Jeelani Bano

Jeelani Bano (14 July 1936 – 1 March 2026) was an Indian writer and novelist. She wrote in Urdu, Hindi, Gujarati and Telugu. Bano received the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri in 2001.

Early life and education Jeelani Bano was born on 14 July 1936 in Badayun, in United Provinces of Agra and Oudh to Hairat Badayuni, a known Urdu poet. After her schooling, she enrolled for intermediate course when she married Anwar Moazzam, a poet of repute and a former head of the Department of Islamic Studies at the Osmania University and shifted to Hyderabad. She continued her education to secure a master's degree (MA) in Urdu. and a collection of her correspondence with other writers, Door ki Aawaazen. Many of her books have been translated into other languages.

Jeelani Bano, a former Chairperson of the non governmental organization for women's rights, Asmita,

Awards and recognitions Bano received the Andhra Pradesh Sahitya Akademi Award in 1960, followed by the Soviet Land Nehru Award in 1985.

Selected works She had been writing since 1954 in Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati and Telugu.

Raat ke Musafir (short story anthology) Tiryaaq (short story anthology) Nayee Aurat (short story anthology) Sach ke siva (short story anthology) Baat Phoolon ki (short story anthology) Dus Pratinidhi Kahaniyan (short story anthology) Addu (short story anthology)