The list of Banaras Hindu University people includes notable graduates, professors and administrators affiliated with Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi. For a list of Vice-Chancellors, see List of Vice-Chancellors of Banaras Hindu University.

Nobel laureates C. V. Raman, the Nobel Prize winner in Physics in 1930 and Bharat Ratna laureate in 1954 (permanent visiting professor at BHU)

Heads of state and government A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, 11th President of India, 2002–2007;Bharat Ratna laureate in 1997 (visiting professor, taught technology at BHU) Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala (B.A. 1934), former Prime Minister of Nepal Krishan Kant (M.Sc.), former Vice President of India Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, first Vice President of India, 1952–1962; second President of India, 1962–1967; Bharat Ratna laureate in 1954 (the Vice Chancellor of BHU from 17 September 1939 to 16 January 1948) Sushila Karki (MA Political Science 1975) former interim Prime Minister of Nepal, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Nepal.

Notable alumni

Arts, humanities and social sciences

+NameClass YearDegreeNotabilityReferencesAdya Prasad PandeyBSc (Zoology, Botany), M.A., MBA, Ph.D.Former Vice Chancellor; Recipient of the BHU Gold MedalAmara RanatungaKan Singh Parihar, Sri Lankan singerAmarnath SehgalIndian sculptor, painter and poet, Padma Bhushan (2008)Kan Singh PariharAnanda ShankarHindustani classical musicianBettina BäumerAustrian-born Indian scholar and academicBhupen Hazarika1944; 1946BA; MAsinger, poet, filmmaker; Recipient of the Bharat RatnaByomakesh MohantyMApainterHarivash Narayan Singh1976, 1977MA Economics, Diploma JournalismDeputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian ParliamentHarivansh Rai BachchanHindi poetKamala ShankarM.Sc., Ph.D.Hindustani classical musicianKamalesh Chandra ChakrabartyM.Sc., Ph.D.Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India (2009–2014)K. N. Govindacharya1962M.Sc.environmentalist, social activistKoenraad ElstBelgian scholarLakshmi Kant JhaFormer Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (1967-70), Governor of Jammu & Kashmir, Ambassador of India to the United States, and civil servantMadhav Sadashiv Golwalkar1926, 1928B.Sc., M.Sc.Second Sarsanghchalak (Supreme Chief) of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak SanghMannu Bhandari1953M.AAcclaimed Hindi writerMoti BAB.A.Bhojpuri language Poet and AuthorOsnat ElkabirIsraeli singer, dancer and theatre directorPatrick Moutal1976; 1978; 1979; 1983B.Sc., M.Sc., M.A., Ph.D.French musician and Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres awardeePaul William Robertsstudied SanskritwriterRadha BurnierB.A., M.ATheosophistRitwik Sanyal1980M.A., Ph.D.Hindustani classical musician, Dhrupad vocalistRobert M. PirsigAmerican philosopherRaimon PanikkarSpanish theologianSameer AnjaanM.Com.lyricistSandeep DasBA (English Literature)Tabla player; Recipient of the BHU Gold Medal, Grammy AwardShiba Prasad ChatterjeeGeographerSarveshwar Dayal SaxenapoetShivamurthy Shivacharya MahaswamijiPh.D.social activist, educationistVeena PandeyB.A., M.A., Ph.D. in HindiPolitician, Former Member of Legislative Council, PoliticianVibhuti Narayan SinghM.A.last Maharaja of Benares; social activist; Chancellor of BHUVina Mazumdarfeminist, academic, pioneer of women's studies

Social sciences NameClass YearDegreeNotabilityReferencesAhmad Hasan Dani1944M.A.Pakistani archaeologist and historianAwadh Kishore Narain1947M.A.archaeologist, historian, academicBellikoth Raghunath Shenoy1929M.A.classical liberal economistBindeshwar Pathak1964B.A. SociologyPadma Bhushan awardee

Founder, Sulabh InternationalColin TurnbullMABritish-American anthropologistRam Raj Pant1941; 1943LLB; MAfounder of Nepal Law College; pioneering linguist of Nepali languageMajor life events, Handwritten notes by Raj Ram Pant (Nepali)

Literature Sitaram Chaturvedi (B.A., M.A., Ph.D.), playwright, academic Janki Ballabh Shastri, Indian Hindi poet, writer and critic, Padma Shri (2010) Atul Kumar Rai (B.Mus. Tabla) (M.P.A. Musicology) Sahitya Academy Award winner

Politicians Ved Prakash Goyal, politician Rajesh Kumar Mishra, politician Yadunandan Sharma (B.A. 1929), Indian independence activist, farmers' rights activist Shyama Charan Shukla, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Veena Pandey, (B.A., M.A., B.Ed., LLB, Ph.D.), Former M.L.C., National Executive Member, B.J.P. Former Vice President Student Union B.H.U.

