translation by Gordon C. Roadarmel
is now considered "a classic in itself".

1
www.pinterest.com/pin/465911523920725937/, Accessed on 15/ 04/ 2013 at 23:05 IST.

2
http://www.iloveindia.com/indian-heroes/premchand.html, Accessed on 15/ 04/ 2013 at 20:05 IST.
 7

In this, the protagonist, Hori, a poor peasant, desperately longs for a cow, a symbol of wealth and
prestige in rural India. In a Faustian twist of fate, Hori gets his cow, but ends by paying for it
with his life. After his death, the village priests demand a cow from his widow to bring his soul
absolution, and peace (Godaan). The narrative can be said to represent the existence of the
average Indian farmer under colonial rule, with the protagonist facing cultural and feudal
exploitation.

Godaan was made into a Hindi film in 1963, starring Rajkumar, Mehmood and Shashikala.[4] In
2004, Godaan was part of the 26-episode TV series, ‘'Tehreer.... Munshi Premchand Ki, based on
the writing of Premchand, starring Pankaj Kapur and Surekha Sikri, directed by Gulzar and
produced by Doordarshan.3

LIFE SKETCH OF PREMCHAND4

3
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godaan, Accessed on 15/ 04/ 2013 at 23:15 IST.
4
http://www.varanasi.org.in/munshi-premchand, Accessed on 15/ 04/ 2013 at 23:25 IST.
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Munshi Premchand, a Hindustani literature (Upanyas Samrat) and Indian writer (novel writer,
story writer and dramatist), was born in the year 1880 at 31 st of July in the Lamhi village (near
Varanasi). He is the famous writer of the early 20 th century. He got died at 8th of October in 1936
by serving the people with his great writings. The birth name of him is Dhanpat Rai Srivastav
and pen name is Nawab Rai. He wrote his all writings with his pen name. Finally his name
becomes changed to the Munshi Premchand. His first name Munshi is an honorary prefix given
by his lovers in the society because of his quality and effective writings. As a Hindi writer he
wrote approximately dozen novels, 250 short stories, numerous essays and translations (he
translated a number of foreign literary works into the Hindi language).

His Early Life

After his birth he had grown in the Lamhi village in a big family. He was the 4 th child of his
father named Ajaib Lal (a post office clerk) and his mother named Anandi Devi (a housewife
from Karauni village). He was loved too much by his grandfather named Gur Sahai Lal (a
patwari means the village accountant) and his own parents that’s why he was named as Dhanpat
Rai which means the master of wealth. He was also nicknamed by his uncle named Mahabir as a
Nawab (which means Prince) which (Nawab Rai) he had chosen as the first pen name by him
while writing.

He had started his early education at his 7 at a madarsa in the Lalpur village (around 2 and half
km away from Lamahi) where he learned the Urdu and Persian languages by the maulvi. He lost
his mother at his 8 because of the persistent illness and later his grandmother as well. He felt
alone and his father got re-married with his step mother who later became his recurring theme in
his works.

His Early Career

He developed a lot of interest in reading books after his mother’s death that’s why he did the job
of book selling to a book wholesaler to get a chance to read more books. He took admission at a
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missionary school where he learnt English and read the George W. M. Reynolds’s eight-volume
named The Mysteries of the Court of London. He was in Gorakhpur when he wrote his first
literary writing. He always believed to write about the social realism in his Hindi literature and
discuss the status of a woman in the society.

He got enrolled at the Queen’s College in the Banaras as a day scholar after the posting of his
father to Jamniya in the mid-1890s. He was studying in the 9 th standard when he got married at
his 15 in the year 1895. The match was arranged by his maternal step-grandfather. His studies
became discontinued after the death of his father in the year 1897 because of the long illness. He
had started teaching tuition to the son of Banarasi advocate at 5 rupee monthly. Later he got the
job of a teacher at 18 rupee monthly by the help of the missionary school headmaster in Chunar.

In the year 1900, he got the government job of an assistant teacher at the Government District
School, Bahraich and started getting rupee 20/month. Around 3 years later he posted to the
District School in Pratapgarh. He wrote his first short novel by the title of Asrar e Ma’abid
means Devasthan Rahasya in Hindi language “The Mystery of God’s Abode”.

Career

Later he moved to the Allahabad from Pratapgarh for the training purpose and afterward posted
to Kanpur in the year 1905 where he met with the editor of the magazine Zamana named Daya
Narain Nigam where he published his several articles and stories in the later years.

Because of the quarrels of his wife and step-mother, he was unhappy. His wife had tried
committed suicide as he scolded her too much and became failed. Then she gone to her father’s
home and never returned to him. He got married to the child widow named Shivarani Devi in the
year 1906 and became the father of two sons named Sripat Rai and Amrit Rai. After his second
marriage he faced several social oppositions. His wife wrote a book on him after his death named
Premchand Ghar Mein means Premchand in House.

