Literature of Kashmir has a long history, the oldest texts having been composed in the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

language. Early names include

Patanjali Patanjali ( sa, पतञ्जलि, Patañjali), also called Gonardiya or Gonikaputra, was a Hindu author, mystic and philosopher. Very little is known about him, and while no one knows exactly when he lived; from analysis of his works it i ...

, the author of the '' Mahābhāṣya'' commentary on

Pāṇini , era = ;;6th–5th century BCE , region = Indian philosophy , main_interests = Grammar, linguistics , notable_works = ' ( Classical Sanskrit) , influenced= , notable_ideas= Descriptive linguistics (Devana ...

's grammar, suggested by some to have been the same to write the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

treatise known as the ''

Yogasutra The ''Yoga Sutras of Patañjali'' is a collection of Sanskrit sutras (aphorisms) on the theory and practice of yoga – 195 sutras (according to Vyāsa and Krishnamacharya) and 196 sutras (according to others, including BKS Iyengar). The ' ...

'', and Dridhbala, who revised the ''

Charaka Samhita The ''Charaka Samhita'' (, “Compendium of '' Charaka''”) is a Sanskrit text on Ayurveda (Indian traditional medicine). Along with the '' Sushruta Samhita'', it is one of the two foundational texts of this field that have survived from anci ...

'' of ''

Ayurveda Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population rep ...

''. In medieval times, philosophers of

Kashmir Shaivism Kashmir Shaivism or Trika Shaivism, is a nondualist tradition of Shaiva-Shakta Tantra which originated sometime after 850 CE. Since this tradition originated in Kashmir it is often called "Kashmiri Shaivism". It later went on to become a pan- ...

include

Vasugupta Vasugupta (~ 800 – 850 CE) was the author of the '' Shiva Sutras'', an important text of the Advaita tradition of Kashmir Shaivism, also called ''Trika'' (sometimes called ''Trika Yoga''). Biography Little is known about Vasugupta's life, othe ...

(c. 800),

Utpala Utpala in Sanskrit is a neuter noun with two meanings, both given by '' '' (a lexicon of circa. 400 AD). The first meaning is ''Nymphaea caerulea'', the "blue lotus", also known as ''kuvalaya'' in Sanskrit. The second meaning of ''utpala'' is a ...

(c. 925),

Abhinavagupta Abhinavagupta (c. 950 – 1016 CE) was a philosopher, mystic and aesthetician from Kashmir. He was also considered an influential musician, poet, dramatist, exegete, theologian, and logicianRe-accessing Abhinavagupta, Navjivan Rastogi, pag ...

, Kshemaraja, and

Anandavardhana Ānandavardhana (c. 820–890 CE) was the author of ''Dhvanyāloka'', or ''A Light on Suggestion'' (''dhvani''), a work articulating the philosophy of "aesthetic suggestion" (''dhvani'', ''vyañjanā''). The philosopher Abhinavagupta (c. 950 – 1 ...

. If we talk about contemporary poetry of Kashmir there are many poets, which include Asif Tariq Bhat, Tashi Shah, Akeel Mohiuddin Bhat, and Zeeshan Jaipuri.

Kashmiri language literature

The below listed table marks

Kashmiri language Kashmiri () or Koshur (, /kəːʃur/) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by around 7 million Kashmiris of the Kashmir region, primarily in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. In 2020, the Parliament of India passed a bill to mak ...

poets as per the book, ''A History of Kashmiri literature'' by Trilokinath Raina. The use of the

began with the work ''Mahānaya-Prakāsha'' by Rājānaka Shiti Kantha (c.1250), and was followed by the poet

Lalleshvari Lalleshwari, also known locally as Lal Ded (; 1320–1392), was a Kashmiri mystic of the Kashmir Shaivism school of Hindu philosophy. She was the creator of the style of mystic poetry called vatsun or ''Vakhs'', literally "speech" (from Sansk ...

or Lal Ded (14th century), who wrote mystical verses in the ''vaakh'' or four-line couplet style. Another mystic of her time equally revered in Kashmir and popularly known as

