The Greatest Literature of South Asia

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 Greatest Literature of South Asia 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.

One more caveat: although we think this is a good beginning for a list of the greatest works from South Asia, we suspect it is too short and we expect it to grow with our ongoing research. Check back for updates.

Latest update: July 12, 2023

The 77 greatest works of South Asian literature

In chronological order

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Creating the Greatest Literature of All Time list

Greatest Literature of All Time

Greatest Novels of All Time

Greatest Stories of All Time

Greatest Plays of All Time

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