He published his first story named Duniya Ka Sabse Anmol Ratan in Zamana in the year 1907.
In the same year he published his second short novel named Hamkhurma-o-Hamsavab. Another
short novel is Kishna and stories are Roothi Rani, Soz-e-Watan and etc.
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He was poted to Mahoba and then to Hamirpur as a Sub-deputy Inspector of Schools in the year
1909. Around 500 copies of Soz-e-Watan were burnt in a raid of British collector. Where he had
to alter his name from “Nawab Rai” to “Premchand”. He had started writing in Hindi from 1914.
The first Hindi writing Saut was published in the Saraswati magazine in the month of December
in 1915 and Sapta Saroj in the month of June in 1917.

He got promoted as an Assistant Master at the Normal High School, Gorakhpur and posted to
Gorakhpur in the month of August in 1916. At the Gorakhpur, he translated many books to
Hindi. His first Hindi novel named Seva Sadan (original language was Urdu by the title Bazaar-
e-Husn) was published in Hindi in the year 1919. He got promoted as a Deputy Inspectors of
Schools in the year 1921 after completing his BA degree from Allahabad in 1919. He decided to
resign the government job after attending the meeting at Gorakhpur on 8 thFebruary 1921 where
Mahatma Gandhi asked people to join non-cooperation movement.

Career in Varanasi
He went back to Varanasi after leaving his job at 18 th of March in 1921 and started focusing on
his literary career. During this period he suffered financial problems and poor health till his death
in 1936. He became successful in establishing his own printing press and publishing house in the
Varanasi named Saraswati Press in the year 1923 where he published his writings Rangabhumi,
Nirmala, Pratigya, Gaban, Hans, Jagaran.

Again he relocated to Kanpur in the year 1931 as a teacher in the Marwari College. After leaving
the college he came back to Benares as an editor of the Maryada magazine, where he had
published the novel named Karmabhumi in the year 1932. Shortly he served as a headmaster at
Kashi Vidyapeeth and later as an editor of the Madhuri magazine at Lucknow.

Success as a Writer5
His literary work in Urdu gained him a reputation of a journalist with social aim, rather than a
mere entertainer. Premchand was born in the British India and the Indian Independence
5
http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/munshi-premchand-101.php, Accessed on 15/ 04/ 2013 at 22:05 IST.
 11

movement was at its peak when he started his writing career. His early writings were largely
influenced by the nationwide movement in which he often expressed his support to the fight for
freedom. In 1910, his collection of Soz-e-Watan was labeled as rebellious on account of its
message which provoked Indians to fight for the nation. An agonized British government
confiscated the book and all copies of Soz-e-Watan were burnt or destroyed. Premchand, who
was writing under the name of Nawabrai at that time, began to use Premchand as his pen name.
The prolific writer wrote more than 300 stories, novels and a number of plays.

The writer is credited with the introducing realism into the Hindi literature when it only
consisted of the fantasy stories, fairy tales and religious work. His creations are compiled and
published as Maansarovar. In 1921, Premchand resigned from his job as his support to the Indian
independence movement and Gandhi’s Swadeshi movement. He took up a job in a printing press
and became the proprietor of the press. During that time he also worked as the editor of Hindi
and Urdu journals to support himself. It was miserable to see that though he had established
himself as a great writer and novelist, he failed to earn money and led a life of struggle amid
poverty and financial crisis.

His Later Life till Death

He also had tried his career in the Hindi film industry at Bombay in the year 1934 and got a job
for the script writing from the Ajanta Cinetone production house. He became successful in
maintaining his family financial difficulties. He wrote the film script for the Mazdoor film by
Mohan Bhawnani by staying in Dadar. He played a cameo role (leader of laborers) as well in the
same film. He did not like the commercial film industry environment of the Bombay and
returned back to Benares after completing the one year contract.

Because of his ill health he was unable to publish his writing named Hans and handed over to the
Indian Literary Counsel. In the year 1936, he was nominated as first President of Progressive
Writers’ Association at Lucknow. Because of the persistent illness, he died on 8 th of October in
the year 1936. His last and one of the premium Hindi novels is Godaan. He never moved outside
the country for writing or studying purposes that’s why he never became renowned among
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foreign literary figures. Kafan is also the best writing of him of the year 1936. His last story
writing is Cricket Match which was published after his death in Zamana in the year 1937.

His Notable Work

Premchand authored over 300 short stories, novels and several number of essays, letters and
plays. Many of his works have been translated into English and Russian and some have been
adopted into films as well. His first novel Godaan is ranked amongst the finest novels of his era
and remains so till this day. His other notable novels are Gaban, Kafan Poos ki Rat, Idgah, and
Bade Ghar ki Beti6. Other bestselling novels Shatranj Ke Khiladi and SevaSadan were adopted
into film by Satyajit Ray.