Nund Reshi Nund Rishi ( c. 1377 – c. 1438 AD; sometimes spelled Nund Reshi), also known as Sheikh Noor-ud-Din Noorani, Sheikh-Ul-Alam (spritual guide of the world) and by the title Alamdar-e-Kashmir ("Flag Bearer of Kashmir"), was a Kashmiri Sufi saint, ...

wrote powerful poetry. Later came

Habba Khatun Habba Khatoon (born Zoon; 1554 – 1609; sometimes spelled Khatun), also known by the honorary title ''The Nightingale of Kashmir'', was a Kashmiri Muslim poet and ascetic in the 16th century. Her compositions have been sung and recited countl ...

(16th century) with her own style. Other major names are

Rupa Bhavani Rupa may refer to: Places *Rupa, Croatia, a town in northwest Croatia *Rupa, Arunachal Pradesh, a town of Arunachal Pradesh *Rupa gold mine, an artisanal mine in Uganda *Rupa Lake, a freshwater lake in Nepal Science * ''Rupa'' (beetle), a beetl ...

(1621–1721), Paramananda (1791–1864),

Arnimal Arnimal was an 18th century leading Kashmiri Brahmin female poet. Life Arnimal was born in Palhalan during the eighteenth century. She married Munshi Bhawani Das Kachroo, a poet from Rainawari and an erudite Persian scholar in the court of Ju ...

(d. 1800), Mahmud Gami (1765–1855),

Rasul Mir Rasul Mir ( Kashmiri: ) also known as Rasul Mir Shahabadi, was a romantic poet of Kashmir in the 19th century. He was born at Doru Shahabad, a historic town in Anantnag district of Kashmir. He is often referred to as imām-e-ishqiya shairi ( ...

(d. 1870),

Maqbool Shah Kralawari Peer Maqbool Shah Kralawari (1820–1877) پیر مقبول شاہ کرالہ واری पीर मक़बूल शाह क्रालवारी was a poet of the 19th-century Kashmiri literature. Educated in Persian literature and con ...

(1820–1877). Also, the

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...

poets like

Shamas Faqir Shamas Faqir ( شمس فقیر) was a Kashmiri Sufi poet. He belonged to the Qadiriyya silsila of Sufism. Shamas Faqir was born in 1843, to a poor family in Chinkral Mohalla, Habba Kadal Srinagar, Kashmir. He didn't receive formal education, ...

, Wahab Khar, Soch Kral, Samad Mir, and Ahad Zargar. Among modern poets are Ghulam Ahmad Mahjoor (1885–1952), Abdul Ahad Azad (1903–1948), and Zinda Kaul (1884–1965). During the 1950s, a number of well educated youth turned to Kashmiri writing, both poetry and prose, and enriched modern Kashmiri writing by leaps and bounds. Among these writers are Dinanath Nadim (1916–1988), Amin Kamil (1923–2014), Sarwanand Kaol Premi (1924–1990), Rehman Rahi (born 1925),

Ghulam Nabi Firaq Professor Ghulam Nabi Firaq (15 July 1927 – 17 December 2016) was an Indian Kashmiri poet, writer and an educationist. As an educationist he tried his best to reach all sections of society to help them in uplifting their educational standard ...

(1927–2016), Ali Mohammed Lone (1928–1987),

Akhtar Mohiuddin Akhtar Mohiuddin (Urdu: ) (born 1 March 1956 in Chaman, Pakistan), is a Pakistani professional football coach and former player who was most recently the head coach of PMC Athletico. Mohiuddin was also the head coach of the Pakistan football ...

(1928–2001), Ali Mohammad Shahbaz, Avtar Krishen Rahbar (born 1933),

Sajood Sailani Sajood Sailani (born Ghulam Mohammed Wani; 1936 17 November 2020) was a Kashmiri playwright, painter, theater artist, cartoonist and a poet. He is primarily recognized for his radio plays written in regional languages. He produced his work in ...

