Munshi Premchand, born Dhanpat Rai Srivastava on July 31, 1880, in the small village of Lamhi near Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, remains one of India's most beloved authors. As "Premchand," he helped launch a new wave of modern Hindi and Urdu literature through his storytelling about the myriad social realities of Indian society under colonial rule. …