Best Famous Punjabi Poets of All-time

Majeed Amjad (1914 – 1974) (Urdu: ) was one of the greatest of modern Urdu poets of the Indian subcontinent. In the popular culture he is not as well known or widely read as Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Noon Meem Rashid, Nasir Kazmi or Meeraji but amongst the cognoscenti and many critics he is widely regarded as a philosophical poet of great depth and sensitivity. His refined poetic mind was not widely recognized in his lifetime as he lived a life of bureaucratic obscurity in a small West Punjabi town. Also, he was not in the forefront of any political literary movements (such as the leftist "Progressive Writers Movement") that actively promoted even mediocre poets from within their own ranks.. Punjabi Urdu poet

Satinder Pal Singh Saini (Punjabi : ), is an Indian Punjabi singer,song writer and poet. He gained fame with his hit song "Cheerey Waaleya". Since then his popularity has seen a constant surge among the Punjabi diaspora with his shows being held in many countries across the world,

Shiv Kumar Batalvi (Punjabi : ) (1936–1973) was a Punjabi language poet, who was most known for his romantic poetry, noted for its heightened passion, pathos, separation and lover's agony

Vir Singh (Punjabi : (Gurmukhi ) ; 5 December 1872, Amritsar -10 June 1957, Amritsar) was a poet, scholar and theologian and a figure in the movement for the revival and renewal of Punjabi literary tradition.

Dr. Jaswant Singh Neki (also known as (Punjabi) (born 27 August 1925) is a leading Indian Sikh scholar, significant neo- metaphysical Punjabi language poet and former Director of PGI Chandigarh and Head of the Psychiatry Department at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi.

Harbhajan Singh (18 August 1920 – 21 October 2002) was a Punjabi poet, critic, cultural commentator, and translator. Along with Amrita Pritam, Harbhajan is credited with revolutionising the Punjabi poetry writing style. He published 17 collections of poems, including Registan Vich Lakarhara, 19 works of literary history and translated 14 pieces of literature of others including those of Aristotle, Sophocles, Rabindranath Tagore and selections from the Rig Veda .

Damodar Das Arora (Punjabi : , ) was a famous Punjabi poet, belonging to the Jhang District. He is famous for his poetic narration of the tale of Heer Ranjha, which is titled Heer Damodar. This was the first Punjabi language poem about this famous love-legend. He was a contemporary of Heer and Ranjha, and had watched the incident unfold, as he says at one point in his poem:

Amrita Pritam (31 August 1919 – 31 October 2005) was a Punjabi writer and poet, considered the first prominent woman Punjabi poet, novelist, and essayist, and the leading 20th-century poet of the Punjabi language, who is equally loved on both the sides of the India-Pakistan border. With a career spanning over six decades, she produced over 100 books, of poetry, fiction, biographies, essays, a collection of Punjabi folk songs and an autobiography that were translated into several Indian and foreign languages.

Hindi, Punjabi, English and Urdu poet and writer

Anwar Masood (Urdu : ), (born November 8, 1935) is a Pakistani poet known for his comic poetry, however, his works include other genres as well. He writes in Punjabi, Urdu and Persian language.

Mian Muhammad Bakhsh (Punjabi : ) was a Sufi saint and a Punjabi / Pahari poet. He belonged to the Qadri tariqah. He is especially renowned as the author of a book of poetry called Saif-ul-Maluk. He was born in a village called Khari Sharif, situated near Mirpur, Azad Kashmir .

Surjit Patar (Punjabi ) is a renowned Punjabi language writer and poet of East Punjab (India). His poems enjoy immense popularity with the general public and have won high acclaim from critics.

Ali Arman is an Urdu poet hailing from Rawalpindi, Pakistan. He started poetry at the age of 14, and joined major literary forums of Rawalpindi and Islamabad in 1990, where he attracted the attention of prominent poets, writers and critics with his unique style. He writes in Urdu, Punjabi and his mother language Pothohari. Arman has created poetry in the forms of ghazal (lyric), nazm (poem), nasri nazm (prose poetry) and taweel nazm (long poem). His first book of poetry was published in March, 1998. Currently residing in the UK, he is an editor of “The Mosaic Journal”, a bilingual magazine containing both Urdu and English literature. Arman’s poetry has been translated into English, French, Spanish and German. He is regarded as an emerging poet by many renowned critics of Urdu poetry. Arman strongly believes in freedom, democracy and human rights and regularly advocated against the military regimes in Pakistan through his poems and articles. Arman's new book of Punjabi/Pothohari poetry titled "Mitti Di Bukkal" have been published recently. This book has been hailed as a major book of Punjabi/Pothohari poetry by readers and critics alike. The book is published in Lahore by "Sanjh Publications".

Syed Waheed Ashraf is an Indian Sufi, scholar and poet of Persian and Urdu languages. He obtained his B.A., M.A. and PhD (1965) from Aligarh Muslim University. The topic of his PhD dissertation was 'A critical edition of Lataife Ashrafi'. After serving in many universities (Punjabi University at Patiala, M.S. University of Baroda, University of Madras) in India, he retired as Head, Department of Arabic, Persian and Urdu, University of Madras, India, in 1993. Conversant with over half a dozen languages (Pahlavi, Persian, Arabic, Urdu, English, Hindi, Gujarati), he writes in Urdu, Persian and English [ citation needed ] and has authored/edited/compiled over 35 books and numerous research articles. He is a recipient of several awards and honours from within India and abroad. [ 20 ] [ 21 ] [ 22 ] He has focused on upholding and propagating the principles and practices of Sufism.

