Our country had suffered enough at the hands of invaders. The last one was the Britishers, with whom we fought over 200 years to gain independence.

In those difficult times, India had also seen the rise of many famous writers, poets & singers. Those renowned authors played an important role in sharing the struggles & fights of our ancestors & fellow Indians.

Out of those famous authors, sharing 5 authors who had shown & enlighten India in the pre-independence era with you today…

I. Rabindranath Tagore 

Born as Robindronath Thakur, he was born in 1861. Besides an accomplished writer, he was also a poet, composer, philosopher, painter & social reformer.

He had written his major works in the Bengali language, which was translated into many other languages. He was well-received by Indians & international readers too. 

He had written many thought-provoking poems, dramas, fiction novels. He was not so influenced by the classroom setup learning & encouraged open classrooms.

He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913 due to his noted contribution to the literature. He had been invited to many international conferences. Due to his prolonged illness, he died in the year 1941 at the age of 80.

Honorable Mentions – His most famous book “Gitanjali” is a collection of many short poems.

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II. Munshi Premchand

Born as Dhanpat Rai Srivastava, Munshi Premchand was one of the most famous Indian writers in Hindi literature. He was born in 1880 in Benaras & died in 1936 at the age of 56.

He had faced a lot of financial problems in his entire life span. Barring all his financial & personal problems, he continued his writing journey as a side-hustle along with a teaching job. 

His many stories & articles published under his pen name “Nawab Rai”, which he changed to “Premchand”. 

His novels & articles were largely influenced by his patriotic & his progressive nature. At that time, he married a widow (daughter of a landlord) which was still looked upon as a big brave step at that time!

Honorable Mentions – His famous book “Nirmala” is still being taught in senior secondary classes as a syllabus of Hindi literature. His short stories like Godaan, Karmabhoomi & Gaban are some of the literary gems in Hindi literature.

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III. RK Narayan

Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayanaswami, commonly famous as RK Narayan was a famous Indian writer. Being an avid reader since childhood, he had written many semi-autobiographical writings. He created a famous character, Swami in his small south Indian town of Malgudi.

The untimely death of his wife inspired him to write “The English Teacher”. Through his book, The Guide, he got his first major award (Sahitya Akademi Award). The book was later adapted into a movie story of the same name. 

In the latter days of his life, he started writing articles for the newspaper Hindu. He died at an age of 94 in Chennai, 2001

HONORARY MENTIONS: - His book “Swami and Friends” was chosen as one of the BBC’s 100 novels that shaped our world in 2019.

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IV. Khushwant Singh 

Khushwant Singh was a famous Indian author, lawyer, journalist & politician. Born as Khushal Singh in Hadali, Punjab (now in Pakistan), he studied at Modern School, New Delhi. Later he did his higher studies in Government College, Lahore & law at King’s College, London.

Before turning into an editor & author, he was a practicing lawyer in Lahore & then a journalist at All India Radio in free India, 1951. He died at an age of 99 in the year 2014.

Most of his novels were based on the times of Partition, the story of Punjab & the culture of Sikhs.

HONORARY MENTIONS: - His most famous book “Train to Pakistan” is a well-acclaimed novel. It is based on real-life incidents observed by the author. With a mix of real-life & fictional characters, Khushwant Singh took us to the tragic times of partition.

V. Amrita Pritam

Born as Amrit Kaur in 1919, Amrita Pritam was a pioneer woman author. She was the first woman to receive Sahitya Akademi Award for her poem, Sunehade(Messages)in 1956. 

She was focal on the plight of men & women during the time of partition. She raised major questions about the agony of women through her stories & poems.

HONORARY MENTIONS: Her most famous novel, "Pinjar” was one such novel that showed the agony, hardships & destruction faced by the people in Punjab during the partition. The novel was further made into a nationally awarded movie of the same.

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