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 Mahābhāṣya 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.
Zinda Kaul (1884–1965) was an Indian poet, writer and teacher. He composed in Persian, Hindi, Urdu and Kashmiri. Kaul also translated works of Kashmiri into English, Persian and Hindi.
Mahmud Gami (Kashmiri pronunciation:[mahmuːd̪ɡəːmiː] was a nineteenth-century Kashmiri poet from Doru Shahabad, Anantnag, Kashmir. Mahmud Gami is one of the most prominent Kashmiri poets of the medieval period. Through his poetic compositions he is well known to introduce Persian forms of Masnavi and Ghazal, to the Kashmiri language. He is popularly known as the Jami of Kashmir.
Amin Kamil (1924–2014) was a Kashmiri poet, literary critic, researcher and editor. He is also known for his short stories, a genre of which he was one of the pioneers in Kashmiri. He remains one of the most popular and influential masters of the Kashmiri language, leaving behind a legacy of literary brilliance.
Abdur Rehman Rahi was an Kashmiri poet, translator and critic. He was awarded the Indian Sahitya Akademi Award in 1961 for his poetry collection Nawroz-i-Saba, the Padma Shri in 2000, and India's highest literary award, the Jnanpith Award in 2007. He is the first Kashmiri writer to be awarded the Jnanpith, India's highest literary award for his poetic collection Siyah Rood Jaeren Manz. He was honoured with Sahitya Akademi Fellowship in 2000 by Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi.
Mohammad Yousuf Taing, also known as M. Y. Taing, is a researcher, scholar, critic, writer, politician and historian. He is also biographer of Sheikh Abdullah. He is a prolific literary thinker writing in three Indian languages.
Naseem Shafaie is a Kashmiri language poet who writes about a variety of topics including the turbulent atmosphere of Kashmir from a woman's perspective.
Jitendra Udhampuri is an Indian writer of Dogri, Hindi and Urdu literature. He is a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1981. The Government of India honored him in 2010, with the fourth highest civilian award of Padma Shri.
Ghulam Mohammed Giri also known by his pen name Marghoob Banihali was a Kashmiri poet from Bankoot, Banihal, in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Prof. Champa Sharma is a noted Dogri author and poet known for her contributions to the promotion and preservation of Dogri language in Jammu and Kashmir as well as other Dogri speaking regions of Himachal Pradesh.
Ghulam Nabi Gowhar was a multilingual Indian Kashmiri author, novelist, poet, columnist and a retired sessions jurist. He wrote about sixty books in Kashmiri, Urdu, and in English languages on various subjects such as politics, literature, history and on Sufism. In 1971, he wrote a novel titled Mujrim, leading him to become the "first novelist of Kashmiri literature". The recipient of cultural and literary awards and accordion, including Sahitya Akademi Award, he is also credited for translating constitution of India into Kashmiri language.
Mir Ghulam Rasool Nazki, also spelled Meer Ghulam Rasul Naazki, was a Kashmiri poet, writer, broadcaster, and teacher. He wrote books, including poetry in regional and foreign languages such as Urdu, Persian, Arabic and later work in Kashmiri language. The recipient of Sahitya Akademi Award for Awaz-e-dost, a Kashmiri poetry, he is also credited as the "first Kashmiri writer" to write in Rupublic of India after independence, and the first poet to resuscitate quatrain poetic form in Kashmiri literature, which originally began during the period of thirteen and fourteenth century poets such as Lal Ded and Nund Reshi.
Ghulam Mohiuddin Hajni was a Kashmiri writer, critic, political activist and teacher. He wrote in regional and foreign languages such as Urdu, Persian, Arabic and primarily in Kashmiri language. In 1970, he became the recipient of Sahitya Akademi Award for his research publication titled Maqalati Hajini.
Mohammed Ramzan Bhat, known by his pen name as Mashal Sultanpuri, was a Kashmiri poet, writer and critic. He was primarily engaged in writing Kashmiri prose. Prior to his appointment as a patron of Adbee Markaz Kamraz, the oldest literary organization of Jammu and Kashmir, he served as a president of AMK. In 2009, he became the recipient of Sahitya Akademi Award for his literary criticism book titled Vont. He was among the other campaigners who helped Kashmiri literature to be included in curriculum.
Aziz Hajini was a Kashmiri writer, poet, critic and convenor of Sahitya Akademi for New Delhi's Northern Regional Board. He served as a government school teacher for 30 years before being appointed as assistant professor at the department of Kashmiri of the University of Kashmir until he retired from active service in 2019. In between he was appointed secretary of Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages in 2015 by PDP led government which evoked severe criticism in the media for his alleged links with the separatists.
Ghulam Ahmad Fazil Kashmiri was a Kashmiri poet and lyricist. He was involved in Arabic, English, Persian, Urdu and particularly in Kashmiri literature. His uncertain work includes thirty six books published in various genres such as ghazal, nazm, rubaʿi, qata, marsiya, munajat, naʽat, manqabat and leela among others.
Professor Rashid Nazki, was a Kashmiri poet, teacher, author, critic and the founder of the Adbi Markaz Kamraz Jammu and Kashmir, a nonprofit literary organization of the Jammu and Kashmir state dedicated to promote Kashmiri language and literature. He wrote biography of Islamic Prophet Muhammad, leading him to become the first Kashmiri writer to cover the life of Muhammad.
Shad Ramzaan is an Indian writer and scholar. He wrote his first poem at the apparent age of 15. During his career, he wrote numerous poems such as Kore Kakud Pushrith Gome for which he was awarded Sahitya Akademi Award in Kashmiri in 2014.
Kolkata Poetry Confluence is an international multilingual literary fest bringing together poets, translators, poetry publishers and poetry lovers at Kolkata. The event is organised by Antonym Magazine and Bhasha Samsad also includes a poetry book fair.
Jibanananda Das Award is a literary award for outstanding works of poetry in translation from Indian languages into English. The award has been instituted in the memory of the Bengali poet Jibanananda Das. It is conferred by Kolkata Poetry Confluence in collaboration with Antonym Magazine and Bhasha Samsad.
