20th-century Indian male writers

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British rule, and to later inspire movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. The honorific Mahātmā, first applied to him in 1914 in South Africa, is now used throughout the world.

Bengali poet, philosopher and polymath (1861–1941)

Indian-born British-American novelist (born 1947)

Hindi poet, scholar, journalist, novelist and short story writer

National poet of Bangladesh (1899-1976)

Indian novelist and poet

Deepak Chopra is an American author, New Age guru, and alternative medicine advocate. A prominent figure in the New Age movement, his books and videos have made him one of the best-known and wealthiest figures in alternative medicine. In the 1990s, Chopra, a physician by education, became a popular proponent of a pseudoscientific approach to well-being that includes yoga, meditation, and nutrition, among other New Age therapies.

Indian writer

Indian film director, producer and screenwriter

Indian yogi, occultist and guru (1855-1936)

Indian politician (1883-1966)

Bengali novelist and short story writer (1876-1938)

Indian-Canadian film actor, script and dialogue writer

Indian Hindi poet, Father of Amitabh Bachchan (1907-2003)

Indian author, lawyer, diplomat, journalist and politician (1914–2014)

Indian painter and writer (1871–1951)

Indian political activist and intellectual

Indian playwright, theatre personality (1938–2019)

Indian writer, poet and lyricist

Indian writer of British descent (born 1934)

Indian film director and producer

Indian independence activist, writer and Mahatma Gandhi's personal secretary (1892–1942)

Indian actor (1935–2020)

Indian writer (1898–1971)

Indian Bengali author (1894–1950)

Islamic Scholar (1925–2021)

Sachchidananda Hirananda Vatsyayan (7 March 1911 – 4 April 1987), popularly known by his pen name Agyeya (also transliterated Ajneya, meaning 'the unknowable'), was an Indian writer, poet, novelist, literary critic, journalist, translator and revolutionary in Hindi language. He pioneered modern trends in Hindi poetry, as well as in fiction, criticism and journalism. He is regarded as the pioneer of the Prayogavaad (experimentalism) movement in modern Hindi literature.

Indian-born English writer (1908–2006)

Indian film director, actor, writer, and lyricist (1963–2013)

Indian missionary (1889–1929)

Indian writer

Indian film director (1914–2008)

Indian film director

Hindi film producer, screenwriter and director (1915–1997)

Urdu author (1896-1982)

Indian writer

Indian novelist.philosopher and screenwriter

Indian film director (1924–2009)

Indian writer (1914–1977)

Indian writer

Indian Bengali−English writer and man of letters (1897–1999)

Indian writer (1929–2005)

Indian writer

Indian film director

D. Jayakanthan (24 April 1934 – 8 April 2015), popularly known as JK, was an Indian writer, journalist, orator, filmmaker, critic and activist. Born in Cuddalore, he dropped out of school at the age of 9 and went to Madras, where he joined the Communist Party of India. In a career spanning six decades, he authored around 40 novels, 200 short stories, apart from two autobiographies. Outside literature, he made two films. In addition, four of his other novels were adapted into films by others.

Indian writer and activist (1921-1977)

Indian Urdu and Hindi poet (1921–1980)

Indian poet (1932-2021)

Bengali poet, story writer, playwright and editor (1887-1923)

Indian actor and screenwriter

Bengali Poet (1899-1954)

Indian Punjabi language poet and writer (1945–2024)

Indian Poet, novelist, essayist and story-writer

Indian poet (1878-1958)

Indian writer and critic in the Kannada language

Indian journalist and politician

Bengali scholar of Sanskrit and philosophy (1887-1952)

Indian writer (1902-1997)

Indian journalist

film director (1926-2009)