Pankaj Mishra (born 9 February 1969) is an Indian essayist, novelist, and socialist. His non-fiction works include ''Temptations of the West: How to Be Modern in India, Pakistan, Tibet, and Beyond'', along with ''From the Ruins of Empire: The Intellectuals Who Remade Asia'', and ''A Great Clamour: Encounters with China and Its Neighbours'', and he has published two novels. He is a prolific contributor to periodicals such as ''

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'', ''

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'', ''

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'' and the '' New York Review of Books'' and was previously a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. His writings have led to a number of controversies, including disputes with Salil Tripathi,

Niall Ferguson Sir Niall Campbell Ferguson, ( ; born 18 April 1964)Biography
Niall Ferguson

, and Jordan Peterson. He was awarded the Windham–Campbell Prize for non-fiction in 2014 and the Weston International Award in 2024.

Early life and education

Mishra was born in Jhansi, India. His father was AK Mishra a PWI in Indian railway and trade unionist after his prosperous

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

family lost some land by post-independence land redistribution. Mishra graduated with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in commerce from the University of Allahabad before earning his

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in

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at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.Pankaj Mishra website

Career

In 1992, Mishra moved to Mashobra, a

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than 100 pea ...

n village, where he began to contribute literary essays and reviews to ''The Indian Review of Books'', ''The India Magazine'', and the newspaper '' The Pioneer''. His first book, ''Butter Chicken in Ludhiana: Travels in Small Town India'' (1995), was a travelogue that described the social and cultural changes in India in the context of globalization. His novel ''The Romantics'' (2000), an ironic tale of people longing for fulfilment in cultures other than their own, was published in 11 European languages and won the ''

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Art Seidenbaum award for first fiction Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

. This novel, with some autobiographical strains, is a ''

bildungsroman In literary criticism, a bildungsroman () is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth and change of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood (coming of age). The term comes from the German words ('formation' or 'edu ...

''. The narrative begins with the nineteen-year-old protagonist Samar coming to the city of

Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...

from

Allahabad Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...

. A large part of the novel, including its end, is set in Varanasi. Gradually, Samar realizes that the city is a site for mystery. Mishra's book ''An End to Suffering: The Buddha in the World'' (2004) mixes memoir, history, and philosophy while attempting to explore the Buddha's relevance to contemporary times. ''Temptations of the West: How to Be Modern in India, Pakistan and Beyond'' (2006), describes Mishra's travels through

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

, Afghanistan, Tibet, Nepal, and other parts of

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

and Central Asia. Responding in ''

'' to an article by Mishra in connection with this work, Salil Tripathi criticised Mishra's defence of Indian and Chinese economic policies from the period 1950–80, claiming that they had stifled economic growth. Mishra's 2012 book, ''From the Ruins of Empire'', examines the question of "how to find a place of dignity for oneself in this world created by the West, in which the West and its allies in the non-West had reserved the best positions for themselves." Mishra has written literary and political essays for ''

'', where he was a Bookends columnist, ''

The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of ...

'', ''

'', the ''

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'', and ''

'', among other publications. He is a columnist for '' Bloomberg View'' and '' The New York Times Book Review''. His work has also appeared in ''

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership or ...

'', ''

Foreign Policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

'', ''

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'', ''Common Knowledge'', the ''

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'', ''

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'', ''

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'', ''

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'', the ''

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'', ''

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'', '' n+1'', ''

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'', '' Outlook'', ''

Poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

'', ''

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'' magazine, '' The Times Literary Supplement'', '' Travel + Leisure'', and ''

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''. He divides his time between London and India, and is currently working on a novel. He was the Visiting Fellow for 2007–08 at the Department of English,

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, UK. He was elected a Fellow of the

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in 2008. In November 2012, ''

'' magazine named him one of the top 100 global thinkers. In February 2015, '' Prospect'' nominated him to its list of 50 World Thinkers. In 2011,

Niall Ferguson Sir Niall Campbell Ferguson, ( ; born 18 April 1964)Biography
Niall Ferguson

threatened to sue Mishra for libel after Mishra published a review of his book ''Civilisation: The West and the Rest'' in the ''

''. Ferguson claimed that Mishra accused him of racism. In March 2014,

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

awarded Mishra the Windham–Campbell Literature Prize. In an article published on 19 March 2018 in the ''New York Review of Books'' titled "Jordan Peterson & Fascist Mysticism", Mishra wrote that Canadian clinical psychologist and author Jordan Peterson's activities with Charles Joseph, a native member of the coastal Pacific Kwakwakaʼwakw tribe in Canada, "...may seem the latest in a long line of eggheads pretentiously but harmlessly romancing the noble savage." Peterson perceived Mishra's use of the phrase "romancing the noble savage" as a racist insult to his friend Joseph, and his response via

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, which included a threat of violence to Mishra, went viral. '' Run and Hide'', Mishra's first novel in 20 years, was published in 2022 to a generally positive reception, with Allan Massie in ''

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'' concluding: "This is a wonderfully rich and enjoyable novel. It is very much, and disturbingly, of our time.... Intellect, observation memory, sympathy and imagination are all happily here. The novel can be read quickly for sheer pleasure. It is a work for our time and one that will surely be read many years on for what will then be its historical interest. So: a novel built to last."

Personal life

Mishra married Mary Mount, a London book editor, in 2005. She is daughter of the writer Sir Ferdinand Mount, 3rd Baronet, and a cousin of former

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative ...

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...

. Mishra has been critical of Cameron's politics and has stated "It may seem to people like we're having dinner together practically every night, but I've never met the man; my wife has met him once in her life. Neither of us share his politics", calling Cameron "a ghastly figure".

Awards and recognition

* 2000: Art Seidenbaum award for Best First Fiction * 2013: Crossword Book Award (nonfiction) for ''From the Ruins of Empire''. * 2014: Leipzig Book Award for European Understanding for ''From the Ruins of Empire'' * 2014: Windham–Campbell Literature Prize (Nonfiction), valued at $150,000 one of the largest prizes in the world of its kind. * 2014: Premi Internacional D'Assaig Josep Palau i Fabre * 2024: Weston International Award.

Bibliography

Books

* ''Butter Chicken in Ludhiana: Travels in Small Town India'' (1995) * '' The Romantics'' (2000) * ''An End to Suffering: the Buddha in the World'' (2004) * ''India in Mind'', edited by Pankaj Mishra (2005) * ''Temptations of the West: How to Be Modern in India, Pakistan, Tibet, and Beyond'' (2006) * ''From the Ruins of Empire: The Intellectuals Who Remade Asia'' (2012) * ''A Great Clamour: Encounters with China and Its Neighbours'' (2013) * ''Age of Anger: A History of the Present'' (2017), * ''Bland Fanatics: Liberals, Race, and Empire'' (2020), * '' Run and Hide'' (2022), * ''The World After Gaza'' (2025),

Book chapters

* Introduction to '' Kashmir: The Case for Freedom'' (2011)

Essays and reporting

* Mishra, Pankaj. (9 April 1998)
"Edmund Wilson in Benares"
''

''. * — (24 June 2004)
"The Invention of the Hindu"
'' Axess Magazine.'' * * * * * — (19 November 2020). "Grand Illusions." ''The New York Review of Books''. 67 (18): 31–32. Essay. * The Shoah after Gaza.

, Winter Lecture, 28 February 2024.