 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2021) |
 First English-language edition (2006) | |
| Author | Munshi Premchand |
|---|---|
| Original title | Karmabhoomi |
| Translator | Lalit Srivastava |
| Language | Hindi |
| Genre | Novel |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (US) |
| Publication place | India |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| ISBN | 0-19-567641-6 (Eng. trans. paperback) |
| OCLC | 63667151 |
| 891.433 | |
| LC Class | MLCS 2006/01276 (P) |
Original text | Karmabhoomi at Hindi Wikisource |
Karmabhoomi (The Land Where One Works) is a Hindi novel by Munshi Premchand.
The novel is set in the Uttar Pradesh of the 1930s.[1] By the beginning of the 20th century, Islam and Hinduism had coexisted in India for over a thousand years. Barring the occasional outbursts of violence, the two religious communities had lived together peacefully and shared strong social bonds except marriage. English education, however, drove a wedge between the communities.
India of the early 1930s consisted of a great mass of poor and illiterate people who were exploited by the rich and powerful, irrespective of caste or religion. The author has sympathy for these poor and toiling masses, which is clearly reflected in his writings. It is against this backdrop that Premchand wrote Karmabhoomi.
Being greatly influenced by Mahatma Gandhi's satyagraha movement, Premchand weaves this novel around the social goals championed by it. Human life is portrayed as a field of action in which the character and destinies of individuals are formed and revealed through their actions. Some of these actions, which might seem melodramatic in ordinary realistic fiction, gain resonance in Karmabhoomi, placed as they are in this symbolic and philosophical framework. Each character (or group) is depicted as coming to a point of moral awakening where he, she, or they must act on their convictions. The climax takes place in an assembly of the poor and dispossessed, where they voice their demand for land. The youngest of the speakers is put to death by a policeman's bullet, and this incident eventually leads to victory of the cause of land for the poor.
- ^ "Munshi Premchand Birth Anniversary - From 'Sevasadan' to 'Godaan', 5 must-read books by the legendary author". The Free Press Journal. 31 July 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.