Munshi Premchand Stories

Some popular stories of Premchand are:

Adeeb Ki Izat
Bade Bhai Sahab
Balidan
Beti ka Dhan
Boodhi Kaki
Cricket Match
Duniya ka Sabse Anmol Ratan
Durga ka Mandir
Ghasvali
Gupt Dhan
Hinsa Parmo Dharma
Idgah
Ishwariya Nyaya

6
Munshi Premchand, Munshi Premchand Ki Panch Kahaniya, Published onOct 16, 2012, Published by NETLANCERS
INC, pp 15-37
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Kafan
Lottery
Mantra
Namak Ka Daroga
Nashaa
Panch Parameshvar
Pariksha
Poos ki raat
Putra Prem
Sajjanata ka dand
Saut
Shatranj ke khiladi (Hindi)
Shatranj ki bazi (Urdu)

Premchand Novels

Asrar-e-Ma’abid (Urdu)
Devasthan Rahasya (Hindi)
Prema (Hindi)
Hamkhurma-o-Ham Sawab (Urdu)
Kishna
Roothi Rani
Soz-e-Watan (collection)
Vardaan (Hindi)
Jalwa-e-Isar (Urdu)
Seva Sadan (Hindi)
Bazaar-e-Husn (Urdu)
Premashram (Hindi)
Gosha-e-Afiyat (Urdu)
Rangbhoomi (Hindi)
Chaugan-e-Hasti (Urdu)
 14

Nirmala
Kaayakalp (Hindi)
Parda-i-Majaz (Urdu)
Pratigya (Hindi)
Bewa (Urdu)
Gaban (also transliterated as Ghaban)
Karmabhoomi (Hindi)
Maidan-e-Amal (Urdu)
Godaan
Mangalsootra (incomplete)

WRITING STYLE OF PREMCHAND TOWARDS SOCIETY

Aside from a novelist and author, Premchand was also a social reformer and a thinker. The
remarkable characteristic of his writing was the reality with which he depicted his characters
in the novels. Unlike other contemporary writers, he did not write fantasy fictions, or stories
based upon a hero. His novels mainly consisted messages on social evils like, dowry,
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poverty, communalism, colonialism and corruption and Zamindari. He was the first writer of
the twentieth century to bring reality in the literature.

A renowned twentieth century author of Hindi and Urdu literature, Premchand is also referred to
as the “Tolstoy of India” (Lindsay 17). His literary repertoire comprises more than three hundred
short stories and several novels where the focus is primarily upon the depiction of the life of the
comman man. In fact, Premchand is considered to be an important Indian literary figure for he
shaped novel as a literary genre. He is also referred as the harbinger of progressive writing which
marked a new age in Indian literature.

Australian-born author Jack Lindsay says that it is Premchand’s “passionate sympathy, his
closeness to the suffering of people and his sense of urgent historical issue” which initiated him
into penning realistic portrayal of humanity battling multifarious forms of violence (21). For
instance, his short story entitled “Idgaah” describes the marginalized existence of an under-
privileged five years old orphan called Haamid. Another story “Vidhwa” narrates the suffering of
an old and destitute widow named Bhungi who is forced to lead a miserable life and suffers a
tragic death at the instigation of her village’s wealthy priest. Premchand’s novel Nirmala
describes the plight of a young girl married whose parents marry her off to an old widower for
they lacked the dowry required to procure a suitable match for their daughter.7

Moreover, it provides an insight into the prehistory of feminism in India. An Indian critic named
Harish Trivedi says that Nirmala presents an “exceptionally fine psychologisation of the ill-
married and sexually anguished heroine” (“The Power of Premchand”). In his novel Rangbhoomi
Premchand creates an idealist hero named Surdas, a dispossessed blind beggar, who is structured
according to Gandhian values of non-violence, non-possession and detachment. In fact,
Premchand’s literary works, barring Nirmala and Godan, are influenced heavily by the views of
Mohandas K. Gandhi interspersed with idealism. Godan was published in 1936 and has been
translated in English by Jai Ratan and P. Lal. Critics believe that by the time he penned Godan
Premchand had lost all faith in the idealistic solutions provided by Gandhi’s concept of
“Ramrajya” (Chaturvedi 92).

7
http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream, Accessed on 15/ 04/ 2013 at 23:35 IST.
 16

In the novel Godan, Premchand skillfully captures those nuances of violence that have been
normalized by patriarchal ideology. The story is set in a small, poverty-ridden village called
Belari in Avadh, Uttar Pradesh, during Pre-independence

Munsi Premchand was not only a versatile writer, but also a social philosopher, a born rebel, a
patriot, a freedom fighter, and the harbinger of the progressive movement in Indian Literature. It
was he who brought a new wave of realism in Urdu and Hindi fiction in the first decade of the
20th century and thus gave a new dimension to fiction writing in these languages.8

From the very onset, his writings were charged with patriotism, as seen in his very first story
‘Duniya Ka Sabse Anmol Ratan’ (The Most Priceless Jewel of the World).