, Som Nath Zutshi, Muzaffar Aazim. Some later day writers are Hari Kishan Kaul, Majrooh Rashid, Rattanlal Shant, Hirdhey Kaul Bharti, Omkar N Koul, Roop Krishen Bhat,

Rafiq Raaz Rafiq Raaz (born 10 March 1950) is an Indian poet, broadcaster and the former director of All India Radio Srinagar. He primarily writes in Urdu and Kashmiri language. He published his first book titled ''Nai Che Naalan'' (Flute is wailing) i ...

, Tariq Shehraz, Shafi Shauq, Showkat Shehri, M.H Zaffar, G.M Azad, Anis Hamdani, Barkat Nida, Majrooh Rashid, Shafi Sumbli, Bashar Bashir, Shenaz Rashid, Shabir Ahmad Shabir, Shabir Magami, Tariq Ahmad Tariq, and

Moti Lal Kemmu Moti Lal Kemmu (born 1933) is an Indian contemporary playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; spor ...

. Contemporary Kashmiri literature appears in such magazines as "''Sheeraza"'' published by the Jammu & Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages, "''Anhar"'' published by the Kashmirri Department of the Kashmir University, and an independent magazines/portals like "The Kashmir Tales". " Mountain Ink", Inverse Journal ''Neab International Kashmiri Magazine'' published from Boston, ''Vaakh'' (published by All India Kashmiri Samaj, Delhi) and ''Koshur Samachar'' (published by Kashmiri Sahayak Sammiti, Delhi).

Ancient writers in Sanskrit

* Lagadha, between 1400 and 1200 BC. Wrote Vedanga Jyotisha, the earliest Indian text on astronomy. *

Charaka Charaka was one of the principal contributors to Ayurveda, a system of medicine and lifestyle developed in Ancient India. He is known as an editor of the medical treatise entitled ''Charaka Samhita'', one of the foundational texts of classical ...

, c. 300 BC. One of the most important authors in

. *

Vishnu Sharma Sharma ( Sanskrit: विष्णुशर्मन् / विष्णुशर्मा) was an Indian scholar and author who wrote the '' Panchatantra'', a collection of fables. Works Panchatantra is one of the most widely translated non- ...

, c. 300 BC. Author of

Panchatantra The ''Panchatantra'' (IAST: Pañcatantra, ISO: Pañcatantra, sa, पञ्चतन्त्र, "Five Treatises") is an ancient Indian collection of interrelated animal fables in Sanskrit verse and prose, arranged within a frame story ...

. * Nagasena, c. 2nd century BC. One of the major figures of

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

, his answers to questions about the religion posed by

Menander I Menander I Soter ( grc, Μένανδρος Σωτήρ, Ménandros Sōtḗr, Menander the Saviour; pi, मिलिन्दो, Milinda), was a Greco-Bactrian and later Indo-Greek King (reigned c.165/155Bopearachchi (1998) and (1991), respectivel ...

(

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Theravāda'' Buddh ...

: Milinda), the

Indo-Greek The Indo-Greek Kingdom, or Graeco-Indian Kingdom, also known historically as the Yavana Kingdom (Yavanarajya), was a Hellenistic-era Greek kingdom covering various parts of Afghanistan and the northwestern regions of the Indian subcontinent ( ...

king of northwestern

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

(now

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

), are recorded in the '' Milinda Pañha''. *Tisata, c. 500 AD. A medical writer. *Jaijjata, 5th century, a medical writer and probably the earliest commentator (known) on the

Sushruta Samhita The ''Sushruta Samhita'' (सुश्रुतसंहिता, IAST: ''Suśrutasaṃhitā'', literally "Suśruta's Compendium") is an ancient Sanskrit text on medicine and surgery, and one of the most important such treatises on this subje ...

, later quoted by Dalhana. *

Kalidasa Kālidāsa (''fl.'' 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on the Vedas, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata and t ...

, c. 5th century. Widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the

language. *

Vagbhata Vāgbhaṭa (वाग्भट) is one of the most influential writers, Scientist, Doctor and advisor of ayurveda. Several works are associated with his name as author, principally the Ashtāṅgasaṅgraha (अष्टाङ्गसंग� ...

