India

Facts About India

• India, country that occupies the greater part of South Asia. Its capital is New Delhi, with roughly one-sixth
of the world’s total population, India is the second most populous country, after China.

• Religion in India is characterized by a diversity of religious beliefs and practices. It is the birthplace of four
of the world's major religions: namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. Hinduism is an
ancient religion with the largest religious grouping in India, with around 966 million adherents as of 2011,
composing 79.8% of the population.

• The first known mention of the solar system was found in the ancient Hindu text Rigveda (written around
1,500 BC), approximately 3,000 before Copernicus. The Indian scholars realized that the Earth was not the
center of the universe, that the sun had its own orbit, and the existence of other planets orbiting the sun

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 Facts About India
• An ancient practice of living healthy and in harmony with the body and the mind, Yoga originated in India
some 5, 000 years ago. By the 6th and 5th centuries BC it was widely spread throughout the ancient civilization and
documented extensively in religious Hindu texts.

• British colonial rule in India lasted for 190 years. Britain established its rule in 1757, and it remained in charge of
India until 1947. At that time, England’s financial situation was in a poor state, and relinquishing India was an effective
way to reduce expenditures while earning global goodwill.

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 Indian
Literature
● Indian Literature is considered as one of the most important literatures in the
world, being also one of the oldest and with the greatest literary production. The term
refers to the literary work that had been produced in various Indian languages, since
ages. It comprises 22 officially recognized tribal language including Sanskrit, Bengali,
Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, and foreign languages like Persian, French,
Portuguese and English. While a significant amount of the Indian literature is written, a
lot more is propagated orally in regional languages, all of which have received an
enormous reception worldwide.
● Indian literature has played a tremendous role in giving the country a distinct
identity of intellectualism. Though the face of it has been changing while travelling
through innumerable phases, yet even today it holds an honorable position in the
entire scenario of world literature.

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 Ancient Indian Literature
Ancient Indian literature is one of the most beautiful and
voluminous to read and understand. Most of the literature was passed down
orally from one person to another during ancient period.
The first ancient Indian literature in the first millennium BCE comprised
the Rig Veda (1500 BCE), the Ramayana (500 BCE) and the Mahabharata (400
BCE), and was written in the Sanskrit language.
Later in the medieval period, the Kannada and Telugu languages
emerged and then, later on, came Bengali, Urdu and Marathi Indian literature.

1 Scriptures 2 Epics

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1 Scriptures
The earliest known literary work of Aryans was the Rigveda. It consists
of 1028 hymns in Sanskrit. Most of these hymns are in praise of deities. Rig
Veda is one of the oldest literary works in the world. Followed by Rig Veda is the
other three Vedas that were based on Hinduism are called as Yajur Veda, Sama
Veda and Atharva Veda.

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 There are other works after Vedas known as Brahmanas and
Aryankas followed by philosophical doctrines of Upanishads.

Brahmanas Aryankas Upanishads

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2 Epics
There are two epics from Ancient Indian
Literature, Ramayana and Mahabharata.

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 Ramayana
• It is the ancient epic poem which
describes the struggle of prince Rama
to release his wife Sita from the hands
of Ravana the demon.

• The author of Ramayana is Vamiki. It

is the largest epic literature in the
world. It consists of 24,000 verses and
500 cantos.

• It tells how to achieve the fourfold

objectives of human life namely,
Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha.
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 Mahabharata
• It is another ancient epic literature
which tells the story of Bharata
dynasty.

• The author of Mahabharata is

attributed to Vyasa.

• It consists of 100,000 verses.` It is

written by Vyasa, about the story of
war of succession to that throne between
the two families, Pandavas and Kauravs
with multiple stories interwoven
together to form an epic.
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● Accordingly ancient Indian literature can be divided into two
categories known as Sruti and Smriti.
Sruti is vocal or listening and Smriti is what is remembered.
● The 4 Vedas, including the Brahmanas and Aryankas and Upansihads fall
under Sruti while the Smriti consists of great epics of Ramayana and
Mahabharata.

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 Modern Indian
Literature
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 Facts About India
• Modern Indian literature was formed during the anti-colonial movement against British
imperialism in India. Indian writers used Western forms of writing such as essays, drama and fiction
to tell their stories and represent the Indian experience.

• In the 19th century some Indian writers wrote in English, but the majority adapted European genres, such
as the novel and the short story, to the "vernacular," regional languages, writing on modern themes
and forging new literary languages and styles.

• During the Indian Renaissance (beginning in the mid-nineteenth century), hope for India’s independent
future was a central theme in Indian literature. Another important theme was creation of a new
system in India.

• Rabindranath Tagore, one of modern India’s most well-known writers, covered these themes in his
writing.

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 Facts About India
• However, after gaining independence in 1947, India entered an era of
disenchantment where in the Progressive Writer movement was formed. Also, a
new contemplative form of modernism emerged. From this point on, themes of observing
society and human life pervaded Indian literature. Individualism and modernist
practices, such as the French school of existentialist philosophy, also influenced Indian
literature, as well as looking back at British injustices against Indians.

• The second half of the 20th century saw the adoption of English as a major
language for Indian fiction, and from the 1980s onward, Indian and South Asian
writers in English have been leading figures on the global literary scene.

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A BRIEF OUTLINE OF INDIAN LITERATURE WRITTEN IN
DIFFERENT LANGUAGES
As presented in previous paragraphs, Indian literature has been written in
various languages. Learn in more detail about some of them.