Premchand’s first collection of stories Soz-e-Watan was banned and burnt in his presence by
colonial masters in 1908. He was ordered not to publish even a single line without the prior
permission of the British Government. It was the sequence of this incident that he adopted the
pseudonym of ‘Premchand’ so that he could write freely, undetected by the colonial regime.
Before this, he used to write under the pseudonym Nawab Rai. His actual name was Dhanpat
Rai. Referring to this episode, he once said that he was convinced beyond doubt that political
leaders alone could not change the destiny of people, writers and artists had to play their roles to
show the right path to society. If it were not so, the colonial regime would never have burnt and
banned his books.

During his literary career of about thirty years, he wrote about 10 novels, 350 short stories, three
plays, and scores of essays and literary articles. Studied in their chronological order,
Premchand’s writings present a crystal-clear picture of traumatic social and political events that
took place on the national and international scene between 1905 and 1936 and the impact they
made on his mind and heart.

Premchand was not an idle spectator of events but deeply involved in them. During the Non-
Cooperative Movement against British rule in India, he resigned his government job as inspector
of schools and joined the freedom struggle as a true disciple of Mahatma Gandhi.
8
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110731/spectrum/book6.htm, Accessed on 15/ 04/ 2013 at 23:45 IST.
 17

Premchand’s writings reveal that a writer is not a prisoner of the four walls of his study but the
whole world is his workshop. Premchand broke the barriers between the writer and the mass
reader, the peasant and the worker. In his novels and short stories, he advocates humanism,
equality and justice.

Prior to his emergence, Hindi and Urdu fiction was devoted to the portrayal of urban aristocracy
and upper middle classes. This fiction was, obliviously, devoid of the panoramic view of our
villages and the cultural diversity of our peasantry and working masses. Premchand’s novels and
short stories for the first time depicted the real life of our peasants and workers.

When he began his career as a literary artist, reformist movements were gaining great
momentum all over India. These movements certainly influenced him but he refused to be swept
away by them. He always avoided the revivalist trends in these movements, and tried to highlight
their patriotic and liberal content only.

His early novels like Sevasadan, and Nirmala show his keen social conscience. Sevasadan, his
first novel, relates the suffering of Suman, who is married to a cold, narrow-minded and jealous
husband. In Nirmala, Premchand exposes the merciless orthodox system of dowry.9

When he wrote his famous novel Premashram in 1921, the Great October Revolution had
already taken place in Russia. In this novel, he deals with the struggle of the peasants of northern
India against the tyranny of landlords and the British government.

Soon after ‘The October Revolution’ Premchand started communicating its message through his
writings to the Indian people. His novel Rangbhumi embodies the conflict between two
civilisations – one represented by the new forces of industrialisation based on profit and
competition and the other by the tradition way of life based on cooperation.

Godan is the life story of Hori who has experienced the suffering and hardships of life. He faces
crisis after crisis, till he dies in exhaustion. He represents the Indian peasant who has been
robbed of his honour, his spirit, and his life.

9
David Rubin, The World of Premchand, Published by Oxford Publication, Publication Date: 2001-10-25, pp 12-35.
 18

Throughout his life, Premchand had spoken for the poor. In his final testament Mahajani
Sabhyata (The Capitalist Society), he writes: "In this capitalist society the one motivation for all
the actions is money ... From this point of view, it is the capitalists who rule the world today."

Today, when the forces of reaction, exploitation, fascism and obscurantism are becoming
dominant in our society, the relevance and importance of Premchand’s writings and his ideas
have increased manifold.

SUMMERY OF GODAAN
 19

CHARACTERS10

Hori is a peasant who is married to Dhaniya and has two daughters and a son. He is an
uprighteous man and struggles throughout his life to preserve his uprighteousness. He has two
younger brothers and he considers his obligation as the eldest brother to help them and save them
from problems,sacrificing his own family. He bribes the police officers who come to the village
enquiring the death of his cow. Thus, he saves the police from entering his brother,Heera's house
for a search.He is a man who is bound to the community and considers the verdict of the
panchayat as final.He is penalized for the death of the cow and accepts. He feels orphaned to be
out of the community and hence accepts the penalty levied by the panchayat when Gobar brings
home a low caste girl. Similarly, he allows Bhola to take his oxen away as he is neither able to
pay the cost of it nor willing to send Jhunia away from his house. They have accepted her as their
daughter-in-law and her child as their grandchild. He is kind and generous. He does not hesitate
to give shelter to Seliya, a cobbler's daughter who is exploited by Matadin, a Brahmin, and is
shirked by her own people.

