By Girish Karnad Text - Tughlaq

Karnad weaves a world where every character mirrors some aspect of Tughlaq’s fractured psyche. The wily, loyal stepbrother; the cynical poet-scholar; the naïve commoner Aziz, who exploits the Sultan’s own laws to loot the poor—Aziz is Tughlaq’s dark twin, proof that idealism without institutional integrity becomes a license for predation.

If you think modern political disillusionment is a recent invention, Girish Karnad’s Tughlaq (1964) will shatter that illusion like a poorly thrown stone from a siege engine. Written when Karnad was just 26, this play isn’t just history—it’s a scalpel slicing into the flesh of power, idealism, and self-destruction. tughlaq by girish karnad text

What makes Tughlaq electrifying is its central paradox. The Sultan is an intellectual—well-read, rational, obsessed with justice and secular ideals. He dreams of a unified India where Hindus and Muslims coexist, where merit trumps birth, where law applies equally to all. And yet, to achieve these noble ends, he lies, murders, exiles, and betrays. He invites his aging, upright father (the previous king) to court under pretense of reconciliation, then watches as he is trampled by a royal horse—a metaphor so brutal it needs no gloss. Karnad weaves a world where every character mirrors