20th-century Indian philosophers

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British rule, and to later inspire movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. The honorific Mahātmā, first applied to him in 1914 in South Africa, is now used throughout the world.

Bengali poet, philosopher and polymath (1861–1941)

Jawaharlal Nehru was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a principal leader of the Indian nationalist movement in the 1930s and 1940s. Upon India's independence in 1947, he served as the country's first prime minister for 16 years. Nehru promoted parliamentary democracy, secularism, and science and technology during the 1950s, powerfully influencing India's arc as a modern nation. In international affairs, he steered India clear of the two blocs of the Cold War. A well-regarded author, he wrote books such as Letters from a Father to His Daughter (1929), An Autobiography (1936) and The Discovery of India (1946), that have been read around the world.

Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and politician who chaired the committee that drafted the Constitution of India based on the debates of the Constituent Assembly of India and the first draft of Sir Benegal Narsing Rau. Ambedkar served as Law and Justice minister in the first cabinet of Jawaharlal Nehru. He later renounced Hinduism and converted to Buddhism, inspiring the Dalit Buddhist movement.

South Asian Islamic philosopher, poet and politician

Indian spiritual philosopher, mystic, speaker and writer (1895–1986)

Indian Bengali philosopher, yogi, maharishi, poet and nationalist (1872–1950)

Rajneesh (born Chandra Mohan Jain; 11 December 193119 January 1990), also known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, Acharya Rajneesh, and commonly known as Osho (), was an Indian godman, philosopher, mystic, and founder of the Rajneesh movement. He was a controversial new religious movement leader during his life. He rejected institutional religions, insisting that spiritual experience could not be organized into any one system of religious dogma. As a guru, he advocated meditation and taught a unique form called dynamic meditation. Rejecting traditional ascetic practices, he encouraged his followers t

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was an Indian academic, philosopher and statesman who served as the Vice President of India from 1952 to 1962 and President of India from 1962 to 1967. He was the ambassador of India to the Soviet Union from 1949 to 1952. He was also the vice-chancellor of Banaras Hindu University from 1939 to 1948 and the vice-chancellor of Andhra University from 1931 to 1936. Radhakrishnan is considered one of the most influential and distinguished 20th century scholars of comparative religion and philosophy, he held the King George V Chair of Mental and Moral Science at the University of Calcutta from 1921 to 1932 and Spalding Chair of Eastern Religion and Ethics at University of Oxford from 1936 to 1952.

Indian spiritual teacher (1879–1950)

Indian philosopher, activist and environmentalist (*1952)

National poet of Bangladesh (1899-1976)

Indian scholar, literary theorist, and feminist critic

Indian computer scientist

Indian advocate of nonviolence and human rights (1895-1982)

Spiritual leader

Indian politician (1883-1966)

Indian political activist and intellectual

Indian critical theorist (born 1949)

Jagadguru Ramanandacharya Swami Rambhadracharya (born Giridhar Mishra on 14 January 1950) is an Indian Hindu spiritual leader, educator, Sanskrit scholar, polyglot, poet, author, textual commentator, philosopher, composer, singer, playwright and Katha artist based in Chitrakoot, India. He is one of four incumbent Jagadguru Ramanandacharyas, and has held this title since 1988.

Indian guru (1897-1981)

Pakistani politician and diplomat (1897–1960)

Indian Theosophist (1869-1958)

Indian spiritual leader and social reformer (1856–1928)

Islamic Scholar (1925–2021)

Canadian-American Christian apologist (1946–2020)

Indian novelist.philosopher and screenwriter

Indian spiritual Guru, philosopher, social reformer and composer (1921–1990)

Indian (Odia) Writer

Indian communist politician and theorist and first Chief Minister of Kerala state (1909-1998)

Indian philosopher (1918–2007)

Indian-American social activist (1934–2023)

Indian Islamic Scholar (1857–1914)

Bengali scholar of Sanskrit and philosophy (1887-1952)

Indian Islamic scholar, thinker, author, orator and critic of Arab Nationalist (1913–1999)

Indian Hindu mystic (1866-1939)

Indian historian

Hindu philosopher (1887–1976)

Indian Marxist philosopher (1918–1993)

Indian spiritual teacher (1910-1997)

Hindu spiritual leader (1880–1935)

Indian writer

Hindu religious leader (c.1900–1973)

Sri Lankan rationalist and professor (1898–1978)

Indian activist

Indian philosopher, spiritual leader and social reformer (1920–2003)

Indian academic and scholar

Indian Sufi Master (1861–1925)

disciple of Sri Aurobindo (1889–1983)

Indian Islamic scholar, philosopher, writer, critic, researcher, journalist and exegete of the Quran (1892–1977)

Indian philosopher

Indian scholar (1929–2023)

Indian poet (1877–1949)

Pakistani academic (1888–1963)

Indian philosopher (1937-2007)

Indian academic (1889-1968)

Saradananda (23 December 1865 – 19 August 1927), also known as Swami Saradananda, was born as Sarat Chandra Chakravarty in 1865, and was one of the direct monastic disciples of Ramakrishna. He was the first Secretary of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, a post which he held until his death in 1927. He established the Udbodhan house in the Bagbazar area of Calcutta, which was built primarily for the stay of Sri Sarada Devi in Calcutta, from where he used to publish the Bengali magazine Udbodhan. There he wrote Sri Sri Ramakrishna Lilaprasanga in Bengali, on the life of Ramakrishna,

Writer Novelist, historian, philosophical and political person

Indian Islamic scholar

Indian academic