This is a list of notable people from Varanasi, a city in Uttar Pradesh, India.
Saints Kabir Das Lahiri Mahasaya, yogi Ravidas Tulsidas
Activists Annie Besant Dyal Singh Majithia
The arts, including music and entertainment Rasoolan Bai, singer Ashutosh Bhattacharya (1917–2004), tabla player Ekta Chowdhry, model Girija Devi, singer; Padma Vibhushan recipient Siddheshwari Devi, khayal singer; Padma Shri recipient Sitara Devi, actress, dancer and actress; Padma Shri recipient Bismillah Khan, shehnai player; Bharat Ratna and Padma Vibhushan recipient Sujit Kumar, actor and producer Anant Lal, Indian classical musician and teacher Birju Maharaj, Kathak guru; Padma Vibhushan recipient Kishan Maharaj, tabla player; Padma Vibhushan recipient Vikash Maharaj, sarod player; Yash Bharati recipient Ronu Majumdar, flautist Channulal Mishra, Hindustani classical player; Padma Bhushan recipient Prabhash Maharaj, Tabla player; shiromani recipient Deobrat Mishra, sitarist, surbaharist Shivnath Mishra, sitarist, surbaharist Lalmani Misra, musician Hemanta Mukherjee, singer, music director and film director Shamta Prasad (Gudai Maharaj), tabla player; Padma Shri recipient Sameer, lyricist Ritwik Sanyal, singer, Dhrupad Ravi Shankar, sitarist; Bharat Ratna recipient Uday Shankar, dancer; Padma Vibhushan recipient Vidisha, actress Hiralal Yadav, folk dinger; Padma Shri recipient
Scholar and writer Bimla Poddar Sitaram Chaturvedi, educator, dramatist and scholar Manmath Nath Gupta, revolutionary and writer
Literature and academics Bedhab Banarasi, Hindi writer Kabir Das, mystic Bhojpuri poet and saint Ashok Dhawan, MLA, Uttar Pradesh Sudama Panday 'Dhoomil', poet Deviprasad Dwivedi, writer and teacher, Padma Bhushan recipient Shiv Prasad Gupta, freedom fighter, philanthropist and founder of Kashi Vidyapeeth Bharatendu Harishchandra, novelist, poet, playwright Gopinath Kaviraj (1887–1976), Sanskrit scholar; principal, Government Sanskrit College, Varanasi (1923–1937); Padma Vibhushan (1964) Devaki Nandan Khatri, writer Shiv Prasad Mishra, writer Veer Bhadra Mishra, founding president of the Sankat Mochan Foundation; former professor and HOD of civil engineering at IIT (BHU), Varanasi Premendra Mitra, Bengali poet and novelist Jaishankar Prasad, writer Premchand, Hindi-Urdu writer Ravidas, mystic saint and poet Vagish Shastri, Sanskrit scholar, tantric, linguist and grammarian Charu Sheel Singh, writer Kashi Nath Singh, writer Namvar Singh, literary critic, Sahitya Akademi winner Shiv Prasaad Singh, writer Teg Ali Teg, Bhojpuri writer and poet Harihar Kripalu Tripathi, Sanskrit scholar, Padma Bhushan recipient Tulsidas, saint and poet, and philosopher Baldev Upadhyaya, Hindi, Sanskrit scholar, literary historian, essayist and critic, Padma Bhushan recipient
National and International Award winners Bharat Ratna Bhagwan Das, Bharat Ratna Bismillah Khan, Bharat Ratna Ravi Shankar
Padma Vibhushan Rai Krishnadasa, Padma Vibhushan K. L. Shrimali, Padma Vibhushan Birju Maharaj, Kathak guru; Padma Vibhushan recipient Kishan Maharaj, tabla player; Padma Vibhushan recipient Channulal Mishra, Hindustani classical player; Padma Bhushan recipient
Padma Bhusan Deviprasad Dwivedi, writer and teacher, Padma Bhushan Gopinath Kaviraj (1887–1976), Sanskrit scholar; principal, Government Sanskrit College, Varanasi (1923–1937); Padma Vibhushan (1964) Harihar Kripalu Tripathi, Sanskrit scholar, Padma Bhushan Uday Shankar, dancer; Padma Vibhushan recipient Baldev Upadhyaya, Hindi, Sanskrit scholar, literary historian, essayist and critic, Padma Bhushan