, c. 7th century. Considered one of the 'trinity' (with

and

Sushruta Sushruta, or ''Suśruta'' (Sanskrit: सुश्रुत, IAST: , ) was an ancient Indian physician. The '' Sushruta Samhita'' (''Sushruta's Compendium''), a treatise ascribed to him, is one of the most important surviving ancient treatises o ...

) of

. * Bhamaha, c. 7th century * Ravigupta, 700–725. "Ravigupta is, perhaps, the earliest among the Buddhist philosophers of Kashmir..." *

, 820-890 *

, 860-925 *

Somananda Somananda (875–925 CE) was one of the teachers of Kashmir Shaivism, in the lineage of ''Trayambaka'', author of the first philosophical treatise of this school, ''Śivadṛṣṭi''.History of Kashmir Shaivism, B N Pandit, page 27 A contempo ...

, 875-925 * Vatesvara, b. 880, author of Vaṭeśvara-siddhānta. * Rudrata, c. 9th century *

Jayanta Bhatta Jayanta Bhatta ( CE – CE) was a Kashmiri poet, teacher, logician, and an advisor to King Sankaravarman. He was a philosopher of the Nyaya school of Hindu philosophy. He authored three works on Nyāya philosophy: one of which is not known, a ...

, c. 9th century *Bhatta Nayaka, c. 9th-10th century, considered by

Sheldon Pollock Sheldon I. Pollock (born 1948) is an American scholar of Sanskrit, the intellectual and literary history of India, and comparative intellectual history. He is the Arvind Raghunathan Professor of South Asian Studies at Columbia University. He was ...

to be the greatest author on

aesthetics Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed t ...

in the pre-modern period * Medhātithi, c. 9th-10th century, one of the most influential commentators of the

Manusmriti The ''Manusmṛiti'' ( sa, मनुस्मृति), also known as the ''Mānava-Dharmaśāstra'' or Laws of Manu, is one of the many legal texts and constitution among the many ' of Hinduism. In ancient India, the sages often wrote the ...

* Utpaladeva, 900-950 *

, c. 950-1020 *Vallabhadeva, c. 10th century. Wrote, amongst other works, ''Raghupanchika'', the earliest commentary on the '' Raghuvamsa'' of

. *

, c. 10th century. An important mathematician. *

Kshemendra Kshemendra (; ) was an 11th-century Sanskrit polymath- poet, satirist, philosopher, historian, dramatist, translator and art-critic from Kashmir in India. Biography Kshemendra was born into an old, cultured, and affluent family. His fat ...

, c. 990-1070 * Kshemaraja, c. late 10th century/early 11th century *

Kathasaritsagara The ''Kathāsaritsāgara'' ("Ocean of the Streams of Stories") (Devanagari: कथासरित्सागर) is a famous 11th-century collection of Indian legends, fairy tales and folk tales as retold in Sanskrit by the Shaivite Somadeva. ...

, c. 11th century *

Bilhana Kaviraj, Kavi Bilhana was an 11th-century Kashmiri Pandits, Kashmiri poet. He is known for his love poem, the ''Caurapañcāśikā''. According to legend, Bilhana fell in love with the daughter of King Madanabhirama, Princess Yaminipurnatilaka, ...

, c. 11th century *

Kalhana Kalhana ( sa, कल्हण, translit=kalhaṇa) was the author of ''Rajatarangini'' (''River of Kings''), an account of the history of Kashmir. He wrote the work in Sanskrit between 1148 and 1149. All information regarding his life has to be ...

, c. 12th century *Jalhana, c. 12th century, the author of ''Mugdhopadesa'' (not to be confused with Jalhana who commissioned the '' Suktimuktavali'') * Sarangadeva, c. 13th century. A

musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some m ...

, he wrote

Sangita Ratnakara The ''Sangita-Ratnakara'', सङ्गीतरत्नाकर, (IAST: Saṅgīta ratnākara), literally "Ocean of Music and Dance", is one of the most important musicological texts from India. Composed by Śārṅgadeva (शार्ङ� ...