Satyapal Anand (Hindi : , Urdu : ) born April 24, 1931, is a poet, critic and writer from India. He has written several fictional and poetry books in four languages: English, Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi. He has also received awards for his literary work.

Guru Gobind Singh   pronunciation   (help · info ) (born Gobind Rai (Punjabi : ,; 22 December 1666 – 7 October 1708 ) was the tenth of the ten Sikh Gurus, the eleventh guru being the living perpetual Guru, Guru Granth Sahib (the sacred text of Sikhism ). He was a Warrior, Poet and Philosopher. He succeeded his father Guru Tegh Bahadur as the Leader of Sikhs at the young age of nine. He contributed much to Sikhism ; notable was his contribution to the continual formalisation of the faith which the first Guru Guru Nanak had founded, as a religion, in the 15th century. Guru Gobind Singh, the last of the living Sikh Gurus, initiated the Sikh Khalsa in 1699, passing the Guruship of the Sikhs to the Eleventh and Eternal Guru of the Sikhs, the Guru Granth Sahib .

Waris Shah (Punjabi : , ) (1722–1798) was a Punjabi Sufi poet, renowned for his contribution to Punjabi literature. He is best known for his seminal work Heer Ranjha, based on the traditional folk tale of Heer and her lover Ranjha. Heer is considered one of the quintessential works of classical Punjabi literature. The story of Heer was also told by several other writers, including notable versions by Damodar Das, Mukbal, and Ahmed Gujjar, but Waris Shah's version is by far the most popular today.

Wasif Ali Wasif (15 January 1929 – 18 January 1993) was a teacher, writer, poet and sufi intellectual from Pakistan. He is famous for his unique literary style. Many of his APHORISMS have become proverbs in recent years. His first book "Kiran Kiran Suraj" containing these Aphorisms was published in year 1985 and remained best seller for many many years. He used to write short essays on topics like love, life, fortune, fear, hope, expectation, promise, prayer, happiness, sorrow and so on with clear objective of highlighting the true spirit of Islam. He was regular columnist of Pakistani Urdu daily newspaper Nawa-i-Waqt. His column was named "GUFTAGOO" and it started publishing in newspaper in 1984. His first column was on "Muhabbat". In his life, most of his columns were combined to form two books (Dil Darya Samandar, Qatra Qatra Qulzam" with his own selected title. Later on a third book "Harf Harf Haqeeqat" containing these essays was published after he died in 1993. He did poetry in Urdu and Punjabi languages. Probably no contemporary Urdu writer is more cited in quotations than he is. Later years he used to answer questions in regular gatherings arranged every Thursday at his residence and every Friday at someone else's place in Lahore attended by the notable community. Many of these Q & A sessions were recorded in audio and were later transcribed and published as Guftgoo (talk) series. His mehfils never had a set subject nor did he delivered lecture on chosen topics. His way was to ask people if they had questions and then he used to respond to those questions in his highly original style. His thought was more on mysticism, spirituality and humanity. There are about 40 books to his credit including “Shab Chiragh”, “Kiran Kiran Sooraj”, and “Dil Darya Samundar”.

Kabir (also Kabira ) (Hindi : , Punjabi : , Urdu : ) (1440-1518) was a mystic poet and saint of India, whose writings have greatly influenced the Bhakti movement. The name Kabir comes from Arabic al-Kabir which means 'The Great' – the 37th name of God in Islam .

Shah Hussain (1538–1599) was a Punjabi Sufi poet who is regarded as a Sufi saint. He was the son of Sheikh Usman, a weaver, and belonged to the Dhudha clan of Rajputs. He was born in Lahore (present-day Pakistan ). He is considered a pioneer of the Kafi form of Punjabi poetry.

Faiz Ahmad Faiz (Urdu : , born 13 February 1911 – 20 November 1984) MBE, NI, was an influential left-wing intellectual, revolutionary poet, and one of the most famous poets of the Urdu and Punjabi language from Pakistan. A notable member of the Progressive Writers' Movement (PWM), Faiz was an avowed Marxist. Listed four times for the Nobel Prize in poetry, he received the Lenin Peace Prize by the Soviet Union in 1962. Despite being repeatedly accused of atheism by the political and military establishment, Faiz's poetry suggested a more nuanced relationship with religion in general and with Islam in particular. He was, in fact, greatly inspired by both secular poetry and South Asia's Sufi traditions. His popular ghazal Hum Dekhenge  is an example of how he fused these interests.

Ibn-e-Insha (Punjabi, Urdu : born Sher Muhammad Khan ) on 15 June 1927 died 11 January 1978, was a Pakistani Leftist Urdu poet, humorist, travelogue writer and columnist. Along with his poetry, he was regarded one of the best humorists of Urdu. His poetry has a distinctive diction laced with language reminiscent of Amir Khusro in its use of words and construction that is usually heard in the more earthy dialects of the Hindi-Urdu complex of languages, and his forms and poetic style is an influence on generations of young poets.

Ustad Daman (real name Chiragh Deen ) (September 1911 - December 3, 1984) was a Punjabi poet and mystic. He was the most celebrated Punjabi poet at the time of the Partition of British India in 1947. A severe critic of military dictators who ruled over Pakistan for many decades, his most quoted lines censure the state of affairs in his country:

Khaqan Haider Ghazi (Urdu : ) (born December 28, 1965) is a Punjabi poet and working in FM95 [ clarification needed ] Pakistan, Punjab Rung program Nena De Akhay Lagay .

Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum (4 August 1899 – 1978) was a noted 20th-century poet in three languages: Urdu, Punjabi, and Persian. Tabassum (or Tabussum) was the pen name by which he was universally known.