The Projections of Reformist Approaches to the Genre of the Novel in Urdu Literature

Abstract

A very first reflection of the word reform in Urdu literature that comes to mind is the activities carried out within the Aligarh College, an educational institution proposed by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan. The intellectuals and writers from all over the subcontinent initiated various forms of consciousness-raising activities aimed to foster sociocultural and political awareness in their society. Sir Seyyid Ahmet Han and his friends accelarated the social reform, a process which is known as the Aligarh Movement, through educational and literary activities. Thus, the work of literary scholars gave a new trend to Urdu literature. The use of a more fluid and approachable language made the task of raising public awareness more effective. The scholarly work by Deputy Nazir Ahmad played an important role in this scenario and gave rise to the emergence of the genre of the novel in Urdu literature. The present study aims to examine the educator-instructor aspect of the work by Deputy Nazir Ahmad and the socialist-realistic aspect of Premchand's descriptive narratives within the context of literary movements in Urdu literature.

Keywords

• Urdu Literature
• Sir Syed Ahmad Khan
• the War of Independence 1857
• the Aligarh Movement
• the Progressive Writers Movement