, one of the most important text when it comes to Indian music.

Writers in Persian

After Sanskrit and before the coming Urdu, because of the adoration and patronising policy of Persian culture by the

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

, Persian became the literary language also of the region. Kashmir was very richly represented in that tradition, as already before the end of the 18th century "Muhammad Aslah's tazkira of the Persian-writing poets of Kashmir, written during the reign of the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah (1131-61/1719-48), alone lists 303 poets". Late scholar from

, Pir Hassam-ud-Din Rashidi, edited, translated, and enlarged this work later, and had it published by the

Iqbal Academy Iqbal Academy Pakistan ( Urdu:) is an institute whose purpose is to study, promote, and disseminate the teachings of the poet and philosopher Allama Muhammad Iqbal. It was established by the Government of Pakistan, through the Iqbal Academy Ord ...

. The most famous of them was Muhammad Tahir Ghani (d. 1669), better known as Ghani Kashmiri, whose poetry was recently translated into English, for the first time, by Mufti Mudasir Farooqi and Nusrat Bazaz as 'The Captured Gazelle' in the world-renowned Penguin Classics list. Ghani influenced many generations of Persian-and Urdu writing poets in South Asia including Mir Taqi Mir, Ghalib and most importantly,

Iqbal Iqbal, Eqbal, Ikbal, or Eghbal may refer to: Geography Iran * ''Eqbal, Iran'', a village in West Azerbaijan Province *''Eqbaliyeh'', rural district in Iran * ''Eqbal-e Gharbi Rural District'', western provincial district in Qazvin, Iran * ''Eqbal- ...

. Ghani's "forte" lies in creating delightful poetic images, usually by stating an abstract idea in the first hemistich and following it up with a concrete exemplification in the other. He also stands out for his multi-layered poems, which exploit the double meaning of words. Another name in the field of Persian-language writers from Kashmir is Sheikh Yaqub Sarfi Ganai (1521-1595), a 16th-century Sufi poet-philosopher who was internationally acknowledged and who had for students, amongst others, well-known religious scholar

Ahmad Sirhindi Aḥmad al-Fārūqī as-Sirhindī (1564-1624) was a South Asian Islamic scholar from Punjab, Hanafi jurist, and member of the Naqshbandī Sufi order. He has been described by some followers as a Mujaddid, meaning a “reviver", for his work i ...

(more particularly, he taught him

hadith Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...

) and Persian-language poet Mohsin Fani Kashmiri (d. 1671 or 1672) (himself the teacher of Ghani Kashmiri and author of the pivotal work of

comparative religion Comparative religion is the branch of the study of religions with the systematic comparison of the doctrines and practices, themes and impacts (including migration) of the world's religions. In general the comparative study of religion yie ...

, the

Dabestan-e Mazaheb The ''Dabestān-e Mazāheb'' ( fa, دبستان مذاهب) "school of religions" is a Persian language work that examines and compares Abrahamic religions, Dharmic religions and sects of the mid-17th century Southern Eurasia. The work, whose au ...

). Other of the well-known and influential Persian-language poets of Kashmir would include Habibullah Ghanai (1556-1617), Mirza Dirab Big Juya (d. 1707), Gani Kashmiri (1630–1669), Mirza Beg Akmal Kamil (1645-1719), Muhammad Aslam Salim (d. 1718), Mulla Muhammad Taufiq (1765),

Muhammed Azam Didamari Khwaja Muhammad Azam Kaul Didamari (died 1765) was a Sufi Kashmiri writer in the Persian language. Khawaja means "master", Kaul is a surname meaning pundit, Didamari means from the Didamar quarter of Srinagar Srinagar (English: , ) is the l ...

(d. 1765), Mulla Muhammad Hamid (1848) or Birbal Kachru Varasta (d. 1865), amongst a myriad. Of course, Kashmiri Pandits too played a role in that school, and one exceptional case was Pandit Taba Ram Turki (1776–1847), who was a celebrity as far as Central Asia.

