Rahi Masoom Reza

The Question of Text and Context
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-032-82646-2
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 316 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm

Reihe: Writer in Context

Rahi Masoom Reza (1927–1992) was a trailblazing Hindi-Urdu writer of the 20th century - best known for his novels Adha Gaon (1966), which vividly portrays a Shia Muslim village during Partition, Topi Shukla (1968), which captures the tragic rupture between Hindu and Muslim friends, and for scripting the iconic TV serial Mahabharat (1988) – an epic that captivated audiences across India and even Pakistan. This volume offers a curated selection of his fiction, poetry, scripts, and critical writings in English translation, addressing the lack of comprehensive studies on his diverse oeuvre.

Reza’s works explore the complex relationships between Hindus and Muslims, Hindi and Urdu, and Hinduism and Islam, challenging the rigid linguistic and cultural divides of post-Partition India. Despite writing seven other novels, Urdu poetry collections, and scripts for nearly 300 Hindi films and TV serials, his contributions remain underappreciated. This book critically examines Reza’s unique position as a poet-novelist who bridged the worlds of Hindi and Urdu, and whose enduring relevance lies in fostering interfaith and intercultural understanding.

Part of the ‘Writer in Context’ series, this will be an essential resource for scholars of Indian literature, Hindi literature, Urdu literature, comparative literature, postcolonial studies, cultural studies, global south studies, and translation studies, offering fresh insights into Reza’s literary genius and his role in shaping the cultural discourse of the subcontinent.

Zielgruppe

Postgraduate

Autoren/Hrsg.

Prakash, Bodh

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Stadt- und Regionalsoziologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Vergleichende Literaturwissenschaft
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften Interdisziplinär Regionalwissenschaften, Regionalstudien

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Illustrations. Foreword – Sanjay Kumar. Series Preface. Preface. Acknowledgements Introduction – Bodh Prakash Part 1 Rahi’s Creative Expression. Fiction 1. Aadha Gaon (Extracts) 2. Topi Shukla (Extracts) 3. Desolation (Short story) Poetry 4. Introduction to Rahi’s poetry 5. Selected Poems Scripting 6. Mahabharat (Extracts) 7. On Mahabharat Part 2 Rahi, the Critic 8. Tulsi’s Ramcharitmanas 9. Muharram, a genuine Indian festival 10. The Story- From the Writer to the Producer 11. Cinema, Literature and the Curriculum 12. A Slice of Sunshine Part 3 Assessing Rahi. Partition, its Aftermath, and Indian Muslims 13. Memory, History and Fictional Representations of Partition 14. Partition, Nationalism and the Indian Muslim 15. Society, Language and Nation in Rahi Masoom Reza’s Aadha Gaon and Topi Shukla 16. The Tragedy of Partition and Women in Rahi’s Fiction Poetry, Progressive and Modern 17. Resistance and Representation: Rahi Masoom Reza’s 1857 18. Introduction to Mein ek Pheriwala 19. Rahi Masoom Reza’s Writings and Contemporary times Language and Script 20. Rahi’s Language opens a new Window 21. Rahi Masoom Reza and the Discourse on Language 22. Tracing Shifts in the Linguistic and Communal Dynamics of India: A Re-reading of Rahi Masoom Reza’s Topi Shukla Part 4 Translating Rahi 23. Translating Rahi Masoom Reza’s Aadha Gaon and Topi Shukla: A Critique 24. On translating Aadha Gaon 25. Re-ceiving Topi Shukla: Then and Now Part 5 Conversations 26. Rahi Was Dead Against Narrow-mindedness: Kunwarpal Singh in Conversation with Devendra Gupta 27. The Muslim Society was Created on the Basis of the Hindu Society: Dr. Abdul Bismillah in Conversation with Chandradev Yadav 28. May the Conversation not stop (between Ali Sardar Jafri and Dr Rahi Masoom Reza) Bio-chronology – Rahi’s life and works. List of Rahi’s published works. Bibliography. Notes on contributors and translators. Index

Über Autor(innen)

Bodh Prakash is former Professor of English at the School of Letters, Ambedkar University Delhi. He was Visiting Professor at the University of Strasbourg and the College of Wooster, and a Long Room Hub Fellow at Trinity College Dublin. A member of the international SPECTRESS programme on Cultural Trauma, his work focuses on the Indian Partition of 1947. His major book is Writing Partition: Ideology and Aesthetics in Hindi and Urdu Literature. He has also co-edited Cultural Diversity, Linguistic Plurality and Literary Traditions in India (University of Delhi). He has engaged with the afterlife of the Indian Partition in independent India in many of his writings.