Title: The Tyranny of Idealism: Deconstructing Political Utopianism in Girish Karnad’s Tughlaq
PRISONER: Yes. You surround yourself with sycophants.
The Play as Political Allegory
(Enter GHALIB, a poet, and his friend, KHUSRO)
The play traces the rapid decline of a visionary yet volatile ruler. Tughlaq begins with grand ideals of secularism and rationalism but eventually descends into tyranny as his schemes fail and his subjects revolt.
Act II