29 Notable alumni of Karnatak University

Sayed Mohiuddin Hussaini Peerzade, also known as Sayed Tanveer Hashmi, is a Sufi leader and spiritual master from Bijapur Sharif, a Sufi shrine in Karnataka, India. Tanveer Hashmi is a patron of various academic, social, and other activities of Sufi Sunni Muslims in India. He belong to Hussiani Hashmi Family, the family of Ahl al-Bayt. His official name in Shajra...

V. R. Panchamukhi, is an Indian Economist and Sanskrit scholar. He was born on September 17, 1936, in Dharwad, Karnataka. He is the eldest son of Vidyaratna Shri R. S. Panchamukhi, an archaeologist and indologist and Sanskrit Scholar. V. R. Panchamukhi has been honored with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award, for his contributions to the literature...

Narayan S. Hosmane is an Indian-born cancer research scientist and a distinguished research professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry. He was featured in NRI Achievers magazine. He is a two-time recipient of the Humboldt Research Award for senior scientists, an annual award presented by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Bonn, Germany, to scientists worldwide in recognition of their career accomplishments.

Dr A.R.D. Prasad is an Indian Library and Information Science Academic, Information professional and Information scientist. Dr Prasad teaches at Documentation Research and Training Centre, Bangalore as Professor of Library and Information Science and he is retired Head of DRTC, which is India's only proper ischool with a very strong research program. His areas of specialisation include Artificial intelligence-Applications in...

Palanganda T. Bopanna is an author and journalist from Kodagu (Coorg) in Karnataka, India. Bopanna has worked for some of the leading Indian English dailies, including The Times of India, Bangalore, for 12 years (Principal Correspondent), and The Pioneer (New Delhi), as their Special Correspondent (Bangalore) for 13 years. He has written five books.

A. K. Shastry was an Indian historian in the state of Karnataka, India.

Chennaveera Kanavi was an Indian Kannada language poet and author. In a career spanning over seven decades he wrote over 25 anthologies and over 28 books across genres. He was considered one of the major poets and writers in the Kannada language and received the Sahitya Akademi Award for his poem "Jeeva Dhwani" (lit. '"The Sound of Life"') in 1981. He...

S. Rajendra Babu was the 34th Chief Justice of India. He also served as the chairperson of National Human Rights Commission of India.

Mohan Mallikarjunagouda Shantanagoudar was an Indian jurist and former judge of the Supreme Court of India.

Shantinath Kuberappa Desai was one of the leading modern authors of the Navya (modernist) movement in Kannada Literature.

Pankaj Jain is a professor of Philosophy, Religious Studies, Film Studies, Sustainability, and Diaspora Studies. He is the Director of The India Centre and the Head of the Department of Humanities and Languages at FLAME University. He has authored or edited eight books including the Hinduism Section of the Encyclopedia of Indian Religions and another volume on Philosophy of Religion....

J. C. Diwakar Reddy is a politician from Andhra Pradesh. He won the Anantapur seat in the 2014 Indian general election as a Telugu Desam Party candidate. J. C. Diwakar Reddy was born to J. C. Nagi Reddy in Juturu village, Peddapappur Mandal, Anantapur District.

Tonse Madhava Ananth Pai, was an Indian physician, educationist, banker and philanthropist, most well-known for building the university town of Manipal, India.

Vishwanath Channappa Sajjanar is an Indian police officer who was the additional director general of police (ADGP) of Telangana, now serving as Commissioner of the Hyderabad City Police. He is native of Hubballi, Karnataka state. Sajjanar is known to focus on women and child safety issues. He is also known for his strong focus on community and citizen friendly policing,...

Dr. Ramdas Madhava Pai is an Indian health administrator and the incumbent Chancellor at the Manipal Academy of Higher Education, and chairman of the Manipal Education and Medical Group.

Jayant Kaikini is a poet, short story writer, playwright, columnist in Kannada and a lyricist and script writer in Kannada cinema. He has published seven short story collections, six poetry collections, four essay collections and three plays so far. He is valued as one of the best writers in Kannada literature and has revolutionized the field by giving it a...

Suresh Heblikar is a Kannada filmmaker, director, and actor.

Girish Karnad was an Indian playwright, actor, film director, Kannada writer, and a Jnanpith awardee, who predominantly worked in Kannada, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Marathi films. His rise as a playwright in the 1960s marked the coming of age of modern Indian playwriting in Kannada, just as Badal Sarkar did in Bengali, Vijay Tendulkar in Marathi, and Mohan Rakesh...

Chandrashekhara Basavanneppa Kambara is a prominent Indian poet, playwright, folklorist, film director in Kannada language and the founder-vice-chancellor of Kannada University in Hampi also president of the Sahitya Akademi, country's premier literary institution, after Vinayak Krishna Gokak (1983) and U.R. Ananthamurthy (1993). He is known for effective adaptation of the North Karnataka dialect of the Kannada language in his plays,...

Hegannahalli Narayana Shastry Ananth Kumar was an Indian politician who served as 1st Minister of Culture from 1999 to 2001. He was the Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Parliamentary Affairs of India from 2014 until his death in 2018. Ananth Kumar was an MP from South Bangalore 6 times, Minister of Chemicals and fertilizers from 26 May 2014, and Parliamentary...

Meka Srikanth is an Indian actor who is known for works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He has appeared in more than 120 films. The actor has received one state Nandi Award, and one Filmfare Award South. He has starred in films like Swarabhishekam, which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu for 2004. Srikanth's another film...

Malleshappa Madivalappa Kalburgi was an Indian scholar of Vachana sahitya (Vachana literature) in the Kannada language and an academic who served as the vice-chancellor of Kannada University in Hampi. A noted epigraphist of Kannada, he was awarded the National Sahitya Akademi Award in 2006 for Marga 4, a collection of his research articles.

Anil Sahasrabudhe is the present Chairman of National Educational Technology Forum (NETF), chairman of EC National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and Chairman NBA.

Vivek Kulkarni is the Chairman of Brickwork India, a knowledge process outsourcing company & founder MD of Brickwork Ratings - credit rating agency of India. Vivek is the Indian Administrative Service officer from Karnataka.

Sudha Murty is an Indian educator, author, and philanthropist. She is the Founder-Chairperson of the non-profit charitable organization Infosys Foundation. She is married to the co-founder of Infosys, N. R. Narayana Murthy. In 2024, Murty was nominated as Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha on 8 March 2024 for her contribution to social work and education. Murty was awarded the Padma...

Professor Ramakrishna Vijayacharya Hosur is an Indian biophysical scientist, known for his expertise in the areas of nuclear magnetic resonance and molecular biophysics. The Government of India honoured him, in 2014, by awarding him the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for his contributions to the fields of science and technology.

Sucheta Dalal is an Indian business journalist and author. She has been a journalist for over two decades and was awarded a Padma Shri for journalism in 2006. She was the Financial Editor for the Times of India until 1998 when she joined the Indian Express group as a Consulting Editor, leaving in 2008. She is known for exposing the...

Siddeshwar Swami was an Indian spiritual preacher and philosopher known for his teachings on yoga and spirituality. Swami was the head of Jnanayogashrama, an ashram in the city of Vijayapura (formerly Bijapur), in the Indian state of Karnataka. He declined the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian award, when it was awarded to him in 2018. He had earlier declined an...