List of people from Karnataka

This is a list of notable people from Karnataka, India. In order to be included, a person of influence needs only to have been born in Karnataka. This article can be expanded to accommodate newly surfacing information.

Cinema

 * Ambareesh
 * Ananth Nag
 * Aniruddha Jatkar
 * Aishwarya rai
 * Ananya Kasaravalli
 * Anuradha Paudwal
 * Anushka Shetty
 * Arati Ankalikar-Tikekar
 * Arjun Sarja
 * Aruna Balraj
 * Arthi
 * Atul Kulkarni
 * A. T. Raghu
 * B. Saroja Devi
 * B. C. Patil
 * B. S. Ranga
 * B. V. Karanth
 * Bala
 * Balakrishna
 * Balaraj
 * Bank Janardhan
 * Bharathi Vishnuvardhan
 * Bhargavi Narayan
 * Bhavana
 * Bhavani Prakash
 * Bianca Desai
 * Chandrika
 * Chandulal Jain
 * Chetan Kumar
 * Darshan Tugudeep
 * Daisy Bopanna
 * Deepika Padukone
 * Devaraj
 * Dinesh
 * Dingri Nagaraj
 * Dwarakesh
 * Ere Gowda
 * Ganesh
 * Ganesh Hegde
 * G. V. Iyer
 * Geetha
 * Girish Karnad
 * Girish Kasaravalli
 * Gulshan Devaiah
 * Guru Dutt
 * Hansika Motwani
 * Harshika Poonacha
 * Hema Bellur
 * Hema Prabhath
 * Honnavalli Krishna
 * Jaggesh
 * Jayant Kaikini
 * Kalpana
 * Kalyan Kumar
 * Kashinath
 * Keerthiraj
 * Keerthi Bhat
 * Kunigal Nagabhushan
 * Lakshmi Chandrashekar
 * Lakshmi Rai
 * Leelavathi
 * Leena Chandavarkar
 * Lokesh
 * M. S. Sathyu
 * Madhuri Itagi
 * Mandeep Roy
 * Manjula
 * Master Hirannaiah
 * Master Manjunath
 * Michael Madhu
 * Milind Gadagkar
 * Mohan
 * Mysore Lokesh
 * Nagathihalli Chandrashekar
 * Narasimharaju
 * Negro Johnny
 * Nidhi Subbaiah
 * Nirmala Chennappa
 * Nishan K. P. Nanaiah
 * Padma Vasanthi
 * Padmaja Rao
 * Pandari Bai
 * Pattabhirama Reddy, settler
 * Pooja Lokesh
 * Pradeep Uppoor
 * Prakash Rai
 * Prabhu Deva, settler
 * Pramila Joshai
 * Prathap
 * Prema
 * Puneeth Rajkumar
 * Puttana Kanagal
 * Raam Reddy
 * Radhika Pandit
 * Raghavendra Rajkumar
 * Rajanikanth
 * Rajesh Krishnan, settler
 * Rajkumar
 * Raju Sundaram, settler
 * Raj B. Shetty
 * Rakshita
 * Ramesh Arvind
 * Ram Kumar
 * Ramu
 * Ramya
 * Ravichandran, settler
 * Raju Talikote
 * Rashmi
 * Rashmika Mandanna
 * Rekha Das
 * Rockline Venkatesh
 * Rohit Shetty
 * Roopa Iyer, settler
 * R.T. Rama
 * Sarigama Viji
 * Sakshi Shivanand
 * Sanchita Shetty
 * Sandeep Chowta
 * Sanketh Kashi
 * Sathyabhama
 * Satyajith
 * Shamita Shetty
 * Shani Mahadevappa
 * Shankar Nag
 * Shanthamma
 * Shashi Kumar
 * Shivarajkumar
 * Shilpa Shetty
 * Shobraj
 * Shraddha Srinath
 * Shruti Naidu
 * Shylaja Nag
 * Sihi Kahi Chandru
 * Sihi Kahi Geetha
 * Sneha Ullal
 * Soundarya
 * Srinivas Prabhu
 * Sudha Baragur
 * Sudha Belawadi
 * Sudha Narasimharaju
 * Sunil
 * Srimurali
 * Srinath
 * Sudha Rani
 * Sudheer
 * Suman Nagarkar
 * Suman Ranganathan
 * Sundar Krishna Urs
 * Sundar Raj
 * Sunil Shetty
 * Sunil Kumar Desai
 * Sudeepa
 * Syed Aman Bachchan
 * T. S. Nagabharana
 * Tara
 * Tiger Prabhakar
 * Umashri
 * Upendra
 * Vajramuni
 * Vaishali Desai
 * Vasundhara Das
 * Vanishree
 * Vijay Kashi
 * Vinayak Joshi
 * Vishnuvardhan
 * Yashwant Sardeshpande

