Indian Literature and Authors

 Bhudeb Mukhopadhyay’s (1827-94) Anguriya Binimoy (1857) was the first historical novel written in Bengal. Its hero Shivaji engages in many battles against a clever and treacherous Aurangzeb. Man Singh persuades Shivaji  to make peace with Aurangzeb. Realising that Aurangzeb intended to confine him as a house prisoner, Shivaji escapes and returns to battle. What gives him courage and tenacity is his belief that he is a nationalist fighting for the freedom of Hindus. 

 Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. In the 1870s he wrote ‘Vande Mataram’ as a hymn to the motherland. Later it was included in his novel Anandamath and widely sung during the Swadeshi movement in Bengal. 

Hanah Catherine Mullens was the women novelist who wrote the first novel in Bengali named Karuna O Phulmonir Bibaran. It was written in 1852. It gives a description of Phulmani and Karuna.

The first major novel in Malayalam was Indulekha and was written by O.Chandhu Menon. It was a landmark in the history of Malayalam literature. The story refers to Indhu, the main character, who is 18-year-old beautiful well educated Nair lady. This was written when Nairs in Kerala emerged as upper class and flourished with high education during British rule. Response was huge for the novel which encouraged many other novelists.

The Tiruppavai is a collection of thirty stanzas written in Tamil by Andal (also known as Nachiyar), in praise of the Lord Perumal, (Vishnu). It is part of Divya Prabandha, a work of the twelve Alvars, and is important part of Tamil literature. Andal is the only female Alvar among the 12 Alvar saints of South India. The Alvar saints are known for their affiliation to the Srivaishnava tradition of Hinduism. Andal is credited with the great Tamil works, Thiruppavai and Nachiar Tirumozhi, which are still recited by devotees during the winter festival season of Margazhi.

Ksemendra, an 11th-century Sanskrit poet from Kashmir in India was known for his satires exposing the evils of contemporary society.

• Shatpatre was written by Gopal Hari Deshmukh(Lokhitwadi).  
• He wrote about the social issues like child marriage, caste system, widow remarriage, dowry system, and polygamy. 
• He promoted women's emancipation and education of women.

Barindra Kumar Ghose, a revolutionary and brother of Aurobindo Ghose, was associated with the editing of 'Basumati'.

The author Dadabhai Naroji, wrote "Poverty under British Rule in India" , who devoted his entire life to the cause of India's upliftment and independence was a social reformer, a member of the British Parliament and founder of the Indian National Congress.

Gitagovinda is a famous 12th-century Sanskrit poem authored by the poet Jayadeva.

Maharshi Parashar was a great poet of Rajasthan born in Ajmer. His famous work is Krishi Parasar, which is a book on agriculture. He wrote a meaningful shlok with the following meaning: 'grains come from crops and crops never come without farming hence effort should be made for agriculture leaving everything aside'.

V. S. Naipaul was a Trinidadian-born British writer of Indian descent whose ancestors were indentured laborers. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001.

Most of the present day Rajasthan was called as the Rajputana by the British in the 19th century. The stories about Rajput heroes were recorded in poems and songs, which were recited by specially trained minstrels. These preserved the memories of heroes and were expected to inspire others to follow their example. Ordinary people were also attracted by these stories which often depicted dramatic situations,and a range of strong emotions loyalty, friendship, love, valour, anger, etc.

Vande Mataram is a Bengali poem written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1870s and composed by Rabindranath Tagore. It was included in the 1881 novel Anandamath by BC Chattopadhyay. It became a popular marching song for political activism and the Swadeshi movement in 1905. 

Rabindranath Tagore composed National Anthem of India i.e. Jana Gana Man.