Indian earns Ph.D. for research on social trends in Saudi fiction

RIYADH: A senior Asian diplomat received his doctorate recently from the Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) in New Delhi for his dissertation titled “Social Trends in Saudi Novels 1930–2000.”Hifzur Rahman, press secretary at the Indian Embassy in Riyadh, told Arab News Friday this is the first research project on Saudi writers carried out in India.“The Saudi novel in all stages of its inception, development, boom and prosperity, has been closely associated with society and has dealt with many of society’s concerns, issues, as well as intellectual, psychological, cultural and emotional conflicts, and it has contributed to changing the manner of life,” he said. He added that the novel in Saudi Arabia was an artistic tool to bring reforms and awakening among the people to fight European literary propaganda. The researcher also indicated that the novel in the Kingdom is still in need of being studied and researched in terms of its technical and thematic aspects.Jadawel Publishing and Distribution, a renowned publisher from Beirut, has published the original work in Arabic. – Arabnews