Tuglak (Important Isues)

 

 

📘 Important Issues in Girish Karnad’s Play Tughlaq

Girish Karnad’s Tughlaq (1964) is one of the most powerful modern Indian plays written in English.
It is based on the historical ruler Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq, who ruled Delhi (1325–1351).
The play explores how a ruler’s noble dreams of justice and unity collapse into madness and tyranny.

Each issue reflects both the 14th century Delhi Sultanate and modern India, especially Nehru’s idealistic but troubled period after independence.

⚖️ 1. Idealism vs. Reality

➤ Description:

Tughlaq is presented as a highly intelligent and idealistic ruler.
He dreams of building a perfect state based on:

• Justice and equality,
• Religious tolerance (Hindus and Muslims living together),
• Rationality and reason over blind faith.

He says,

“I want to make this country worthy of its past glory.”

However, his noble ideals fail when they meet the harsh realities of human greed, fear, and resistance to change.

➤ Example:

• The shift of capital from Delhi to Daulatabad was meant to bring Hindus and Muslims closer — but it caused immense suffering.
• The copper coin experiment was a brilliant idea — but common people exploited it for forgery.

➤ Message:

Karnad shows that idealism without practical wisdom becomes destructive.
Tughlaq’s failure reflects how visionary leaders can become tragic figures when they lose touch with the people.

🕌 2. Religion and Politics

➤ Description:

One of the central issues in Tughlaq is the relationship between religion and politics.
Tughlaq tries to create a secular state, separating political authority from religious control.
He respects all religions — a revolutionary idea in the 14th century.

However, his actions often contradict his words.
He uses religion to strengthen his political power and silences religious critics like Sheikh Imam-ud-din.

➤ Example:

• Tughlaq orders the murder of the Sheikh, a pious cleric who condemns his policies.
• He quotes the Quran to justify his violent actions.
• His use of religious language hides political cruelty.

➤ Message:

Karnad suggests that mixing religion with politics leads to hypocrisy and corruption.
A ruler who uses religion for political gain ultimately destroys both faith and governance.

👑 3. Power and Corruption

➤ Description:

Tughlaq’s journey from an idealistic ruler to a cruel, suspicious dictator shows how absolute power corrupts absolutely.
In the beginning, he wants to rule through reason and justice, but later, power and failure make him tyrannical and paranoid.

➤ Example:

• He kills his step-mother, though he loves her, to maintain “justice.”
• He executes the Amirs who rebel against him.
• He trusts no one, not even Barani, his loyal historian.

➤ Message:

Karnad shows that intelligence without morality can destroy a leader.
Power turns Tughlaq’s rationality into madness and cruelty.

💔 4. Madness and Isolation

➤ Description:

As Tughlaq’s dreams fail, he becomes mentally unstable and emotionally isolated.
He cannot trust anyone; everyone fears him.
He lives surrounded by death, silence, and guilt.

➤ Example:

• The step-mother’s death leaves him utterly alone.
• His final prayer scene shows him talking to himself, disconnected from reality.
• The muezzin’s call and his broken prayer blend, symbolizing his spiritual collapse.

➤ Message:

Tughlaq’s madness is both personal and political.
It represents how visionary leaders can lose their sanity when their ideals are betrayed by real-world failures.

🩸 5. Betrayal and Hypocrisy

➤ Description:

The play is full of betrayals — political, personal, and moral.
Even the Sultan, who begins with pure motives, becomes the greatest betrayer of all — betraying his own ideals.

➤ Example:

• The Amirs betray the Sultan through rebellion.
• The step-mother betrays him by killing Najib.
• Aziz, a common man, betrays faith and religion by using them for profit.
• Finally, Tughlaq betrays his people, his religion, and his own conscience.

➤ Message:

Karnad portrays betrayal as an inevitable result of corruption and idealism gone wrong.
No one remains innocent in Tughlaq’s world.

💰 6. Failure of Leadership

➤ Description:

Tughlaq’s leadership fails because he tries to impose change too quickly without understanding his people.
He expects his subjects to be as rational and visionary as he is — but they are poor, fearful, and traditional.

➤ Example:

• The forced migration and copper currency cause suffering.
• His dream of unity ends in chaos, revolt, and famine.

➤ Message:

A ruler must understand the pulse of the people, not just the logic of ideas.
Tughlaq’s failure shows that leadership without empathy leads to destruction.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 7. Common People and Exploitation

➤ Description:

The common people suffer the most in Tughlaq’s reign.
They are used, manipulated, and destroyed by both rulers and opportunists like Aziz and Aazam.
The masses’ pain reflects the human cost of political ambition.

➤ Example:

• The long, deadly march from Delhi to Daulatabad.
• The counterfeiting of copper coins that destroys common livelihoods.
• Aziz’s exploitation of religion to rob innocent believers.

➤ Message:

Karnad exposes the exploitation of the poor under high-sounding political reforms.
He shows that political “progress” often happens at the expense of the powerless.

🧩 8. Irony and Tragic Vision

➤ Description:

Tughlaq is filled with irony — the gap between what the Sultan intends and what actually happens.
His every good reform brings disaster.

➤ Examples of Irony:

Reform	Intended Outcome	Actual Result
Capital shift to Daulatabad	Hindu–Muslim unity	Mass death and displacement
Copper currency	Economic equality	Economic chaos
Religious tolerance	Peace	Violence and murder
Justice	Fairness	Cruel executions

➤ Message:

Karnad builds a tragic irony: the most intelligent ruler becomes the most hated and insane one.
The play is not only the tragedy of Tughlaq but of human idealism itself.

🔮 9. Symbolism

Karnad uses rich symbols throughout the play to deepen its meaning:

Symbol	Meaning
Delhi → Daulatabad	The journey from dream to destruction; forced unity
Copper Coins	False equality; moral corruption
Deserted Delhi	Death of civilization and ideals
Prayer Scene (End)	Collapse of faith; merging of divine and madness
Aziz and Aazam	Opportunism and corruption in society

⚙️ 10. Relevance to Modern India

Although set in the 14th century, Tughlaq mirrors post-independence India under Jawaharlal Nehru:

• Nehru’s dream of a secular, modern India parallels Tughlaq’s vision.
• Both are rational, idealistic, and visionary, but their plans face practical chaos.
• The play warns that idealism without political wisdom can lead to disaster.

💡 Conclusion

Tughlaq is not just a historical play — it is a political and psychological tragedy.
It shows how a man with extraordinary vision can destroy himself when idealism becomes arrogance and reason loses touch with humanity.

Through Tughlaq’s fall, Karnad explores:

• The failure of leadership,
• The misuse of religion,
• The tragedy of ambition, and
• The eternal conflict between dreams and reality.

Tughlaq’s story remains a timeless warning for every age and every ruler.