Dhania is Hori's wife, devoted to him and always supportive to him. She is bold and fiery and
cannot tolerate injustice. She raises her voice against injustice, against the wishes of Hori and
irritates him. She is vexed when Hori puts up with a lot of oppression from the money lenders
and the Brahmin Priest. Hori, though beats at times for disobeying him, knows that her
arguments are correct. She makes him see the truth and the realty of facts. Unlike him, she is not
lost in rigmarole of clichés and ideals. She stands by what she thinks is correct and her dharma,
rather than the traditional principles of the community. She knowingly accepts into her
household, a low caste girl, as her daughter-in-law .She does not blame only Jhunia for placing
them in an embarrassing position. She knows that her son, Gobar, is equally responsible. She is a
kind and loving mother and sacrifices much for the sake of her children. She has a generous
heart; she takes care of Heera's children when occasion demands, she willingly accommodates
10
Anurag Yadav , Munshi Premchand's GODAAN Masterpiece Of Hindi Literature, Published on Jul 24, 2009,
Published by Pustak Mahal, pp5-8.
 20

and shelters the pregnant Seliya, the cobbler's daughter. Dhania has never known a life of peace
and comfort, as throughout the novel we see her struggling along with her husband for a
livelihood. She emerges as a powerful woman, who irrespective of caste or creed helps the
needy.

Gobar is the only son of Dhania and Hori. Born into a poor family,he aspires for a life of
comfort. Though initially a simpleton like his father, he gets exposure in the city, lucknow, and
learns to be practical and worldly wise. He impregnates Jhunia, Bhola's daughter, and lacking
courage to face the wrath of the villagers, runs away to the city, leaving Jhunia at his parents
doorstep. His insensible hasty behaviour creates trouble to Hori, who pays the penalty. Gobar
works for Mirza Kursheed, but gradually starts his own business. He also lends money to other
people. When he comes to the village dressed as a gentleman with pump shoes, on a short visit,
he is unrecognized with difficulty. He becomes the centre of attraction in the village; the other
young men are tempted to go to the city seeing him. He promises to get them jobs. When he
comes to know that Datadin is exploiting his father, he advices his father to come out of the
shakles of traditional bindings. He organises a function and with his friends enacts a skit to
expose and satirize the mean mentality of the village money lenders and the Brahmin priest. He
threatens to drag the priest to court and has a fight with his father on this issue. He realizes that
Hori is too simple, god fearing and cannot go against his dharma. Angrily, he leaves the village
with his wife Jhunia and returns to the city. His weakness for liquour and short tempered nature
affects his relation with Jhunia. He realizes his mistake only when his devoted wife nurses him
during his illness. He works in the sugar factory and later becomes the chowkidar at Malathi's
house.

Dattadin is the village Brahmin Priest and a greedy moneylender. It is ironic that this man with
low moral standards goes about the village policing the wrongs of the other villagers. He
penalizes Hori for accepting and sheltering a low caste girl, Jhunia, as their daughter-in-law. He
is a hypocrite and is blind to the fact that his own son Mataddin is having an affair with Seliya, a
cobbler's daughter. He invites pundits from Varanasi to perform the purifying rituals of his
defiled son so that he is brought into the main stream of Brahminism. He does not pity Hori's
poverty, rather takes advantage of his goodness and exploits him.
 21

Matadin is the son of the Brahmin priest Datadin. He is young and has an affair with Seliya, a
low caste woman who works on the farm for him. The villagers know about it.Seliya does not
have entrance to his house. Her parents and relatives hopefully wait for her to be accepted by
him. Finally, they decide to punish him and beat him and put a piece of bone into his mouth,a
taboo, for the Brahmin. Seliya comes to his help and saves him. Matadin becomes an outcaste in
his own house. His father performs purifying rituals to bring him back to the mainstream of
brahminism. He spends a lot of money on the rituals and pundits from Kashi are called in.
Matadin's malarial fever which had taken him to death's mouth has made him realize his mistake
in exploiting Selia. When Matadin comes to know that he has a son from Seliya, he longs to see
the child and goes on sly in her absence. He is repentant and sends her two rupees through Hori.
He realises that he is bound by duty to Seliya and his son. He removes his holy thread and thus
liberates himself from the shackles of Brahminism. Now, he is free to live courageously with
Seliya as his wife.

Bhola is a cowherd of the neighbouring village. He is a widower and has two married sons and
a young widowed daughter,Jhunia. Bhola agrees to give Hori a cow on loan and in turn Hori
promises to find a companion for him to remarry. Bhola is very upset when his daughter elopes
with Hori's son Gobar. He comes to Hori's house on vengenance and claims money for the dead
cow. Hori does not have Rs.80, the cost of the cow. Bhola threatens to take his oxen away, that
would reduce Hori to a labourer. When Hori pleads with him, Bhola suggests that they should
throw Jhunia,their daughter-in-law, and his own daughter out of the house as she had hurt his
feelings. This is not acceptable to Dhania, Hori's wife. It is unbelievabe that being Jhunia's
father, instead of being contended that Hori and his wife have accepted this girl who became
pregnant without her marriage being sanctified, he would like to see her sent away with her
infant. He heartlessly takes away Hori's oxen and renders him totally helpless.

