Explore Girish Karnad’s legendary play as we dissect the tragic collision of 14th-century idealism and brutal tyranny. Discover how this historical allegory mirrors the disillusionment of modern power.

The higher the ideal, the more painful the crash into reality. You can't build a just society if you treat people as abstractions; real leadership requires a connection to the lived reality of the people you are leading.
Creato da alumni della Columbia University a San Francisco
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Creato da alumni della Columbia University a San Francisco

Lena: I was just looking at a photo of a 1972 play staged in the ruins of an old fort in Delhi, and it looks absolutely haunting. It’s Girish Karnad’s *Tughlaq*, and Miles, I have to say, the premise is wild. You have this 14th-century Sultan who is basically a genius—he’s into medicine, poetry, and math—yet history remembers him as "Muhammad the Mad."
Miles: Right? It’s such a fascinating contradiction. Karnad wrote this in 1964 as a bit of a challenge to the theatre world, and it’s become this legendary masterpiece. He uses the story of Sultan Mohammad bin Tughlaq as a sharp allegory for the 1960s—specifically that post-independence disillusionment during the Nehruvian era.
Lena: It’s interesting how he bridges that gap. On one hand, you have a ruler abolishing taxes to help Hindu-Muslim unity, but on the other, he’s allegedly murdering his own father to take the throne. It’s this total collision of high idealism and brutal reality.
Miles: Exactly, and that’s the central tension we’re looking at today: how does a visionary leader transform into a tyrant? Let’s explore how Karnad uses this historical figure to ask if a just society can ever truly be built through political power.