Indian literature definition of Indian literature in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

Indian literature. Oral literature in the vernacular languages of India is of great antiquity, but it was not until about the 16th cent. that an extensive written literature appeared. Chief factors in this development were the intellectual and literary predominance of Sanskrit until then (except in S India, where a vast literature in Tamil was produced from ancient times) and the emergence of Hindu pietistic movements that sought to reach the people in their spoken languages. Among the Muslims classical Persian poetry was the fountainhead of a later growth in the Urdu literature produced for the Mughal court, and elaborate Urdu verse on set themes was produced in abundance. In the early 19th cent., with the establishment of vernacular schools and the importation of printing presses, a great impetus was given to popular prose, with Bengali writers perhaps taking the lead. Foreign, particularly English, literature was eagerly studied and to some extent assimilated to classical Indian modes and themes.

Today there is a written literature in all the important languages of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, as well as a large literature in English intended to reach all the university-educated public regardless of native language. Among the best-known writers of the 19th and early 20th cent. are Rammohun Roy Roy, Rammohun (räm-mō`hən roi), 1772–1833, Indian religious and educational reformer.
..... Click the link for more information. , Bankim Chandra Chatterjee Chatterjee, Bankim Chandra (bəng`kĭm chŭn`drə chä`tərjē), 1838–94, Indian nationalist writer, b.
..... Click the link for more information. , Vivekananda Vivekananda (vē'vəkənŭn`də), 1863–1902, Hindu mystic, major exponent of Vedanta philosophy.
..... Click the link for more information. , Rabindranath Tagore Tagore, Sir Rabindranath (rəbĭn`drənät təgôr`, täk
..... Click the link for more information. , winner of the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature, and Prem Chand, as well as Asadullah Khan Ghalib and Muhammad Iqbal Iqbal, Muhammad (məhăm`ĭd ĭkhbäl`), 1877–1938, Indian Muslim poet, philosopher, and political leader.
..... Click the link for more information. , the Muslim poets who wrote in Urdu and in Persian. Later writers include R. K. Narayan Narayan, R. K. (Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayan) (nərī`yän), 1906–2001, Indian novelist, b. Madras (now Chennai).
..... Click the link for more information. , Raja Rao Rao, Raja (rä`jə rou), 1909–2006, Indian novelist, Hassan, Mysore (now in Karnataka), as Raja.
..... Click the link for more information. , Bhabhani Bhattacharya Bhattacharya, Bhabhani (bəbä`nē bätəchär`yə), 1906–, Indian novelist, journalist, and translator.
..... Click the link for more information. , Ahmed Ali, Khushwant Singh, Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai, and Mulk Raj Anand in the field of fiction; Sarojini Naidu Naidu, Sarojini (sərō`jĭnē nī`d
..... Click the link for more information. , Faiz Ahmed Faiz, and Nazrul Islam, in the field of poetry; and Mohandas Gandhi Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand (mōhän`dəs kŭ'rəmchŭnd` gän`dē)
..... Click the link for more information. , M. N. Roy, Jawaharlal Nehru Nehru, Jawaharlal (jəwähərläl` nā`r
..... Click the link for more information. , and Jaya Prakash Narayan Narayan, Jaya Prakash, 1902–79. Indian political leader. He was a founder (1934) of the Congress Socialist party and later (1952) the Indian Socialist party.
..... Click the link for more information. in the field of politics.

See also Sanskrit literature Sanskrit literature, literary works written in Sanskrit constituting the main body of the classical literature of India.

Introduction

The literature is divided into two main periods—the Vedic (c.1500–c.200 B.C.
..... Click the link for more information. ; Pali canon Pali canon (pä`lē), sacred literature of Buddhism .
..... Click the link for more information. ; Prakrit literature Prakrit literature. By the 6th cent. B.C. the people of India were speaking and writing languages that were much simpler than classical Sanskrit. These vernacular forms, of which there were several, are called the Prakrits [Skt.,=natural].
..... Click the link for more information. .

Bibliography

See K. Kripalani, Modern Indian Literature (1970); T. W. Clark, The Novel in India (1970); M. Winternitz, A History of Indian Literature (2 vol., tr. 1927; repr. 1973).