THE DEVELOPMENT OF HINDI LITERATURE IN EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY BANARAS

Abstract

National languages are semi-artificial and arbitrarily constructed. From the early decades of twentieth century, the discussion on national language in colonial India transformed to a dynamic process for creating national literature and identity. The rise of a popular press, fuelled by expansion in ‘vernacular education’ and by events such as World War I, economic crisis and the new nationalist drive towards popular mass politics, contributed to the growth of publishing market and literary public sphere wider than ever before. Amidst these developments, Hindi literary tradition evolved with the writings of Bhartendu Harishchandra, Jai Shankar Prasad and Premchand in late nineteenth and early decades of twentieth century in Banaras, a prominent city of United Provinces (modern Uttar Pradesh). Viewed in this context, the paper tries to discuss the development of literary production in Banaras.