The urban society is represented by Malati devi( Doctor), Mr. Mehta( Lecturer and philosopher),
Mr. Khanna (Banker), Rai Sahib(Zamindar), Mr Tankha( Broker) and Mr. Mirza(social worker).

Rai Sahib has won the local elections twice. He wanted to marry his daughter off to a rich
zamindar to again win in the election and claim the property of his in-laws. Thus,he married his
daughter off to another rich, widow and rake zamindar. He claimed and won the zamindari of his
 22

in-laws. He won the election and became the municipal minister. But when he planned to get his
son married to the daughter of Raja Suryankant for his family’s prestige, his son refused that. He
is in love with Saroj, the younger sister of Malati devi. They both married and went away to
London. His son claimed and won the entire property Rai sahib won from in-laws leaving Rai
sahib in huge debt. His daughter got divorced. This eventually left Rai sahib too dissatisfied
despite all his efforts.

Miss. Malati is a beautiful lady intelligent doctor who is educated in Europe. She is one of the
three daughters of Mr.Kaul. She is the centre of attraction in the parties and is flirtatious. Mr.
Khanna flirts with her and she is envied and disliked by Govindi. Malati in turn falls in love with
Mr. Mehta because of his ideology, his simplicity and intelligence. On a trip to the village of
Hori, she explores herself. She starts serving the poor and gets involved in many social activities.
After seeing the change in Malati, Mr. Mehta falls in love with Malati.But though Malati loves
Mr. Mehta, she refuses his marriage proposal. She now wants to serve the poor and does not
want to marry. Mr. Mehta and Malati keep serving the poor and needy people together. Malati
devi is the only character shown as conteded at the end of the novel because of her commitment
to charitable deeds.

Mr Mehtais a scholar and lectures philosophy in a college. He is also authoring a book on

Philosophy which he dedicates to Malati. Malati and Govindi are two characters who are
influenced by him. Govindi finds solace talking to him as he appreciates her concept of
womanhood. Malati loses her ego and understands the true meaning of life through him. She
learns to serve the poor. He needs the guidance of Malati as he has mismanaged his funds and
income in overgenerously serving the poor. Though he is interested in marrying Malati, the two
mutually agree to remain as friends under the same roof.

Mr. Khanna is an industrialist and owns a sugar factory. Though married and father of three
children, he disrepcts his wife Govindi for her traditional values. He flirts with Malati. He is
unable to recognize the virtues in his wife. Govindi is fed up of his behaviour and this goads her
to leave home. He exploits the labour class. It is only when his sugar factory is destroyed in a fire
accident and Govindi stands by him encouraging him to set it up once again, he realise his
mistake.Mr. Khanna eventually starts loving his wife.
 23

Govindi is Mr.Khanna's wife, the rich industrialist, and is epitomized as an ideal Hindu wife.
She is virtuous and very tolerant with her husband and children.Unfortunately,Mr.khanna is
uninterested in her as he finds fault with her traditional values. He takes interest in Miss Malati
and flirts with her. Govindi is desperately dejected and decides to abandon him and his house.
But it is Mr.Mehta, who has always been appreciative of her ideals,who advises her to return to
the children. She is a moral support to her husband when his sugar factory gets destroyed in fire.
It is she who encourages him to set it up again.

Godan by Premchand11
The true and vivid picture of India. - The Hindustan Standard Probably the only great novel in
Hindi. - The Statesman In this last novel of Premchand is present every personage that has lent
its character to traditional rural India. - Thought No Indian should miss this novel, which
Premchand wrote with tears. - The Nagpur Times Premchand’s last masterpiece. - The Hindu
None of these statements comes remotely close to describing the greatness of this novel -
Premchand's Godan. My meek attempt at a review of this book is akin to holding a candle to
the sun and expecting to shed some light on the sun. Godan, which means "the gift of a cow", is a
novel that takes you through the lives of Hori and his wife Dhania. A peasant by profession, Hori
pays for carrying a noble and pure heart inside him. Page after page you get the same sinking
feeling that Hori gets when his spirit is crushed every waking moment by the machinery
comprising of the Zamindari system, the police, the money lenders, the religious zealots, the
caste system and prestige. Godan starts with Hori procuring a cow from Bhola. Already under a
debt of 200 rupees, Hori takes a loan of 80 rupees to buy this cow. Possessing a cow is a symbol
of prestige in rural India. Additionally, it allows him to sell the milk for a few annas a day. The
cow is poisoned by Hori's jealous brother and the cow dies. And hence dies his source of milk
for his family. Yet, Hori does not want his brother to get arrested. For this, he has to bribe the
police inspector. Hori takes a loan of 50 rupees for this. Hori's son Gobar flirts with a girl from
another village. The girl gets pregnant and Gobar runs away. Hori's wife Dhania gives shelter to

