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The 77 Greatest Works of South Asian Literature

This list comprises the greatest literature from the area once called the "Indian subcontinent" but is now more properly referred to as South Asia. This includes the countries of India, Pakistan, Bengali, Sri Lanka and several others that have existed historically.

For the South Asian list we have tried to cover all possible genres, cultures and periods of literature from the area, based on the same extensive research and surveys carried out for our Greatest Literature of All Time—with special attention paid to the views of South Asian readers, writers, critics and scholars.

Sometimes it is difficult to decide which works are to be considered "South Asian", as authors who started their careers in the area sometimes moved to and worked in other parts of the world. To help find consensus on this question, we consider writers' origins, their current nationalities, where they wrote, where they published, and what they wrote about. In the end though, a judgment call often has to be made and not everyone is going to agree with every tough call we've had to make.

This list focuses on major creative works—such as novels, novellas, plays and collections—although some short or nonfiction writing of literary significance may also be included.

Latest update: July 12, 2023

c.600–200 CE
Ramayana
by Valmiki, India
Epic poem
c.400 BCE–400 CE
Mahābhārata
by Vyasa, India
Epic poem
c.200–300 BCE
Panchatantra (Five Treatises)
Anonymous, India
Story collection
c.300
The Vision of Vasavadatta
by Bhāsa, India
Play, originally Swapnavasavadatta
c.400 CE
 
Shakuntala
by Kalidasa, India
Play, also known as The Recognition of Shakuntalaand The Sign of Shakuntala
c.450
Mahāvaṃsa
Anonymous, Sri Lanka
Epic poem
450–500
The Three Satakas
by Bhartṛhari, India
Poetry collection, also known as The Three Hundred Poems of Moral Values
c.500
The Tale of an Anklet
by Iḷaṅkõ Aṭikaḷ, India
Epic poem
c.1000
 
Twenty-five Tales of Baital
ed. Somadeva, India
Story collection
1866
 
Kapalkundala
by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Bengal
Novel
1873
 
Bishabriksha
by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Bengal
Novel
1882
 
Anandamath
by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Bengal
Novel
 
 
"The Fruitseller from Kabul"
by Rabindranath Tagore, Bengal
Story
1899
 
Umrao Jaan Ada
by Mirza Hadi Ruswa, India
Novel
1901
 
The Broken Nest
by Rabindranath Tagore, Bengal
Novella
1910
 
Gora
by Rabindranath Tagore, Bengal
Novel
1912
 
The Post Office
by Rabindranath Tagore, Bengal
Play
 
 
Song Offerings
by Rabindranath Tagore, Bengal
Poetry collection, originally Gitanjali
1914–1917
 
Bunch of Stories
by Rabindranath Tagore, Bengal
Story collection, originally Galpaguchchha
1916
 
The Home and the World
by Rabindranath Tagore, Bengal
Novel, originally Ghare-Baire
1922
 
Anarkali
by Imtiaz Ali Taj, India
Play
1935
 
Untouchable
by Mulk Raj Anand, India
Novel
 
 
Swami and Friends
by R.K. Narayan, India
Novel
1943
 
The Crooked Line
by Ismat Chughtai, India
Novel
 
 
Mulgadi Days
by R.K. Narayan, India
Story collection
1950
 
The Skeleton
by Amrita Pritam, India
Story collection
1951
 
The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian
by Nirad C. Chaudhuri, India
Memoir
1952
 
The Financial Expert
by R.K. Narayan, India
Novel
1953
 
The Private Life of an Indian Prince
by Mulk Raj Anand, India
Novel
1954
 
Nectar in a Sieve
by Kamala Markandaya, India
Novel
1955
 
Waiting for the Mahatma
by R.K. Narayan, India
Novel
1956
 
Train to Pakistan
by Khushwant Singh, India
Novel
1958
 
The Guide
by R.K. Narayan, India
Novel
1959
 
River of Fire
by Qurratulain Hyder, India
Novel
1963
 
Best Stories of Manto
by Sadaat Hasan Manto, Pakistan
Story collection
1965
 
Pterodactyl, Puran Shay, and Pirtha
by Mahasweta Devi, Bangladesh
Novella
1966
 
The English Teacher
by R.K. Narayan, India
Novel
1967
 
The Vendor of Sweets
by R.K. Narayan, India
Novel
1974
 
Crooked Line
by Ismat Chughtai, India
Novel
1977
 
Phaniyamma
by M.K. Indira, India
Novella
1980
 
Clear Light of Day
by Anita Desai, India
Novel
1981
 
Midnight's Children
by Salman Rushdie, India
Novel
1983
 
Shame
by Salman Rushdie, India
Novel
1984
 
In Custody
by Anita Desai, India
Novel
1985
 
Rich Like Us
by Nayantara Saghal, India
Novel
1986
 
The Golden Gate
by Vikram Seth, India
Novel
1988
 
Baumgartner's Bombay
by Anita Desai, India
Novel
 
 
The Shadow Lines
by Amitav Ghosh, India
Novel
 
 
The Satanic Verses
by Salman Rushdie, India
Novel
 
 
Ice Candy Man
by Bapsi Sidhwa, Pakistan
Novel, also known as Cracking India
1989
 
The Great Indian Novel
by Shashi Tharoor, India
Novel
1990
 
Haroun and the Sea of Stories
by Salman Rushdie, India
Novel
1992
 
Vardi Wala Gunda
by Ved Prakash Sharma, India
Novel
 
 
The Triple Mirror of the Self
by Zulfikar Ghose, Pakistan
Novel
1993
 
The Jam Fruit Tree
by Carl Muller, Sri Lanka
Novel
 
 
A Suitable Boy
by Vikram Seth, India
Novel
1994
 
The Amulet
by Punyakante Wijenaike, Sri Lanka
Novel
1996
 
Quilt and Other Stories
by Ismat Chughtai, India
Story collection
1997
 
The God of Small Things
by Arundhati Roy, India
Novel
1999
 
Feasting, Fasting
by Anita Desai, India
Novel
2003
 
The Road From Elephant Pass
by Nihal De Silva, Sri Lanka
Novel
2004
 
The Last Song of Dusk
by Siddharth Shangvi, India
Novel
2005
 
The Collector's Wife
by Mitra Phukan, India
Novel
2006
 
The Inheritance of Loss
by Kiran Desai, India
Novella
2007
 
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
by Mohsin Hamid, Pakistan
Novel
 
 
Dara Shikoh
by Danish Iqbal, India
Play
2008
 
The White Tiger
by Aravind Adiga, India
Novel
 
 
Sea of Poppies
by Amitav Ghosh, India
Novel
2009
 
2 States: The Story of My Marriage
by Chetan Bhagat, India
Novel
 
 
Three Plays
by Utpal Dutt, India
Play collection includes Hunting the Sun, The Great Rebellion, and Nightmare City.
2010
 
Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew
by Shehan Karunatilaka, Sri Lanka
Novel
2013
 
Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer
by Cyurus Mistry, India
Novel
2015
 
Devourers,The
by Indra Das, India
Novel
 
 
Ghachar Ghochar
by Vivek Shanbhag, India
Novella
2017
 
Exit West
by Mohsin Hamid, Pakistan
Novel
 
 
Home Fire
by Kamila Shamsie, Pakistan
Novel
2018
 
Tomb of Sand
by Geetanjali Shree, India
Novel
2022
 
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida
by Shehan Karunatilaka, Sri Lanka
Novel

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