Padma Shri Siddheshwari Devi, khayal singer; Padma Shri recipient Sitara Devi, actress, dancer and actress; Padma Shri recipient Shamta Prasad (Gudai Maharaj), tabla player; Padma Shri recipient Hiralal Yadav, folk dinger; Padma Shri recipient Kamalakar Tripathi, Indian physician and Former Professor in the Department of Medicine, BHU Institute of Medical Sciences. He has been the Head of Nephrology Department. Ajita Srivastava, Indian singer, educationist and a social worker. Srivastava is known for popularizing and promoting the Kajari folk songs. Bismillah Khan Bimla Poddar, Indian social worker, businessperson, philanthropist and the founder of Jnana Pravaha Arjuna Award Narsingh Yadav, Wrestler
Holder's of High Offices Prime Minister of India Lal Bahadur Shastri, ex-Prime Minister of India
Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Sampurnanand, former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and former governor of Rajasthan Tribhuvan Narain Singh, former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Kamalapati Tripathi, writer, freedom fighter, former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, and former railway minister Governor of states Lakshman Prasad Acharya, governor of Assam Devendra Nath Dwivedi, former governor of Gujarat Sri Prakasa, former governor of Assam Sampurnanand, former governor of Rajasthan
Politics
MP of Varanasi Shankar Prasad Jaiswal, former MP of Varanasi Anil Shastri, former MP of Varanasi Raghunath Singh, first MP of Varanasi
MP of other constituency Jawahar Lal Jaiswal, former MP Chandauli Ananda Ratna Maurya, former MP Chandauli Sudhakar Pandey, former MP Chandauli Virendra Singh, MP Chandauli Kailash Nath Yadav former MP Chandauli
Other Sachindra Nath Bakshi, former MLA Varanasi South Ravindra Jaiswal, minister in the Second Yogi Adityanath ministry Harish Chandra Srivastava, former minister in the Government of Uttar Pradesh Neelkanth Tiwari, minister in the Second Yogi Adityanath ministry Saurabh Srivastava, MLA, Varanasi Cantt Sanjay Sinha, MP Candidate in 2024 Indian General Election, Former-MLA Candidate. Ashutosh Sinha, MLC (Graduate Constituency) Varanasi Samajwadi Party,Advocate.
Bureaucrats Dr. Brij Mohan Mishra Samiksha Pathak Rameshwar Nath Kao (R. N. Kao): (RAW) Veerendra Kumar Mishra Dr. Kundan Yadav
Rulers Freedom Fighter Balwant Singh of Benares (1711–1770), Maharaja of Benares State 1740–1770
Raja Chait Singh Maharaja of Benaras Kashi Naresh Maharaja Banaras Vibhuti Narayan Singh Maharani Kiran Rao, Queen of Bhopal Maharani Lakshmibai, Queen of Jhansi Raj Narain
Scientists Arvind Mohan Kayastha, biologist Bishun Khare, research scientist Subhash Chandra Lakhotia, cytogenetist and biologist Sanjaya Rajaram, plant biologist Sushruta, Ancient Indian physician and surgeon
Businesspeople Bhagirath Jalan, MD Jalans Sidharth Gupta,MD Banaras Beads ltd. Gaurav Jaiswal,MF JHV Group Mohit Kamboj, MD KBJ group Rajesh Shah, MD JDS Rahul Goenka, MD Goenka Greens & Rajendra Toyota Adil Rai, Heritage Medical Group Akash Rai, Heritage Medical Group.
Sports Basketball Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, basketball player Akanksha Singh, basketball player Divya Singh, basketball player Prashanti Singh, basketball player Pratima Singh, basketball player Cricket Bernard Brodhurst, cricketer Maharajkumar of Vizianagram, cricketer Yashovardhan Singh, cricketer Hockey Mohammed Shahid, field hockey player Lalit Upadhyay, field hockey player Other Shivpal Singh, track and field athlete Narsingh Pancham Yadav, wrestler Punam Yadav, weightlifter Ram Singh Yadav, marathon runner
Others Sir James Brooke, founder of the White Rajah dynasty of Sarawak Sitaram Chaturvedi, educator, dramatist and scholar Ekta Chowdhry, model Bhagwan Das, Bharat Ratna recipient Manmath Nath Gupta, revolutionary and writer Rai Krishnadasa, Padma Vibhushan recipient Lahiri Mahasaya, yogi Arun Pathak, activist and politician Ravidas Sameer, lyricist Sachindra Nath Sanyal, revolutionary and founder of the Hindustan Republican Association K. L. Shrimali, Padma Vibhushan
References