Indian English literature

Only about 150 years old.

considerable contribution from writers of indian origin and indians abroad in the post
independence period

Early writers in english in india include
R.C.Dutt:Translated indian epics into english and wrote The economic history of india
Sarojini Naidu:One among first to write poems in english.Works include The indian
weavers,The feather of the dawn,In the bazaars of hyderabad etc
Aurobindo ghosh Translated many indian scriptures into english including Gita.He also
wrote extensively on philosophy.

The three giants of early indian english literature are Mulk raj anand,R.K.Narayan and Raja Rao

Mulk Raj anand (1905-2004)
Famous for his work The untouchable(1935).It has an introduction
by E.M.Forster
The untouchable is story of Bakha-a manual scavenger.
other novels:Coolie(1936),Across the black waters (1939),The Sword
and the Sickle (1942)


R.K.Narayan (1906-2001)
Most of his works are based in a fictional town named malgudi.
Major works :Swami and his friends,The english teacher,The
guide(won sahitya academy award),The world of Nagaraj,The
mahabharata,The ramayana etc.



Raja Rao (1908-2006)
Works deeply influenced by hinduism.
Won the Neustadt International Prize for Literature 1988
Works:Kanthapura (1938),The Serpent and the Rope (1960,sahitya
academy award),The Chessmaster and His Moves (1988),The Policeman and the
Rose (1978),The Great Indian Way: A Life of Mahatma Gandhi, biography (1998) etc




Others(list of works are non exhaustive)
Writer Type Book
Salman Rushdie Novel



childrens books
Midnight's children(1981)
satanic verses(1988)
The enchantress of florence(2008)

Haroun and sea of stories
Kamala surayya Poetry
Novel
The sirens(Asian poetry prize)
The alphabet of lust
Nirad.C.Chaudhuri non fiction The autobiography of an unknown
indian (1951)
The continent circe (1965)(Duff cooper
memorial prize)
Scholar extraordinary(1974,on max
muller,sahitya academy award)
Vikram seth Novel The golden gate (1986)
A suitable boy (1994)
Ruskin Bond Novel

A Flight of Pigeons
The India I love
The Blue Umbrella
Khushwant singh Novel
Autobiography
Train to pakistan (1956)
Truth love and a little malice
Amitav ghosh Novel The circle of reason(1986)
The sea of poppies(2008)

Booker Prize winners
Writer Book Year
Arundhati Roy The god of small things 1997
Kiran Desai The inheritance of loss 2006
Aravind Adiga The white tiger 2008
N.B:1)Salman rushdie(1981,Midnights children) was born in India but is a citizen of U.K.

V.S.Naipaul and Jhumpa lahiri are prominent writers of indian origin.Naipaul is a nobel
and booker winner and jhumpa a pulitzer prize winner(had nomination for 2013 booker)