+NameClass YearDegreeNotabilityReferencesAmod Prasad UpadhyayMinister of Education and Sports, NepalAnil SrivastavaAshok MitraM.A.politician, finance Minister of West BengalBhola Paswan Shastri,Former Chief Minister Of BiharIswar Prasanna Hazarika,Former Lok Sabha MP, former Director of NTPC, MMTC, STC etc.Janaki Ballabh Patnaik1949M.A.politician, former Chief Minister of OdishaJagjivan Ram4th Deputy Prime Minister of IndiaMahendra Nath PandeyM. A., Ph.D. Hindipolitician, MP, Minister in union cabinetManoj SinhaM.TechLieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, former Member of parliamentMohamed Ayub1985M. SurgeryMLA in Sixteenth Legislative Assembly of Uttar PradeshManoj TiwariM.P.Ed.Sarat Chandra Sinhapolitician, Chief Minister of AssamShankar Dayal SinghBAMember of Lok SabhaRam Bahadur RaiMA Economicssenior Hindi journalist, former editor Jansatta

Vina Mazumdar, academic and founding Director of the Centre for Women's Development Studies (CWDS)

Science and technology

Prem Saran Satsangi Sahab, Leader of Radhasoami Faith, Dayalbagh. System Scientist and Physicist. (Ex Dean IIT Delhi, EX-Vice chancellor, Dayalbagh Educational Institute) Ashok Agarwal (B.Sc. 1975, M.Sc. 1977, Ph.D. 1983), pioneer in reproductive biology Girish Saran Agarwal (M.Sc.), physicist specialising in quantum optics; Regents Professor in the Department of Physics of Oklahoma State University; winner of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize (Physics) in 1982; elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 2008 Pulickel Ajayan (B.Tech. 1985), pioneer in nanotechnology Nikesh Arora (B.Tech. 1989), senior vice president and chief business officer at Google Meenakshi Banerjee, scientist Bir Bhanu, (B.Tech. 1972), Electronics Engineering, Bourns Presidential Chair in Engineering and Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of California, Riverside, California Alok Bhattacharya, Parasitologist and Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate Nishith Gupta (M.Sc. 1999), molecular biologist Achal Das Bohra (B.Sc. 1941), government administrator, engineer S. Ganesh (PhD 1996), molecular geneticist, N-Bios laureate Vinod Kumar Gaur, seismologist, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate Kota Harinarayana (B.Tech. 1965), scientist, academic Aldas Janaiah (Ph.D. 1995), agricultural scientist Arvind Mohan Kayastha (B.Sc. 1979, M.Sc. 1982, Ph.D. 1988), scientist, academic Akhlesh Lakhtakia (B.Tech. 1979, D.Sc. 2006), pioneered sculptured thin films Subhash Chandra Lakhotia, cytogeneticist, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate Devendra Lal, geophysicist; winner of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize (Physics) in 1967; elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1979 Shrikant Lele, metallurgical engineer, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate Anand Mohan (B.Sc. 1976, Ph.D. 1983), geologist Basanti Dulal Nagchaudhuri (B.Sc. 1936), physicist Nishtala Appala Narasimham (M.Sc. 1945, Ph.D. 1952), physicist Jayant Vishnu Narlikar (B.Sc. 1957), theoretical physicist, Padma Vibhushan (1965) Paramasivam Natarajan, photochemist, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate Sri Niwas, geophysicist, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate Ganesh Prasad Pandey, organic chemist, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate Virendra Nath Pandey, Molecular virologist, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate T. V. Ramakrishnan (B.Sc. 1959, M.Sc. 1961), theoretical physicist; winner of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize (Physics) in 1982; elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 2000 Shyam Sundar Rai, seismologist, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate Madisetti Anant Ramlu, founder and first Head of the Department of Mining Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Ayyagari Sambasiva Rao, founder of ECIL C. N. R. Rao (M.Sc. 1953), chemist; scientific advisor to the Prime Minister of India; Bharat Ratna laureate in 2014 Ram Harsh Singh, Padmashri awardee 2016, ABMS 1961(BHU), MD(Hons), Ph.D. 1969 (BHU), D.Litt. FNA IM, Life-time Distinguished Professor, Faculty of Ayurveda BHU, First Vice Chancellor, Rajasthan Ayurved University, Jodhpur (2003–2006). Narla Tata Rao, former chairman of the Andhra Pradesh State Electricity Board Palle Rama Rao (Ph.D.), metallurgist and Padma Vibhushan awardee Patcha Ramachandra Rao (M.Sc. 1965, Ph.D. 1968), metallurgist, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate, Vice Chancellor of BHU Udipi Ramachandra Rao (M.Sc. 1952), space scientist, Chairman of ISRO N. A. Ramaiah physical chemist, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate Gangadhar J. Sanjayan, bioorganic chemist, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate Mushi Santappa, polymer chemist, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate Debi Prasad Sarkar, Immunologist, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate Jagdish Shukla (B.Sc. 1962, M.Sc. 1964, Ph.D. 1971), meteorologist Lalji Singh, molecular biologist, Vice Chancellor of BHU Nagendra Kumar Singh (B.Sc. 1978, M.Sc. 1980), agricultural scientist; pioneer in mapping plant genomes Rishi Narain Singh, geophysicist, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate Manick Sorcar (B.Tech.), artist, engineer, entrepreneur Brahm Shanker Srivastava, microbiologist, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate Onkar Nath Srivastava (MSc 1961 and PhD 1966), material physicist and a recipient of Padma Shri and Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize M. J. Thirumalachar, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate Satish K. Tripathi (B.Sc., M.Sc.), President of University at Buffalo, The State University of New York Prahalad Chunnilal Vaidya, physicist and mathematician; proponent of Vaidya Metric for gravitational fields; Vice Chancellor of Gujarat University A. N. Rai ex vc NEHU Sandeep Verma, bioorganic chemist, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate Kameshwar C. Wali (M.Sc.), research physicist and science writer Saket Kushwaha (B.Sc. 1983, M.Sc. 1986, Ph.D. 1992), agricultural economist, VC Rajiv Gandhi University Jay Chaudhry (B.Tech. 1980) Founder & CEO, Zscaler