Theatre

 * Arundhati Nag
 * Bhargavi Narayan
 * B. V. Karanth
 * Chandrashekhar Kambara
 * Chindodi Leela
 * Girish Karnad
 * Gubbi Veeranna
 * K. V. Subbanna
 * Kalpana
 * Lakshmi Chandrashekar
 * Lokesh
 * Master Hirannaiah
 * Mukhyamantri Chandru
 * Prasanna
 * Shankar Nag
 * Shivananda
 * Umashree
 * Vajramuni
 * Yashwant Sardeshpande

Ancient architecture and sculpture

 * Amarashilpi Jakanachari
 * Gundan Anivaritachari
 * Ruvari Malithamma

Modern and contemporary art, art criticism

 * Dattatreya Aralikatte
 * Renuka Kesaramadu
 * Ashwini Bhat
 * Surekha
 * S. G. Vasudev
 * Yusuf Arakkal

Classical music - Carnatic

 * Gopala Dasa
 * Harikesanallur Muthayya Bhagavathar
 * Jagannatha Dasa
 * Kadri Gopalnath
 * Jyotsna Srikanth
 * Kanakadasa
 * Maharaja Jayachamaraja Wadiyar
 * Dr.Mysore Manjunath
 * Mysore Sadasiva Rao
 * Mysore V. Ramarathnam
 * Mysore Vasudevacharya
 * Mysore Nagaraj
 * N. Ravikiran
 * Purandaradasa
 * R. K. Srikanthan
 * R.R. Keshavamurthy
 * Sripadaraya
 * T. Chowdiah
 * Vadiraja
 * Vijaya Dasa
 * Vyasatirtha
 * Doraiswamy Iyengar
 * Adarsh Iyengar
 * Veene Sheshanna
 * Vittal Ramamurthy
 * Ghatam Udupa
 * K. V. Krishna Prasad
 * B. Shankar Rao
 * Anoor Anantha Krishna Sharma
 * M. S. Sheela
 * Vidyabhushana

Classical music - Hindustani

 * Basavaraja Rajaguru, vocal
 * Bhimsen Joshi, vocal
 * Bapu Padmanabha, bansuri
 * S. Ballesh, vocal and shehnai
 * Ganapati Bhat, vocal
 * Gangubai Hangal, vocal
 * Gururao Deshpande, vocal
 * Jayateerth Mevundi, vocal
 * Kumar Gandharva, vocal
 * Lalith J. Rao, vocal
 * Madhava Gudi, vocal
 * Mallikarjun Mansur, vocal
 * Milind Chittal, vocal
 * Nachiketa Sharma, vocal
 * Nagaraja Rao Havaldar, vocal
 * Pravin Godkhindi, bansuri
 * Puttaraja Gawai, vocal
 * Rajeev Taranath, sarod
 * Sanjeev Chimmalgi, vocal
 * Sangeetha Katti, vocal
 * Sawai Gandharva, vocal
 * Shobha Gurtu, vocal
 * Smita Bellur, vocal
 * Taranath Ram Rao Hattiangadi, tabla
 * Pandit Venkatesh Kumar, vocal
 * Vinayak Torvi, vocal
 * Keshav Ginde, flute
 * Madhav Gudi, vocal
 * Panchakshari Gawai, vocal

