Rural narratives after Premchand remained unnoticed because of not being written in English. Rural India and Peasantry: Ethnography in stories after Premchand is a study of literary representation of rural life in a vast expanse of land designated as the Hindi Heartland. What lends unique strength to this work is that after Premchand, fictional narrative has not really been dealt with such scholarly seriousness or contextualized in the socio-economic scenario of the rural world and peasantry. More than thirty stories discussed in ten chapters, inherit a strong tradition of peasant narratives since the times of Premchand, exposing the reader to an intricate array of messy complications and contingencies, the small peasantry and the rural world has experienced since the early decades of independent India through the period of liberalization till the recent decades. Exploring non- canonical rural stories in Hindi, unfolds a spectrum of ethnic-cultural and psychological biographies about the evolving rural scenario in the democratic India of our times. The substantial reference to concrete facts and data vindicate the realistic strain of the work. It would set a new example of interdisciplinary scholarship and open up new vistas of further scholarship, especially in the Cultural studies. The authentically translated excerpts, transcribe the spirit of rural India.

“A wonderfully rich, insightful and personally touching collection of essays by the Pacific region’s most prolific and engaging historian. Brij Lal writes eloquently and poetically about his professional and political journeys, and the many different people and worlds he has encountered on the way. Readers will be inspired by this collective account of a courageous life committed to the achievement of democratic freedom and social justice. What shines through these pages is Lal’s love of and commitment to Fiji, from which he has been painfully exiled.” - David Hanlon, Professor of History & Former Director of the Center for Pacific Islands Studies, University of Hawaii at Manoa.

The second most populous country of the world, India is a country of enormous diversity, yet its civilization and people have a remarkable unity. It endured centuries of control by, first, Islamic and later European peoples. Most recently, independent India has been faced with resource and urban overcrowding pressures.

Records publications acquired from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, by the U.S. Library of Congress Offices in New Delhi, India, and Karachi, Pakistan.