wing of the archive
The Modern Era
The industrial and imperial centuries: inventors, statesmen, artists, and the makers of the modern world.
Modern era
Dayananda Saraswati
February 12, 1824 – October 30, 1883
Indian social reformer (1824-1883)
Modern era
Jyotirao Phule
April 11, 1827 – November 28, 1890
Indian social reformer (1827-1890)
Modern era
Savitribai Phule
January 3, 1831 – March 10, 1897
Indian social reformer (1831-1897)
Modern era
Periyar E. V. Ramasamy
September 17, 1879 – December 24, 1973
Indian social reformer (1879-1973)
Modern era
Sree Narayana Guru
1856 – September 20, 1928
Indian spiritual leader and social reformer (1856–1928)
Modern era
Sri Aurobindo
August 15, 1872 – December 5, 1950
Indian Bengali philosopher, yogi, maharishi, poet and nationalist (1872–1950)
Modern era
Paramahansa Yogananda
January 5, 1893 – March 7, 1952
Yogi, Kriya Yoga guru and founder of Self-Realization Fellowship (1893-1952)
Modern era
Momin Khan Momin
1801 – May 14, 1852
Indian writer
Modern era
Daagh Dehlvi
May 25, 1831 – March 17, 1905
Indian poet
Modern era
Akbar Allahabadi
November 16, 1846 – September 9, 1921
Poet (1846-1921)
Modern era
Josh Malihabadi
December 5, 1898 – February 22, 1982
Shayar-e-Inqalab (1894-1982)
Modern era
Ehsan Danish
1914 – March 21, 1982
Pakistani poet, writer, linguist, and lexicographer (1914–1982)
Modern era
Nasir Kazmi
December 8, 1925 – March 2, 1972
Pakistani poet (1925–1972)
Modern era
Ibn-e-Insha
June 15, 1927 – January 11, 1978
Pakistani writer (1927–1978)
Modern era
Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi
November 20, 1916 – July 10, 2006
Pakistani writer (1916–2006)
Modern era
Munir Niazi
April 9, 1923 – December 26, 2006
Punjabi poet (1923–2006)
Modern era
Jaun Elia
December 14, 1931 – November 8, 2002
Pakistani poet and writer (1931-2002)
Modern era
Kishwar Naheed
b. 1940
Pakistani writer
Modern era
Ada Jafarey
August 22, 1924 – March 12, 2015
Urdu poet (1924-2015)
Modern era
Ustad Daman
January 1, 1910 – December 3, 1984
Punjabi poet
Modern era
Anwar Masood
b. November 8, 1935
Punjabi poet
Modern era
Ghani Khan
1914 – 1996
Pashtun Poet (1914–1996)
Modern era
Amrita Pritam
August 31, 1919 – October 31, 2005
Indian novelist, poet, and essayist (in Hindi and Punjabi languages) (1919–2005)
Modern era
Shiv Kumar Batalvi
July 23, 1936 – May 6, 1973
Punjabi poet (1936–1973)
Modern era
Jigar Moradabadi
April 6, 1890 – September 9, 1960
Indian writer (1890-1960)
Modern era
Firaq Gorakhpuri
August 28, 1896 – March 3, 1982
Urdu author (1896-1982)
Modern era
Majrooh Sultanpuri
October 1, 1919 – May 24, 2000
Indian Urdu poet and Hindi language lyricist (1919-2000)
Modern era
Sahir Ludhianvi
March 8, 1921 – October 25, 1980
Indian Urdu and Hindi poet (1921–1980)
Modern era
Kaifi Azmi
January 14, 1919 – May 10, 2002
Indian poet and songwriter (1919–2002)
Modern era
Gulzar
b. August 19, 1933
Indian poet, lyricist and author (1933- Present)
Modern era
Harivansh Rai Bachchan
November 27, 1907 – January 18, 2003
Indian Hindi poet, Father of Amitabh Bachchan (1907-2003)
Modern era
Ramdhari Singh Dinkar
September 23, 1908 – April 24, 1974
Indian Hindi poet, essayist (1908-1974)
Modern era
Mahadevi Varma
March 26, 1907 – September 11, 1987
Indian Hindi writer and poet (1907-1987)
Modern era
Subhadra Kumari Chauhan
August 16, 1904 – February 15, 1948
Indian Hindi poet, short-story writer and freedom fighter (1904–1948); wrote 'Jhansi Ki Rani'
Modern era
Subramania Bharati
December 11, 1882 – September 12, 1921
Tamil poet, social reformer, fighter for Indian freedom & women's rights
Modern era
Kuvempu
December 29, 1904 – November 11, 1994
Indian poet, playwright, novelist, critic, and prolific thinker (1904–1994)
Modern era
Kazi Nazrul Islam
May 24, 1899 – August 29, 1976
National poet of Bangladesh (1899-1976)
Modern era
Michael Madhusudan Dutt
January 25, 1824 – June 29, 1873
Bengali poet and dramatist (1824–1873)
Modern era
Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
June 26, 1838 – April 8, 1894
Bengali writer, poet and journalist (1838-1894)
Modern era
Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay
September 15, 1876 – January 16, 1938
Bengali novelist and short story writer (1876-1938)
Modern era
Jibanananda Das
February 17, 1899 – October 22, 1954
Bengali Poet (1899-1954)
Modern era
Ismat Chughtai
August 21, 1911 – October 24, 1991
Indian writer (1911-1991)
Modern era
Krishan Chander
November 23, 1914 – March 8, 1977
Indian writer (1914–1977)
Modern era
Rajinder Singh Bedi
September 1, 1915 – November 11, 1984
Indian author, director and screenwriter
Modern era
Mumtaz Mufti
September 11, 1905 – October 27, 1995
Pakistani writer (1905–1995)
Modern era
Wasif Ali Wasif
January 15, 1929 – January 18, 1993
Pakistani scholar (1929–1993)
Modern era
Intizar Hussain
December 7, 1923 – February 2, 2016
Pakistani fiction writer (1923-2016)
Modern era
Abdullah Hussain
March 25, 1920 – December 31, 2014
Malaysian novelist
Modern era
Patras Bokhari
October 1, 1898 – December 5, 1958
Pakistani diplomat
Modern era
Ibn-e-Safi
July 26, 1928 – July 26, 1980
Pakistani writer (1928–1980)
Modern era
Naseem Hijazi
May 19, 1914 – March 2, 1996
Pakistani writer (1914-1996)
Modern era
Bapsi Sidhwa
August 11, 1938 – December 25, 2024
Pakistani American author
Modern era
Ghulam Farid Sabri
1930 – April 5, 1994
Pakistani singer
Modern era
Pathanay Khan
1926 – March 9, 2000
Pakistani singer (1926–2000)
Modern era
Alam Lohar
March 1, 1928 – July 3, 1979
Pakistani singer (1928-1979)
Modern era
Tufail Niazi
1916 – September 21, 1990
Singer
Modern era
Inayat Hussain Bhatti
January 12, 1923 – May 31, 1999
Pakistani actor and singer
Modern era
Ahmed Rushdi
April 24, 1934 – April 11, 1983
Pakistani playback singer
Modern era
Masood Rana
June 9, 1938 – October 4, 1995
Pakistani singer (1938-1995)
Modern era
Mala Begum
November 9, 1942 – March 6, 1990
Pakistani singer