Shamsur Rahman Faruqi was born in 1935, graduating in English language and literature in 1955. He writes in Urdu, a language that was widely spoken and used by both Hindus and Muslims in the Indian subcontinent before the country’s Partition in 1947. After 1947, Urdu, for political and social reasons,
Sarnath Banerjee is a graphic novelist and visual artist. He has published six books of graphic fiction, including «Corridor», «All Quiet in Vikaspuri» and «Harappa Files»; his latest, «Absolutely Jafar», was published in 2026. His works have been collected by museums and shown at biennials, including the installation «Critical Imagination
Samhita Arni , the daughter of a diplomat, was born in Madras, India, in 1984, and grew up in India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Thailand. Making lasting friendships was difficult, not only because her family was constantly moving, but also because of the tense political relations between Pakistan and India, which
Salman Rushdie is the author of twelve novels, »Grimus«, »Midnight’s Children« (which won the Booker Prize in 1981), »Shame«, »The Satanic Verses«, »Haroun and the Sea of Stories«, »The Moor’s Last Sigh«, »The Ground Beneath Her Feet«, »Fury«, »Shalimar the Clown«, »The Enchantress of Florence«, »Luka and the Fire
Rana Dasgupta was born in 1971 to an English mother and an Indian father in Canterbury, Great Britain. He studied French Literature and Media Studies in England and the USA and went on to work for some years as a PR manager. His texts concentrate on issues of home and
Raj Kamal Jha was born in Bihar in 1966 and grew up in Calcutta. He studied Mechanical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur. At the same time he published first texts in the students’ journal »Alankar«. After his graduation he continued his studies in an academic field
Rambharos Jha was born in 1978 in the Darbhanga district of the Mithila region of Bihar state, India. The family moved to Madhubani when his father found work in a state-funded art and culture project focused on reviving local art traditions and offering artists the possibility to earn a living.
Perumal Murugan was born into a family of farmers near the temple city of Tiruchengode, India in 1966. His family belongs to the Gounder community, the largest agrarian caste in the Kongu Nadu region. As his father was not able to feed the family by agricultural labor alone, Murugan worked
Pankaj Mishra was born in the northern Indian town of Jhansi in 1969. After studying commerce at the University of Allahabad, he graduated with a Master of Arts degree in English Literature from Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. He began to write reviews for newspapers such as »The Indian
Award winning journalist and author, Pallavi Aiyar has reported from China, Europe and Indonesia. Her most recent book, »Punjabi Parmesan: Dispatches from a Europe in Crisis« (2013), presents a witty Asian perspective on contemporary Europe’s travails. Pallavi’s 2008, best selling, China-memoir, »Smoke and Mirrors« (2008), won the Vodafone-Crossword Popular award.
Omair Ahmad was born in Aligarh in 1974. Although literature was an important part of his family life, like many children from developing countries, his training was primarily in sciences. His father was a petroleum engineer and this led the family across India and then later to Saudi Arabia, where
Guest at the ilb 2003 O. V. Vijayan was born in Palakkad in the southern Indian state of Kerala in 1930. His father was a senior police officer in the Malabar special forces and he grew up in several barracks. Because of his weak health, he did not start school
