Kanhaiyalal Maneklal Munshi, popularly known by his pen name Ghanshyam Vyas, was an Indian independence movement activist, politician, writer from Gujarat state. A lawyer by profession, he later turned to author and politician. He is a well-known name in Gujarati literature. He founded Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, an educational trust, in 1938.
Narmadashankar Lalshankar Dave, popularly known as Narmad, was an Indian Gujarati-language poet, playwright, essayist, orator, lexicographer and reformer under the British Raj. He is considered to be the founder of modern Gujarati literature. After studying in Bombay, he stopped serving as a teacher to live by writing. During his prolific career, he introduced many literary forms in Gujarati. He faced economic struggles but proved himself as a dedicated reformer, speaking loudly against religious and social orthodoxy. His essays, poems, plays and prose were published in several collections. His Mari Hakikat, the first autobiography in Gujarati, was published posthumously. His poem Jai Jai Garavi Gujarat is now the state anthem of Gujarat state of India.
Kumarpal Balabhai Desai is an author, critic, editor, journalist, columnist and translator from Gujarat, India. He studied and later taught at the Gujarat University. He is associated with several social and Gujarati literary organisations such as Gujarati Sahitya Parishad. He has written and edited more than hundred books including biographies and several works on Jainism. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2004.
Dhirubhai Premshankar Thaker was an Indian Gujarati writer, who was best known for creating the Gujarati Vishwakosh, a 25-volume encyclopedia of the Gujarati language.
Bholabhai Patel was an Indian Gujarati author. He taught numerous languages at Gujarat University and did comparative studies of literature in different languages. He translated extensively and wrote essays and travelogues. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2008.
Chandrakant Amritlal Topiwala is a Gujarati language poet and critic from Gujarat, India.
Muni Jinvijayji was a scholar of orientalism, archeology, indology and Jainism from India.
Harivallabh Chunilal Bhayani was a linguist, researcher, critic and translator from India.
Anantrai Manishankar Raval was a Gujarati critic and editor from India. Born and studied in Amreli, he worked briefly with a daily. He taught at several colleges before joining government as a director of language department. He wrote criticism chiefly under the pen name Shaunak and edited several works of Gujarati literature and litterateurs.
Amrutlal Bhagwanji Yagnik was an Indian Gujarati critic, biographer, essayist, editor and translator.
Kumar Suvarana Chandrak or the Kumar Gold Medal is a literary award given by Kumar Trust, Ahmedabad, India since 1944. The medal is annually conferred to a Gujarati author for his contribution in Kumar magazine published by Kumar Trust. In 1950, Chandravadan Mehta refused to accept Kumar Chandrak.
Narmad Suvarna Chandrak, also known as the Narmad Gold Medal or Narmad Chandrak, is a literary honour in Gujarat, India. It is bestowed by the organisation known as Narmad Sahitya Sabha, Surat, in remembrance of renowned Gujarati poet Narmad. Each year, the medal is awarded to the author of the most outstanding book written in the Gujarati language.
Suman Shah is a Gujarati language critic, short story writer, novelist, essayist, editor and translator from Gujarat, India. He won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2008 for his short story collection Fatfatiyun. He has written both in the modern and in the postmodern eras in Gujarati literature. He has authored more than 74 books, including 2 novels, 6 short story collections, 4 collections of creative essays, 6 translations into Gujarati from English and Hindi, 22 books on literary criticism and around 23 edited works of literary theory and modern Gujarati short stories and poems. He was honorary editor of Shabdasrishti from 1983 to 1986 and an editor of Khevna, a literary journal, from 1987 to 2009.
Mohan Parmar is a Gujarati language short story writer, novelist and critic. Parmar won the Sahitya Akademi Award for Gujarati in 2011 for his short story collection Anchalo. He was earlier editor of Hayati, an organ of Gujarati Dalit Sahitya Akademi, along with Harish Mangalam. He served as deputy editor of Parab, a monthly journal of Gujarati Sahitya Parishad.
Radheshyam Sharma was a Gujarati language poet, novelist, short story writer, critic and compiler from the state of Gujarat, India. He is known in Gujarati literature for his experimental novels Fero (1968) and Swapnatirtha (1979). His other significant works include Aansu Ane Chandaranu (1963), and Gujarati Navalkatha, a work of literary criticism on Gujarati novels. Sharma was awarded the Gujarati literary honours Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak, in 2004, and Dhanji Kanji Gandhi Suvarna Chandrak, in 1995.
Ramnarayan Vishwanath Pathak was a Gujarati poet and writer from India. Profoundly influenced by Gandhian thought, Pathak wrote criticism, poetry, drama, metrics and short stories. He edited and translated literary works. He was appointed the president of Gujarati Sahitya Parishad in 1946. He was awarded the Gujarati literary prizes Narmad Suvarna Chandrak for Prachin Gujarati Chhando in 1949 and Sahitya Akademi Award for Bruhat Pingal in 1956.
The Gujarat Sahitya Akademi or Gujarat Sahitya Academy, established in 1981, is a government institution dedicated to the development of the languages spoken in Gujarat, India and their literature. Gujarati, an official language of Gujarat, is one of them; the others are Hindi, Sanskrit, Kutchi, Sindhi and Urdu. As of 2022, Bhagyesh Jha is the chairman of the Akademi.
Hasmukh Jamnadas Baradi was a distinguished Gujarati playwright, theater artist, theater critic, and a Russian language expert from India. Over his career, Baradi authored more than two dozen plays, with six premiering at prestigious venues such as the Central Sangeet Natak Academy and the National School of Drama Festivals. He also penned the "History of Gujarati Theatre" which was published by the National Book Trust in New Delhi in 1996, and later translated into English by Vinod Meghani in 2003.
Bhogilal Chunilal Gandhi was an Indian scholar, poet, critic, translator, and independence activist from Gujarat, India. He edited Vishvamanav, a Gujarati-language literary-socio-political journal. He wrote biographies of several writers and political figures including Leo Tolstoy, Joseph Stalin, C. Rajagopalachari, Subhas Chandra Bose, Romain Rolland, Durgaram Mehta, and Narmad. He translated many works into Gujarati from English and Bengali languages. In his early years, he came under the influence of Communism, and became an active member of Communist Party of India.
Manjulal Ranchhodlal Majmudar was a Gujarati language writer and scholar. He was awarded the Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak in 1968.