Modern musicians

 * Mysore Ananthaswamy, bhavageete
 * P. Kalinga Rao, bhavageete
 * Pandit Narasimhalu Vadavati
 * S. Ballesh, shehnai and vocal
 * Mysore Manjunath
 * Pravin Godkhindi, flute
 * Shimoga Subbanna, Sugama Sangeetha
 * C. Ashwath, Sugama Sangeetha
 * Balappa Hukkeri, folklore
 * G.V. Atri, bhavageete
 * Ganesh Hegde, choreography
 * Biddu Appaiah, composer
 * Bapu Padmanabha, flute

Film music

 * Anoop Seelin
 * Arjun
 * B. V. Karanth
 * C. Ashwath
 * G. K. Venkatesh
 * G. V. Iyer, settler
 * Gurukiran
 * S. Ballesh, playback singer, music director, shehnai
 * Hamsalekha
 * Jayant Kaikini
 * Mano Murthy
 * Rajan–Nagendra
 * Ravichandran
 * Sadhu Kokila
 * Sandeep Chowta
 * Shankar–Ganesh
 * V. Harikrishna
 * V. Manohar
 * Vijaya Bhaskar
 * Raghu Dixit
 * Bapu Padmanabha

Film singers

 * Nanditha
 * Rajkumar
 * Rajesh Krishnan
 * Vijay Prakash
 * Chetan Sosca

Dance

 * Maya Rao (1928-2014), Kathak Guru and founder of NIKC, Bangalore

Fashion

 * Deepika Padukone
 * Prasad Bidapa

Kings and nobles

 * Aliya Rama Raya
 * Abbakka Rani
 * Amoghavarsha I
 * Basaveshwara
 * Bijjala II
 * Bukka Raya I
 * Butuga II
 * Chikkadevaraja Wodeyar
 * Chamundaraya
 * Chand Bibi
 * Devaraya I
 * Deva Raya II
 * Dhruva Dharavarsha
 * Durvinita
 * Govinda III
 * Hyder Ali
 * Harihara I
 * Ibrahim Adil Shah II
 * Indra III
 * Jayachamaraja Wodeyar
 * Kempe Gowda
 * Krishna III
 * Krishnadeva Raya
 * Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV
 * Madakari Nayaka
 * Mayuravarma
 * Pulakesi II
 * Rani Chennamma of Keladi
 * Rani Chennamma of Kittur
 * Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya
 * Sangolli Rayanna, army chief of the Kingdom of Kittur
 * Tailapa II
 * Tippu Sultan
 * Veera Ballala II
 * Veera Ballala III
 * Vikramaditya II
 * Vikramaditya VI
 * Vishnuvardhana

Industrialists and businesspeople

 * A. B. Shetty, founder of Vijaya Bank
 * Ammembal Subba Rao Pai, founder of Canara Bank
 * B. R. Shetty, NMC Group
 * G. R. Gopinath, founder of Deccan Aviation
 * Gururaj Deshpande, venture capitalist
 * K. V. Kamath, managing director and CEO of ICICI Bank
 * Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Biocon India Ltd.
 * N. R. Narayana Murthy, Infosys Technologies, Ltd.
 * N S Narendra, founder of FirePro
 * Nandan Nilekani, Infosys Technologies, Ltd.
 * Phaneesh Murthy, iGATE Global Solutions, Ltd.
 * R. N. Shetty, Murdeshwar Group
 * T. M. A. Pai, co-founder of Syndicate Bank and Manipal Academy of Higher Education
 * V. G. Siddhartha, Cafe Coffee Day
 * Vaman Srinivas Kudva, co-founder of Syndicate Bank
 * Vijay Mallya, UB Group
 * Vijay Sankeshwar, Vijayanand Group
 * Vittal Mallya, UB Group
 * Pradeep Kar, Microland
 * Ashok Kheny, NICE
 * Thumbay Moideen, founder of Thumbay Group and Gulf Medical University

Health care

 * Dr. H. Sudarshan Ballal
 * Dr. C. N. Manjunath, cardiologist
 * Dr. M. C. Modi, eye surgeon
 * Dr. Sharan Patil, orthopaedic surgeon
 * Dr. Y. G. Parameshwara
 * Dr. Devi Shetty, cardiovascular surgeon

