Word Count : 1274

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Girish Karnad’s *Tughlaq* is a seminal work in contemporary Indian literature in English translation, originally written in Kannada and translated by Karnad himself into English. It is a historical play based on the reign of Muhammad bin Tughlaq, the 14th-century Sultan of Delhi, but it functions as an allegory for post-independence India. Through this layered narrative, Karnad integrates a range of symbols and motifs that deepen the philosophical, political, and psychological dimensions of the play. These symbols work to portray the contradictions of idealism and tyranny, reason and madness, religion and politics. One of the most central symbols in *Tughlaq* is the idea of *Delhi itself*, especially in its geographic and political translocation. The Sultan’s decision to shift the capital from Delhi to Daulatabad symbolizes more than a logistical administrative move—it represents the ruler’s utopian idealism and his desire to establish a rational, secular, and strategically unified empire. However, the forced migration of the people, and the failure of the move, ultimately becomes a symbol of authoritarianism, human suffering, and political misjudgment. The city, therefore, acts as both a dream and a ruin—a site where idealistic imagination and brutal reality clash. The journey to and from Daulatabad mirrors the internal decay of Tughlaq’s vision. Another key symbol in the play is *the prayer*, specifically the Sultan’s practice of praying five times a day, adhering devoutly to Islamic tradition. On the surface, this appears to be a sign of piety, but as the play progresses, the motif of prayer takes on ironic and symbolic overtones. The Sultan’s outward religiosity contrasts with the violence, deceit, and cruelty of his political decisions. This disjunction turns prayer into a symbol of hypocrisy, highlighting the gap between spiritual ideals and political conduct. Through this motif, Karnad critiques the use of religion as a facade for the consolidation of power and the legitimization of despotic rule. *Chess* emerges as a recurring motif in the ________ __________ _______ _____ ____ ____ _________ ______ ___ ______ ________ _________.
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