Writers in Urdu

Despite being a numerically small community, the

Kashmiri Pandits The Kashmiri Pandits (also known as Kashmiri Brahmins) are a group of Kashmiri Hindus and a part of the larger Saraswat Brahmin community of India. They belong to the Pancha Gauda Brahmin group from the Kashmir Valley, a mountainous region l ...

are over-represented in their contribution to Urdu literature. One important early example is

Daya Shankar Kaul Nasim Daya Shankar Kaul "Nasim" (1811 1845) was an Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' chronological Chronology (from Latin ''chronologia'', from Ancient Greek , ''chrónos'', "time"; and , '' -logia'') is the science of arranging events in their order of occurrence in time. Consider, for example, the use of a timeline or sequence of events. ...

order): *Mir Tafazzul Hussain Khan Kashmiri (1727-1800), originally from

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

, born in

Sialkot Sialkot ( ur, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of Sialkot District and the 13th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined with Jammu (the winter capital of Indian administered Jammu and Ka ...

where his parents moved and himself based in

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and divis ...

where he served as

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

(or ''diwan'') to the

Nawab of Oudh The Nawab of Awadh or the Nawab of Oudh was the title of the rulers who governed the state of Awadh (anglicised as Oudh) in north India during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Nawabs of Awadh belonged to a dynasty of Persian origin from Nishap ...

Asaf-ud-Daula Mirza Asaf-ud-Daula (23 September 1748 – 21 September 1797) was the Nawab wazir of Oudh ratified by Shah Alam II, from 26 January 1775 to 21 September 1797, and the son of Shuja-ud-Dowlah. His mother and grandmother were the Begums of Oudh. ...

thanks his erudition. He was called "khan-e-allama" (the Scholarly Khan) due to his deep scholarship on many subjects but is best known today for having translated Sir Isaac Newton's

Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (English: ''Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy'') often referred to as simply the (), is a book by Isaac Newton that expounds Newton's laws of motion and his law of universal gravitation. The ''Principia'' is written in Latin and ...

from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

into

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

. *Mufti Sadruddin Khan 'Azurda', 1789–1868, apart from being the

Grand Mufti The Grand Mufti (also called Chief Mufti, State Mufti and Supreme Mufti) is the head of regional muftis, Islamic jurisconsults, of a state. The office originated in the early modern era in the Ottoman empire and has been later adopted in a num ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

, he was also a personal friend to

Ghalib ) , birth_date = , birth_place = Kala Mahal, Agra, Maratha Confederacy , death_date = , death_place = Gali Qasim Jaan, Ballimaran, Chandni Chowk, Delhi, British India , occupation = Poet , language ...

(whose own mother was from Kashmir) and himself a poet of note in Urdu as well as in Arabic and Persian. He also wrote a ''tazkira'' (biographical

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically cate ...

of poets). *

Momin Khan Momin Momin Khan Momin (; 1800–14 May 1852) was a late Mughal era poet known for his Urdu ghazals. A lesser-known contemporary of Ghalib and Zauq, he used "Momin" as his pen name. His grave is located in the Mehdiyan cemetery in Maulana Azad Me ...

, 1801–1852, considered one of the three pillars of the

school of Urdu poetry, with

and Zauq. Other fields where he was competent included

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

geomancy Geomancy ( Greek: γεωμαντεία, "earth divination") is a method of divination that interprets markings on the ground or the patterns formed by tossed handfuls of soil, rocks, or sand. The most prevalent form of divinatory geomancy in ...

astrology Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Di ...

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

. *

Daya Shankar Kaul Nasim Daya Shankar Kaul "Nasim" (1811 1845) was an Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Ratan Nath Dhar Sarshar Ratan Nath Dhar Sarshar (1846 or 1847 – 21 January 1903) was an Urdu novelist, columnist and editor from British India. Born into a Kashmiri Brahmin family which settled in Lucknow, he received his education at Canning College and later took ...

, 1846-1903 *

Muhammad Iqbal Sir Muhammad Iqbal ( ur, ; 9 November 187721 April 1938), was a South Asian Muslim writer, philosopher, Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philos ...