Science and technology
Science


 * C. N. R. Rao, chemistry
 * C. R. Rao, statistics
 * N. K. Naik, Professor Emeritus at IIT Bombay
 * M. C. Modi, ophthalmology
 * Narayan Hosmane, biochemistry, cancer research
 * Raja Ramanna, physics
 * Roddam Narasimha, aerospace, atmospheric sciences
 * U. R. Rao, space science
 * M.L. Kulkarni, pediatrician
 * B. N. Suresh
 * S. K. Shivkumar
 * K. N. Shankara
 * S. G. Balekundri
 * Nandan Nilekani
 * Sudha Murthy
 * Vivek Kulkarni
 * Narayan Hosmane
 * Gururaj Deshpande

Mathematics


 * D. C. Pavate
 * Mahaviracharya
 * Shakuntala Devi

Technology


 * Arun Netravali, Bell Lab
 * Kumar Malavalli, co-founder of Brocade Communication Systems
 * Sir M. Visvesvaraya

Engineering


 * Rajeshwari Chatterjee, Karnataka's first female engineer
 * S. S. Murthy, Electrical engineer

Economics


 * N. S. Subba Rao

Classical writers

 * Nripatunga Amoghavarsha
 * Asaga
 * Ranna, 10th-century poet
 * Janna
 * Adikavi Pampa
 * Sri Ponna
 * Shivakotiacharya
 * Muddana, 19th-century poet and author
 * Andayya, 13th-century writer
 * Gangadevi, 14th-century poet and author
 * Kumaravyasa
 * Harihara, poet
 * Lakshmisha (Jaimeni Bharatha in Kannada)
 * Raghavanka
 * Rudrabhatta
 * Basavanna
 * Akka Mahadevi
 * Sarvajna
 * Tirumalamba
 * Purandaradasa
 * Kanakadasa
 * Trivikrama Panditacharya
 * Narayana Panditacharya
 * Kumudendu Muni, author of Siribhoovalaya
 * Shishunaala Sharif Saheba, first Muslim poet in Kannada literature

Modern writers

 * A.N. Krishna Rao
 * Anupama Niranjana
 * Aravind Adiga, won the Man Booker Prize in 2008
 * B. G. L. Swamy
 * B. M. Srikantaiah
 * Beechi, comedian from Bellary District
 * Chandrashekhara Kambara
 * Da. Ra. Bendre
 * D. Javare Gowda
 * Jayalakshmi Seethapura
 * D. V. Gundappa
 * G. P. Rajarathnam
 * Girish Karnad
 * Gopalakrishna Adiga
 * Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar
 * Ha Ma Nayak
 * H. S. Krishnaswamy Iyengar
 * K. S. Narasimhaswamy
 * K. S. Nissar Ahmed
 * K. Anantharamu
 * Kota Shivarama Karanth
 * Kuvempu
 * M. Govinda Pai
 * Maasti Venkatesh Ayengar
 * Maya Kamath, political cartoonist
 * P. Lankesh
 * Panchakshari Hiremath
 * A.K. Ramanujan
 * Poornachandra Tejaswi
 * P. T. Narasimhachar
 * R. C. Hiremath
 * R. K. Narayan, settler
 * Raja Rao
 * S. Srikanta Sastri
 * S. L. Bhyrappa
 * Shatavadhani Dr. R. Ganesh
 * Shashi Deshpande
 * T. P. Kailasam
 * T. R. Subba Rao
 * T. N. Srikantaiah
 * U. R. Ananthamurthy
 * V. K. Gokak
 * Yashwant Chittal
 * Ferdinand Kittel
 * Dinakara Desai
 * Venkatesh Galaganath

