Jamia’s Premchand Archives and Literary Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia, organised a day-long national seminar in collaboration with National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language, Govt. of India, titled, “Premchand Ka Adab: Naye Tanazur Mein” (Premchand’s Literature: In a New Perspective) on April 29 in the Committee Room, Nehru Guest House, Jamia Millia Islamia.The programme was inaugurated with the welcome address by Dr. Shams Equbal, Director of NCPUL, New Delhi. He welcomed the scholars, participants and guests at the seminar and highlighted the contribution of Munshi Premchand in the field of Fiction and emphasised reading Premchand in a new perspective. The inaugural session was presided by Prof. Mohd Ali Jauhar, Former Chairman, Department of Urdu, Aligarh Muslim University. He congratulated the organisers for hosting the seminar on such an important topic and said that there is a need to understand Premchand and his writings from a modern point of view.Prof. Shahzad Anjum, Director of the Archives, highlighted the academic activities of the Centre and said that Premchand is a shining face of Urdu Literature and his contribution to the field of literature is seminal and extraordinary. He also thanked the Vice Chancellor, JMI, Prof. Mazhar Asif and the Registrar, JMI, Prof. Md. Mahtab Alam Rizvi for supporting such academic activities in the University at the Archives, which play a key role in enhancing the level of debate and discussion among scholars, students, and faculty members. The keynote address was presented by Prof. Anwar Pasha, Former Chairman, Centre for Indian Languages, JNU, New Delhi. He drew attention towards Premchand’s relevance in the present context. He said, “Premchand is a scholar who is studied both in Hindi and Urdu languages, equally. We cannot talk about fiction without mentioning Premchand’s fiction. Premchand tried his best to change the society with his viewpoint. The art and artistic approach of Premchand is the best example of human sensitivity or human emotions”.Prof. Jitendra Srivastava, Professor, IGNOU, delivered a thought-provoking speech on Premchand and his relevance today. He emphasized that one should study Premchand keeping in mind the scenario of that period and his approach to the social subject. The programme was conducted by Dr. Jawed Hasan, Department of Urdu, JMI.
