The Babu assumed that Premchand's stature in the world of Hindi literature was beyond question, but now he's not so sure. According to an editorial in the Hindustan Times, Premchand's classic novel, Nirmala, has been shunted out of the CBSE Class XII syllabus in order to make way for a more contemporary writer--Mridula Sinha, whose extra-literary duties involve serving as the chairperson of the Central Social Welfare Board. (Ms Sinha is a fine, upstanding member of the ruling, rightwing BJP. See posts for May 2, April 26 and 27 for links to related stories.)
Ms Sinha's views on Premchand and literature are not very well known, but her views on women, expressed when she headed the BJP's Mahila Morcha, were notorious: "We in the Bharatiya Janata Party are opposed to women's liberation because it is against men. It is led by a handful of intellectual women in the cities who have no understanding of the common people's ideology and aspirations... We tell women to be more adjusting, because they will have nowhere to go if they leave their husbands." Why does the Babu find himself thinking of that Pink Floyd line about "no dark sarcasm in the classrooms"?