Sports NameClass YearDegreeCollegeNotabilityReferencesDivya SinghBACaptain of Indian Women's Basketball team

Notable faculty

Arts, humanities and social sciences Adya Prasad Pandey, Professor in Economics and Former Head Department of Economics, Vice Chancellor Manipur University Anant Sadashiv Altekar, Manindra Chandra Nandi Chair of Ancient History & Culture; led archaeological excavation of Mauryan era structures V. Balaji, Professor of Violin Chandrakala Padia, professor, political science, noted political scientist C. V. Chandrasekhar, Professor of Performing Arts; Bharata Natyam dancer; Sangeet Natak Akademi Award winner; Kalidas Samman and Padma Bhushan awardee A.K. Chatterjee, Professor of philosophy, Indian philosopher and Buddhist scholar Sitaram Chaturvedi, Professor of Literature, playwright Amiya Kumar Dasgupta, Professor of Economics (1947–1958); pioneer of economics in Independent India Girija Devi, Professor of Performing Arts; Hindustani classical vocalist Julius Getman, Visiting professor of Law Chandradhar Sharma Guleri, former Manindra Chandra Nandi Chair in Ancient History and Religion Latika Katt, Professor of Visual Arts; sculptor Sucheta Kripalani, Professor of Constitutional History Dalsukh Dahyabhai Malvania, Jain scholar, writer and Padma Bhushan awardee Lalmani Misra, Professor of Music; Hindustani classical musician Ram Shankar Misra, Professor of Comparative Religion Awadh Kishore Narain, Professor of History (1947–1960); Manindra Chandra Nandi Chair of Ancient History & Culture (1960–1971) B.C. Nirmal, Professor of Law N. Rajam, Professor of Performing Arts