Two Faces of Power and its Tragic Misuse in Girish Karnad’s Tughlaq

Tughlaq, the magnum opus of Kannada dramatist Girish Karnad (1938–2019), is a historical play. It deals with the last five years of the troubled reign of Sultan Muhammad Bin Tughlaq who is acknowledged as one of the most brilliant rulers in Indian history and one of its most spectacular failures as well. It gives us a peep into the nature of power and its relationship with kingship and the people and what happens when power-wielders go awry. The play is a minor classic of Indo-Anglian drama and it will be read and enjoyed, so long as English language and literature last.