Politicians

 * K.C. Reddy, former Chief Minister
 * Kadidal Manjappa, former Chief Minister
 * Kengal Hanumanthaiah, former Chief Minister
 * Siddaramaiah, former Chief Minister
 * Shantaveri Gopala Gowda, Socialist leader, former MLA
 * S. Nijalingappa, former Chief Minister
 * Devaraj Urs, former Chief Minister
 * Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya, freedom fighter
 * Basappa Danappa Jatti, former Vice-President
 * Gudleppa Hallikeri, freedom fighter, former Chairman of the Legislative Council.
 * M.N. Jois, freedom fighter, former M.L.C, Dy Speaker of Legislative Council
 * Bantwal Vaikunta Baliga, former Law Minister; former Speaker, Mysore State
 * Gundu Rao, former Chief Minister
 * Ramakrishna Hegde, former Chief Minister
 * Sudheendra Kulkarni
 * Prabhakar Kore, member of Rajya Sabha from Karnataka
 * S.R.Kanti, former Chief Minister
 * Neeraj Patil, Mayor of Lambeth district of London
 * S.R.Bommai, former Chief Minister
 * Veerendra Patil, former Chief Minister
 * S.Bangarappa, former Chief Minister
 * Veerappa Moily, former Chief Minister
 * L. G. Havanur, former Law Minister
 * H.D. Deve Gowda, former prime minister
 * J.H.Patel, former Chief Minister
 * George Fernandes, former Defense Minister
 * S.M. Krishna, Governor of Maharashtra, former Chief Minister
 * Dharam Singh, former Chief Minister
 * H.D.Kumaraswamy, former Chief Minister
 * B.S.Yediyurappa, former Chief Minister, MP
 * D.V. Sadananda Gowda, former Chief Minister and present union Statistics and Program implementation minister
 * Jagadish Shettar, former Chief Minister
 * Ramesh Jigajinagi, former Home Minister, currently Union Minister of state for drinking water and sanitation and M.P
 * M.P. Prakash, former deputy Chief Minister
 * Oscar Fernandes, former Union Minister
 * Jaffer Sharief, former Union Minister
 * Margaret Alva, former Union Minister
 * U. Srinivas Mallya, former Member of Parliament
 * H.N.Ananth Kumar, Union Minister for chemicals and fertilizers & M.P.
 * Mallikarjun Kharge, former Home Minister, former Union Railway Minister
 * K.H. Muniyappa, former Union minister of state for Railways
 * V.S.Acharya, former Minister for Home affairs & Medical Education
 * H.Vishwanath, former Minister, former M.P
 * Vatal Nagaraj, former MLA
 * Vishweshwara Hegde, former Education Minister
 * Bhagwanth Khuba, Member of Parliament,  Bidar
 * Shri Thanedar, United States Representative

Bureaucrats

 * C B Muthamma, first woman IFS officer
 * C. G. Somiah, Comptroller and Auditor General of India (1990-1996)
 * Shankar Bidari, IPS, DG & IPG, Karnataka
 * Abdul Rahman Infant, IPS, DG & IGP, Karnataka
 * Dr.M.H.Marigowda, former Director of Horticulture
 * H. T. Sangliana, former police officer, and M.P. Lok Sabha
 * Daya Nayak
 * Kempaiah
 * Veeranna Aivalli
 * Vivek Kulkarni

Cooperative movement

 * S. K. Amin, founder of South Kanara District Co-Operative Fish Marketing Federation

Religion and philosophy

 * Sarvajna
 * Sree Sree Shivakumara Swamiji, Karnataka Ratna, highest civilian awarded by the state
 * Kanaka Dasa, saint
 * Basavanna, founder of Veerashaivism, social reformer
 * Purandara Dasa, saint
 * Vidyaranya, 12th Shankaracharya of Sringeri, spiritual guide to Vijayanagar Empire
 * Allama Prabhu
 * Madhvacharya
 * Mangesh V. Nadkarni
 * Raghavendra Swami
 * Akka Mahadevi
 * Jayatirtha
 * Sripadaraya
 * Vyasatirtha
 * Vadirajatirtha
 * Madhvacharya
 * Naraharitirtha
 * Padmanabha Tirtha
 * Raghaveshwara Bharathi
 * Raghunatha Tirtha
 * Raghuvarya Tirtha
 * Raghuttama Tirtha
 * Gangadharendra Saraswati
 * Balagangadharanatha Swamiji
 * Shivamurthy Shivacharya Mahaswamiji
 * Satyavrata Tirtha
 * Satyanidhi Tirtha
 * Satyanatha Tirtha
 * Satyapriya Tirtha
 * Satyabodha Tirtha
 * Satyasandha Tirtha
 * Satyadharma Tirtha
 * Satyadhyana Tirtha
 * Satyapramoda Tirtha
 * Shishunala Sharifa
 * Jaggi Vasudev, founder of Isha Foundation
 * Siddharudha Swami
 * Narayan Maharaj
 * Narayanacharya
 * Dattatreya
 * Kaadsiddheshwar
 * Keshavashram