, 1877–1938 *

Agha Hashar Kashmiri Agha Hashar Kashmiri (born Muhammad Shah, 3 April 1879 – 1 April 1935) was an Urdu poet, playwright and dramatist. A number of his plays were Indian Shakespearean adaptations. Early life He started to show interest in stage dramas and mo ...

, 1879–1935 (called "the Shakespeare of Urdu" for his works as playwright) *

Brij Narayan Chakbast Brij Narayan Chakbast (19 January 1882 12 February 1926), also spelled as Brij Narain Chakbast, was a British Indian Urdu poet. Life Chakbast (1882–1926) was an Urdu poet. He was born on 19 January 1882 in a Kashmiri Pandit family settled ...

, 1882–1926 *Aziz Lucknawi, 1882-1935 *

Khalifa Abdul Hakim Khalifa Abdul Hakeem (1 July 1893 – 30 January 1959) was a Pakistani philosopher, poet, critic, researcher, philologist, translator, and former professor of philosophy at Osmania University. He was the former director of Islamic Culture Ins ...

, 1896-1959 (a philosopher who has the honour of writing the only book on the

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

of Persian mystical poet Jalaluddin Rumi) *

Patras Bokhari Syed Ahmed Shah (Urdu: ), commonly known as Patras Bokhari (October 1, 1898–December 5, 1958), was a Pakistani humorist, writer, broadcaster and diplomat who served as a Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations. Born in Pes ...

, 1898–1958 *

Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum ( pnb, , ur, ), (4 August 1899 – 7 Feb 1978) was a 20th-century poet. His pen name was Tabassum ( ur, ). He is best known for his many poems written for children, as the creator of the ''Tot Batot'' characte ...

, 1899–1978 *Muhammad Din Taseer, 1902-1950 (short-story writer, literary critic and Iqbal scholar. Father of slain Pakistan's Punjab governor Salman Taseer and first individual from the Sub-continent to get a PhD in English Literature from

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

) * Shaikh Abdullah, 1905–1982 * Meeraji, 1912-1949 *

Saadat Hasan Manto Saadat Hasan Manto (; Punjabi, ur, , ; 11 May 1912 – 18 January 1955) was a Pakistani writer, playwright and author born in Ludhiana, who was active in British India and later, after the 1947 partition of India, in Pakistan. Writing mai ...

, 1912–1955 *

Agha Shorish Kashmiri Agha Shorish Kashmiri (1917–1975; ) was a Pakistani scholar, writer, debater, and a leader of the Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam party. He was a figure of the freedom movement in the British Raj, as well as the chief editor of the weekly ''Chattan'' m ...

, 1917-1975 * Syed Akbar Jaipuri (Mujahid-E-Urdu), 1923-1998 *

Razia Butt Razia Butt ( ur, ) was an Urdu novelist and playwright from Pakistan. One of the famous popular fiction writer of the 1960s and 1970s, she is often compared with English writer Barbara Cartland due to her popularity among the household readers. ...

, 1924-2012 * Anwar Shemza, 1928-1985 * Hakeem Manzoor, 1937–2006 * Obaidullah Aleem, 1939-2008 *

Muhammed Amin Andrabi Muhammad Amin Andrabi (born 1940 in Srinagar, Kashmir, died 30 December 2001) was a member of the prominent Andrabi Sayyed family. He was the son of the Sufi shaykh and a religious scholar Mir Ahmad. He belonged to the Traditionalist School of me ...

, 1940–2001, a scholar who belonged to the

Traditionalist School The Traditionalist or Perennialist School is a group of 20th- and 21st-century thinkers who believe in the existence of a perennial wisdom or perennial philosophy, primordial and universal truths which form the source for, and are shared by, al ...

, inspired by authors like

Ibn Arabi Ibn ʿArabī ( ar, ابن عربي, ; full name: , ; 1165–1240), nicknamed al-Qushayrī (, ) and Sulṭān al-ʿĀrifīn (, , ' Sultan of the Knowers'), was an Arab Andalusian Muslim scholar, mystic, poet, and philosopher, extremely influen ...