Bengali literature
• Bengali literature is well known due to the work of Rabindranath Tagore, whose poems
usually focused on mysticism, spirituality, or nature.
• Tagore even created the national anthem of India, Jana Gana Mana (1911). Other
well-known writers included Sunil Gangopadhyay and Bankim Chandra Chatterjee.

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 A BRIEF OUTLINE OF INDIAN LITERATURE
WRITTEN IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES

Gujarati literature
• The most well-known name in Gujarati literature is Mohandas Karamchand
Gandhi, who was the father of the nation. Between 1915 and 1845, Gandhi
and Gujarat Vidaypath were the main sources of literary activities and
where new thoughts and philosophies would occur. Umashakar Joshi,
Pannalal Patel and Shamal Bhatt were other renowned Gujrati writers.

Indian English literature

• Indian English literature started due to the British government’s educational
reforms in India, missionary work and the response to English literature
and language from upper-class Indian people.
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 A BRIEF OUTLINE OF INDIAN LITERATURE
WRITTEN IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES

Malayalam literature
• This literature consists of songs from different genres; it is also famous for its
poetic compositions, such as the Adhyathmaramayanam by the father of the
Malayalam langauage.

Manipuri literature
• Part of Manipuri literature’s important scriptures (lasting thousands of years)
were burnt due to the burning of ancient scriptures by the previous King
Santidas Gosain and also the burning of Puya Meithaba (1729). Despite this, it
is still known for its great writers and poets from Manipur, Tripura,
Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Assam.

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 A BRIEF OUTLINE OF INDIAN LITERATURE
WRITTEN IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES
Marathi literature
• This literature is known for writers and poets such as Vijay Tendulkar, Ramdas, and
Mukteshwar, who translated the Mahabharata into Marathi. Marathi writers also liked to write
about social reformation.

Rajasthani literature
• This literature consisted of the work of Jain writers. During the medieval period, Rajasthani
literature was focused on poetry written in honour of the Maharajas and Rajas at the time.
Today’s Rajasthani literature is well-known due to the work of Suryamal Misran.

Telugu literature
• Vemana created many poems in the Telugu language, and these were to be read by the
common man. As a result, common people could relate to his writing, and Vemana became
popular. Other important writers of this form of Indian literature include Ravuri Bharadwaj
and C.Narayana Reddy.
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 A BRIEF OUTLINE OF INDIAN LITERATURE
WRITTEN IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES

Tamil literature
• Tamil literature has lasted for at least 2000 years; the writers focus on various
social, religious and political themes. Tamil literature was influenced by
Muslim, European, Saivite and Vaishvanite writers as well. During the
nineteenth century, novel writing, short stories and poetry emerged in Tamil
literature.
Urdu literature
• Known as the ‘Kohinoor Language,’ Urdu is considered the most sophisticated
and grand Indian language. Urdu poetry is renowned not only in India but also
in the entire world. Poets such as Mirza Ghalib, Iqbal, and Faiz are greatly
known in Urdu literature.
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 Indian Literature
Characteristics

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 INDIAN LITERATURE CHARACTERISTICS

Religion Obedience & Values

Heaven (Mukti) and Reincarnation are the
two main concepts of Hinduism. To get to
Heaven, giving charity (Dana) is important,
and this is greatly highlighted In the Vedas.
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Being obedient to God or a senior (whether that
be senior by age or authority), keeping your
promises to people, being brave during the
war, and having moral values is key in Indian
literature, and these topics are explored in
various epics and sacred texts.
 INDIAN LITERATURE CHARACTERISTICS

Good deeds
The concept of reincarnation states that the
actions done in one’s past determines one’s
present. In other words, if you do good deeds
now, you will be rewarded with a noble birth
during the reincarnation process.
Poetic composition/
form
In ancient India, Indian literature was
written in verses, and poetic form was the
standard form of writing.

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 INDIAN LITERATURE CHARACTERISTICS
Morality & Bravery
The Dharma in India follows that
good morals will be rewarded, and
those with bad morals will be
punished; the Dharma is practised
in Indian literature. The caste
system was created according to
the Vedas.
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Family
The most famous texts of Indian
literature, the Mahabharata and
the Ramayana, are family epics
and follow the lives of extended
families, including aunts, uncles,
and cousins.
Theatre and dance
The four Vedas refer to
dance and the importance
of theatrical performance.
In fact, theatre and dance
are not only a
characteristic of Indian
literature but also of
Indian dramas.
 Famous Indian
Literature

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 Mahatma Gandhi R.K. Narayan Rohinton Mistry
The Story Of My The Guide A Fine Balance
Experiments With The
Truth

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 Salman Rushdie Jhumpa Lahiri Vikram Seth
Midnight’s Children The Interpreter Of A Suitable Boy
Maladies

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Arundhati Roy Amitav Ghosh Mulk Raj Anand Kiran Desai
God of Small Things The Glass Palace The Private Life of an The Inheritance of
Indian Prince Loss

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 Famous Indian
Authors
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 Famous Indian Authors
1. Chetan Bhagat 2. Amrita Pritam

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 Famous Indian Authors
3. Jhumpa Lahiri 4. Khushwant Singh 5. R. K. Narayan

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 Famous Indian Authors
6. Rabindranath Tagore 7. Ruskin Bond

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 Famous Indian Authors
10. Sarat Chandra
8. Vikram Seth 9. Arundhati Roy Chattopadhyay

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