11
Jai Ratan and P.Lal, Godan, A Novel of Peasent India, Published by Jaico Publishing House, published on 2007-
01-01, pp 11-89
 24

the pregnant girl (since her parents disown her). This is considered a blotch on Hori's village by
the Panchayat. Out comes another 300 rupees (loaned) to uphold the honour of the village. He
also loses his only pair of bullocks as a punishment. No bullocks means no ploughing hence no
crop and no food to eat. Having two daughters to look after, Hori suffers under the rising debt
and diminishing stocks of grain. One by one, everyone fleeces Hori. His only son, on whom all
his hopes rested, refuses to help him out. The son settles down with the girl in the city and
refuses to even look at his mother before leaving. The novel brings out the havoc that the
political and administration system of the villages wreaks on the poor. Hori represents that
section of rural India which is trampled every day. That section which is made to pay for every
sin and desire of the babus. Interspersed within the story is a beautiful love-hate relationship
between Mr. Mehta, a philosopher, and Miss Malti, a doctor. Miss Malti is of the modern school
of thought. A Feminist believes in equal opportunity for men and women. She believes that
women should not be housewives. Mr. Mehta belongs to the traditional school of thought. The
debates between these two make for an interesting read. Mr. Mehta says that women are far more
superior then men. By asking for equal rights, they were infact asking for lowering their position
in society. He also says that qualities like love, sacrifice, etc are qualities that come naturally to
women and hence they should be in positions where they can give out such attributes to others.
Walking into the war-zone, along with men, lowers the status of women and goes against nature
since nature has made women for higher things in life. Coming back to Hori, his entire life is a
struggle. Struggle to make ends meet. Struggle to keep up his prestige. Struggle to provide for
his children. The strong relationship between Hori and his wife keeps him going till the end. Till
the end, when Dhania pleadingly asks Datadin, a money lender, to take 3 rupees from her and
help save Hori from dying. That one scene has left a scar in my mind. That one scene brought
out tears. That one scene made me reach out to Hori and pay off his debt. A classic of peasant
India, the book is much more than what I have written over here. Hope, Struggle and Optimism -
You see all this in starved, half-naked souls waiting for their much coveted God to help them
out. A heart-wrenching masterpiece is what this book is. And I am in love with it.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
 25

After going through various books, online materials and other data sources, the researcher has
critically analyse that, Premchand's "Godan" produces the rustic, simplistic and heart-rending
lives of the peasants. Far, from exaggeration, "Godan" is "a novel of stark reality". It deals with
the dreams, despairs and day-to day events of Hori, the protagonist of the novel, and his family.
Through the peasants, Premchand has portrayed the pathetic life of the rural arena. Hori is an
embodiment of peasant-virtue, simplicity and truth. He leads an inconsistent life with his wife
Dhania, and his three children. Their unstable financial situation always tends to lend them
frustration and despair. A tension-free life is not theirs. If they spend a quarter of their lives in
starvation, they spend the rest paying unwarranted loans. The money-lenders take full advantage
of their poverty ad therefore take unreasonable interest from them. Premchand writes:" A loan
was an unwelcome guest, once in the house, dug himself into permanent fixture." The money-
lenders also exploit the ignorance and gullibility of the peasants. The village-folk in the higher
strata of society, who are financially sounder, take advantage of the village-peasants. In the
novel, we find, we find how Dulari mounts a small amount of money into a hundred rupees
within a small fraction of time.
The zamindars are no exception in this regard. They make maximum use of the tenants and
extract manual labour from them. Hori, already old, and fatigued from poverty has to do
strenuous work in order to make both ends meet. The cow he eventually gets hold of is
mercilessly killed by his cruel brother Heera.

Their ambitions and dreams are also made apparent by the novelist. While some of them love
their soil, the younger generation opts for city life. For them, material pros[pects hold more water
than than sentimental values. Hori therefore does not approve with Gobar to shift to the city. For
Gobar, material prospects hold more water than sentimental values. Therefore Hori does not
embrace the idea of moving to the city. A typical peasant, his land is everything to him.. He
regards the cattle also as a member of the family. Isolated life does not appeal to them and they
long to thrive and integrate with the community. This becomes apparent when Hori is willing to
pay the fine imposed by the village for admitting Jhunia. Hori does not want to be treated as an
outcaste. He tells Dhania that he wants to live with society and not outside society.

The lack of education of the peasants can be considered a major factor in their backwardness.
Superstitions are prevalent. We have a humorous account of how news spreads in the village of
 26

Dhania's over-powering the inspector. After the incident, people flock around Hori's hut to have
a Darshan of Dhania. They undergo all the rites, to protect the newly arrived cow from the evil
eye. They cannot fling away their false pride even in the face of dire poverty. Even though,
Sona's bridegroom does not demand any dowry, they pay it as it a matter of prestige in society.
Again, the caste-system very much exists. We find Heera admonishing Punia for quarrelling with
a low caste man.