, Frithjof Schuon,

Seyyed Hossein Nasr Seyyed Hossein Nasr (; fa, سید حسین نصر, born April 7, 1933) is an Iranian philosopher and University Professor of Islamic studies at George Washington University. Born in Tehran, Nasr completed his education in Iran and the Unite ...

and

Henry Corbin Henry Corbin (14 April 1903 – 7 October 1978)Shayegan, DaryushHenry Corbin in Encyclopaedia Iranica. was a French philosopher, theologian, and Iranologist, professor of Islamic studies at the École pratique des hautes études. He was in ...

. * Allama Mustafa Hussain Ansari, 1945–2006 * Abid Hassan Minto * Muhammad Asim Butt, novelist, translator and critic. *

Muhammad Younis Butt Muhammad Younis Butt is a Pakistani screenwriter and humorist notable for his shows. He is also a column writer and executive producer. His most popular show is '' Hum Sab Umeed Sai Hain''. Most of his TV shows were derived from his writing ...

, writer of the most popular political satire show in Pakistan, ''

Hum Sub Umeed Se Hain ''Hum Sub Umeed Se Hain'' ( ur, , lit=We Are All Hopeful) is a political satire show, which features funny segments on Pakistani political issues. Hosted by Saba Qamar, Fiza Ali and Mehwish Hayat, the show was divided into 3 versions. The first ...

'' * Rasheed Amjad * Shahid Nadeem

Writers in Hindi

* Amar Nath Kak * Chandrakanta (author) * Omkar N. Koul

Writers in English

I. K. Taimni I. K. Taimni (Iqbal Kishen Taimni, 1898–1978) was a professor of chemistry at the Allahabad University in India, and an influential scholar in the fields of Yoga and Indian philosophy. He was a leader of the Theosophical Society. Taimni authore ...

* M. P. Pandit, prolific writer who authored some 150 books and as many articles exposing in English the thought of

Sri Aurobindo Sri Aurobindo (born Aurobindo Ghose; 15 August 1872 – 5 December 1950) was an Indian philosopher, yogi, maharishi, poet, and Indian nationalist. He was also a journalist, editing newspapers such as ''Vande Mataram''. He joined the ...

. *

Chiragh Ali Moulví Cherágh Ali (1844-1895) (also spelled Chirágh) was an Indian Muslim scholar of the late 19th century. As a colleague of Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan he made a contribution to the school of Muslim Modernists and presented reformative thinking ...

, reformist Islamic scholar * Taufiq Rafat, called the '

Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an expatriate American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Fascism, fascist collaborator in Italy during World War II. His works ...

of Pakistan' for both his innovative writings and his position as one of - if not the - greatest English-language poets of Pakistan. *

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian Anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India du ...

Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (''née'' Swarup Nehru; 18 August 1900 – 1 December 1990) was an Indian diplomat and politician who was the 6th Governor of Maharashtra from 1962 to 1964 and 8th President of the United Nations General Assembly from 19 ...

* Krishna Hutheesing * Gopi Krishna * Subhash Kak * Nayantara Sahgal * M.J. Akbar *

Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and ...

Hari Kunzru Hari Mohan Nath Kunzru (born 1969) is a British novelist and journalist. He is the author of the novels ''The Impressionist'', ''Transmission'', ''My Revolutions'', '' Gods Without Men'', ''White Tears''David Robinson"Interview: Hari Kunzru, au ...

Kailas Nath Kaul Kailas Nath Kaul (1905–1983) was an Indian botanist, naturalist, agricultural scientist, horticulturist, herbalist, plant collector and herpetologist, and a world authority on Arecaceae. He founded India's National Botanical Research Institute ...

Agha Shahid Ali Agha Shahid Ali (4 February 1949 – 8 December 2001) was an Indian-born poet who immigrated to the United States, and became affiliated with the literary movement known as New Formalism in American poetry. His collections include ''A Walk T ...

* Basharat Peer * Adeeba Riyaz

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kashmiri Literature Culture of Kashmir Indian literature by language Kashmiri literature Literature by language Pakistani literature