Literature of Kashmir has a long history, the oldest texts having been composed in the Sanskrit language. Early names include Patanjali, the author of the Mahabhashya commentary on Pāṇini's grammar, suggested by some to have been the same to write the Hindu treatise known as the Yogasutra, and Dridhbala, who revised the Charaka Samhita of Ayurveda.
Indian poetry and Indian literature in general, has a long history dating back to Vedic times. They were written in various Indian languages such as Vedic Sanskrit, Classical Sanskrit, Tamil, Odia, Maithili, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, Assamese, Urdu, and Hindi. Poetry in foreign languages such as Persian and English also has a strong influence on Indian poetry. The poetry reflects diverse spiritual traditions within India. In particular, many Indian poets have been inspired by mystical experiences. Poetry is the oldest form of literature and has a rich written and oral tradition.
Kaifi Azmi was an Indian Urdu poet. He is remembered as the one who brought Urdu literature to Indian motion pictures. Together with Pirzada Qasim, Jaun Elia and others he participated in many memorable Mushaira gatherings of the twentieth century. His wife is theater and film actress Shaukat Kaifi.
Momin Khan Momin was a late Mughal era poet known for his Urdu ghazals. A lesser-known contemporary of Ghalib and Zauq, he used "Momin" as his nom de plume. His grave is located in the Mehdiyan cemetery in Maulana Azad Medical College, Delhi.
Jan Nisar Akhtar was an Indian poet of Urdu ghazals and nazms, and a part of the Progressive Writers' Movement, who was also a lyricist for Bollywood.
Ali Sikandar, known by his nom de plume as Jigar Moradabadi, was an Indian Urdu poet and ghazal writer. He received the Sahitya Akademi Award Award in 1958 for his poetry collection "Atish-e-Gul", and was the second poet to be awarded an honorary D.Litt. by the Aligarh Muslim University.
Muqtida Hasan Nida Fazli, known as Nida Fazli, was a prominent Indian Hindi and Urdu poet, lyricist and dialogue writer. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2013 by the government of India for his contribution to literature.
Dr. K. Ayyappa Paniker, sometimes spelt "Ayyappa Panicker", was an influential Malayalam poet, literary critic, and an academic and a scholar in modern and post-modern literary theories as well as ancient Indian aesthetics and literary traditions. He was one of the pioneers of modernism in Malayalam poetry, where his seminal works like Kurukshethram (1960), considered a turning point in Malayalam poetry, Ayyappapanikkarude Krithikal and Chintha and several essays were an important influence on the playwrights of his generation.
Raghupati Sahay, better known under his pen name Firaq Gorakhpuri, was a writer, critic, and, according to one commentator, one of the most noted contemporary Urdu poets from India. He established himself among peers including Muhammad Iqbal, Yagana Changezi, Jigar Moradabadi and Josh Malihabadi.
Attoor Ravi Varma was an Indian poet and translator of Malayalam literature. One of the pioneers of modern Malayalam poetry, Ravi Varma is a recipient of Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry and Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Translation, besides many other honours. The Government of Kerala honoured him with their highest literary award, the Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, in 2012 and the Kerala Sahitya Akademi inducted him as their distinguished fellow in 2017.
Shamsur Rahman Faruqi was an Indian Urdu language poet, author, critic and theorist. He is known for ushering modernism to Urdu literature. He formulated fresh models of literary appreciation that combined western principles of literary criticism and subsequently applied them to Urdu literature after adapting them to address literary aesthetics native to Arabic, Persian, and Urdu. Some of his notable works included Sher-e-Shor Angrez (1996), Ka’i Chand The Sar-e Asman (2006), The Mirror of Beauty (2013), and The Sun that Rose from the Earth (2014). He was also the editor and publisher of the Urdu literary magazine Shabkhoon.
Zinda Kaul (1884–1965) was a well-known Indian poet, writer and teacher. He composed in Persian, Hindi, Urdu and Kashmiri. Kaul also translated works of Kashmiri into English, Persian and Hindi.
Syed Ali Jawad Zaidi was an Indian Urdu poet, scholar, and author of over 80 books in several languages. He was also an Indian independence activist, lawyer and later, a civil servant, but is best known for his work in Urdu literature.
Akhtar ul Iman was a noted Urdu poet and screenwriter in Hindi cinema, who had a major influence on modern Urdu nazm.
Akhlaq Mohammad Khan, better known by his takhallusShahryar, was an Indian academician, and a doyen of Urdu poetry in India. As a Hindi film lyricist, he is best known for his lyrics in Gaman (1978) and Umrao Jaan (1981) directed by Muzaffar Ali. He retired as the head of Urdu Department at the Aligarh Muslim University, and thereafter he remained sought after name in mushairas or poetic gatherings, and also co-edited the literary magazine Sher-o-Hikmat.
Sitakant Mahapatra is an Indian poet and literary critic in Odia as well as English. He was in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) since 1961 until retiring in 1995, and has held ex officio posts such as the Chairman of National Book Trust, New Delhi since then.
Sayyid Sirajuddin, commonly known as Siraj Aurangabadi, was an Indian mystic poet who initially wrote in Persian and later started writing in Urdu.
Amrutlal Laljee Bhatt, better known by his pen name Amrut Ghayal, was a Gujarati language poet from India.
Sir Muhammad Iqbal also known as Allama Iqbal (1877–1938), was a Muslim philosopher, poet and politician of early 20th-century. He is particularly known in the Indian sub-continent for his Urdu philosophical poetry on Islam and the need for the cultural and intellectual reconstruction of the Islamic community. He is also considered the "spiritual father of Pakistan" for inspiring the Pakistan Movement in British India. Iqbal became prominence since 1899, when he recited Nalay e Yatem at the annual meeting of Anjuman-e-Himayat-e-Islam, Lahore. The poems he wrote up to 1905, imbibe patriotism that includes the Tarana-e-Hind. The Bang-e-Dara (1924) is a collection of Urdu poetry written in three distinct phases of Iqbals life, In his early work he also wrote on most of the Indian iconic personalities such as Rama Tirtha, Guru Nanak and Rama.
Ale Ahmad Suroor was an Urdu poet, critic and professor from India. He is best known for his literary criticism. In 1974 he was honoured with the Sahitya Akademi Award by the Government of India for his literary critic work, Nazar aur Nazariya. In 1991 he was also awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian award. He was awarded a special gold medal by the President of Pakistan on the centenary of the birth of Muhammad Iqbal.