Women are not portrayed as equal to men. We find Damri exclaiming to Hori how his son ran
away leaving his wife with another woman. Subsequently, his wife gets married to another man.
Damri gets revolted only with the infidelity of women and not men thereby practicing double
standards. The husbands ill treat their wives after drinking. Dhania talks of Hori's ill-treatment
and quips how it would have been if it were the other way around. Heera also abuses his wife.
Though Gobar is affectionate towards his wife in the beginning, gradually their relationship
deteriorates. "Early married life throbs with love and desire; like the dawn the span of life is
suffused with a roseate glow. The afternoon of life dissolves illusion into its stinging rays, but
brings face to face with reality."

Some of the scenes will always be memorable. Like, for instance, when Rupa sucks on a raw
mango in starvation. The handing over of the child-like Rupa to the elderly man in marriage. The
deserting of the aged parents by Jhunia and Gobar, who bore all pains and social stigma for
them. The economical system came as a blessing, but Jhenguri Singh makes maximum use of it
to manipulate people. The most heart-rending scene is the death of Hori or more precisely his
last moments. His being religious and magnanimous, the family does not possess the adequate
means even to complete his final rites. The novel thus ends in a tragedy.

Thus, the novel also has several themes:

 27

1. Problems due to caste segregation:1) People of different vocation and their respective castes
represent the village. Datadin, the Brahmin priest represents the uppermost caste; he exploits the
lower caste villagers with his various religious sanctions. Hori [peasant], Bhola[cowherd],
Selia[a cobbler’s daughter] represent the various hierarchies of lower castes in the caste system
that existed in India.

2. Exploitation of the lower class----Premchand has drawn a realistic picture of the poor peasants
exploited by the village zamindar and the greedy moneylenders. The zamindars collected the
revenue and imposed fine. Here, Rai Saheb fined Hori for the death of the cow, though he did
not kill it. The peasants are unable to pay the debts in time and it gets multiplied with the passage
of time. They are caught in a debt trap and they suffer, like Hori, until their end. The author is
advocating the need to end the feudal system that existed in the country.

3. Exploitation of Women—the women characters Dhaniya, Jhunia, Seliya and Roopa are
exploited by the men they love and are dedicated to.

4. Problems due to industrialization---growth of capitalistic greedy industrialist who exploit the

labour class. Migration of youngsters from the villages to cities, conflicts and tensios in cities are
some of the problems.

5. Interpersonal relationships, Love, and marriage---- Premchand as a progressive writer

envisages a modern India where love and intercaste marriages would thrive. We have the
intercaste marriages of Gobar and Jhunia, Mataadin and Seliya and that of the educated pair,
Rudra Pratap and Saroj. The marital relationship of Mr.Khanna and his wife is strained as he
lacks love and respect for her. Mr. Mehta and Miss Malathi have serious thought provoking
discussions on the issues of love, the institution of marriage, the relation of man and woman and
womanhood. They represent the voice of modern India and mutually decide to live as friends
serving society in their respective capacities.

6. Political scenario of the period--- the country was fighting for its liberation from colonial
powers. It was the period for the growth and development of different parties and ideologies..
Premchand, through the novel, expresses his stand as a socialist. Socialism is a panacea for all
kinds of discrimination and exploitation.
 28

Connection with Hinduism

The act of donating a cow in charity, or Godaan, is considered to be an important Hindu ritual,
as it helps in absolving one of sin, and incurring divine blessings. It is nevertheless, not essential.
The word dharma has been used 34 times in the novel in different context and by different
Characters. The word connotes as religion, moral principles and values, conscience and duty. It
has a different meaning to each character.

The protagonist, Hori, a poor peasant, desperately longs for a cow, a symbol of wealth and
prestige in rural India. In a Faustian twist of fate, Hori gets his cow, but ends by paying for it
with his life. After his death, the village priests demand a cow from his widow to bring his soul
absolution, and peace (Godaan). The narrative can be said to represent the existence of the
average Indian farmer under colonial rule, with the protagonist facing cultural and feudal
exploitation

Hence, by concluding Project, Researcher wants to say that,

Premchand broke the barriers between the writer and the mass reader, the
peasant and the worker, as his novels and short stories advocated humanism,
equality and justice
 29

BIBLIOGRAPHY

WEBSITES:-

1. www.pinterest.com
2. www.iloveindia.com

3. http://en.wikipedia.org
4. www.varanasi.org.in
5. www.thefamouspeople.com
6. http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in
7. www.tribuneindia.com

BOOKS:-

1. Munshi Premchand's GODAAN Masterpiece Of Hindi Literature

by Anurag Yadav, Published on Jul 24, 2009, Published by Pustak Mahal

2. Munshi Premchand Ki Panch Kahaniya, Volume 27, by Munshi Premchand,

Published onOct 16, 2012, Published by NETLANCERS INC

3. Godan, A Novel of Peasent India, Translated by Jai Ratan and P. Lal, Published by
Jaico Publishing House, published on 1/01/2007

4. The World of Premchand: Selected Short Stories Hardcover

by, David Rubin, Published by Oxford Publication, Published on 2001/10/25
30