In the early twentieth century the nationalist desire for cultural self-identification was gaining ground. It was in this context that Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi launched his multimedia campaign of constructing a new Hindi literary establishment.

As the long-time editor of the Hindi journal Sarasvatī, Dwivedi’s influence was so far-reaching that this period of modern literature in Hindi is known as the Dwivedi era. The Making of Modern Hindi presents Dwivedi as a dynamic and influential arbiter of literary modernity whose exchanges with competing authorities are an important piece in the history of Hindi literature.