Yoga

 * Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, known as "the father of modern yoga" and reviver of Hatha yoga
 * B.K.S. Iyengar
 * Geeta Iyengar
 * Jaggi Vasudev
 * Malladihalli Sri Raghavendra Swamiji
 * Pattabhi Jois

Wildlife and environment

 * Hanumappa Sudarshan
 * Ullas Karanth, tiger conservation
 * Krupakar-Senani
 * Vandana Shiva

Historians, epigraphists and archaeologists

 * Dr. Shikaripura Ranganatha Rao
 * Dr. B.A. Saletore
 * P. B. Desai
 * P. Gururaja Bhat
 * G. S. Gai
 * A. N. Narasimhia
 * B. L. Rice
 * S. Srikanta Sastri

Social service

 * Sree Sree Shivakumara Swamiji
 * S. K. Amin
 * Malladihalli Sri Raghavendra Swamiji
 * Sudha Murthy
 * Tulsi Gowda
 * Veerendra Heggade
 * Saalumarada Thimmakka

Cricket

 * Vijay Bhardwaj
 * Raghuram Bhat
 * Roger Binny
 * Stuart Binny
 * Bhagwat Chandrasekhar
 * Deepak Chougule
 * Rahul Dravid
 * Doddanarasaiah Ganesh
 * David Johnson
 * Sunil Joshi
 * Syed Kirmani
 * Vinay Kumar
 * Anil Kumble
 * Sanjay Manjrekar
 * Abhimanyu Mithun
 * Manju Nadgoda
 * Manish Pandey
 * Brijesh Patel
 * Venkatesh Prasad
 * E.A.S. Prasanna
 * KL Rahul
 * A. Ramakrishnappa
 * Shantha Rangaswamy
 * Barrington Rowland
 * Ganesh Satish
 * Sujith Somasunder
 * Javagal Srinath
 * Robin Uthappa
 * Gundappa Vishwanath
 * Sadanand Viswanath

Hockey

 * B. P. Govinda (former captain, Arjun award)
 * M. P. Ganesh (former captain, Arjun Award)
 * Ashish Ballal
 * Arjun Halappa
 * M M Somaiya (former captain)

Football

 * Vinoth Kumar
 * Xavier Vijay Kumar
 * N.S. Manju
 * Kuppuswami Sampath
 * Shankar Sampingiraj
 * Karma Tsewang
 * Sanjeeva Uchil (Represented India in 1948 Olympics)

Athletics

 * Ashwini Nachappa
 * J. J. Shobha
 * Vandana Rao
 * Vandana Shanbagh
 * Vikas Gowda
 * Girisha Nagarajegowda Para-athletics

Badminton

 * Prakash Padukone
 * Anup Sridhar
 * Ashwini Ponnappa

Tennis

 * Rohan Bopanna
 * Poojashree Venkatesh
 * Srinath Prahlad

Others

 * C.C. Machaiah, former boxer, Olympian and coach, 1978 Arjuna Awardee
 * Chetan Baboor, Table Tennis
 * Nisha Millet, Swimming
 * Pankaj Advani, Billiards
 * Malathi Krishnamurthy Holla

Military

 * Ajjamada B Devaiah, Pilot in Indian air force, Maha Vir Chakra (posthumous), war martyr.
 * Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa, Commander-in-Chief, Indian Armed Forces
 * Gen.K. S. Thimayya, Chief of Staff, Indian Army
 * Gen. A C Iyappa, Prisoner-of-War in World War II, Indian Army, BEL chief.
 * Air Marshal C D Subbaiah, VrC, PVSM, World War II fighter pilot, Indian Army.
 * Ramesh Halagali, AVSM, SM, Deputy Chief of Indian Army.
 * Major M C Muthanna, killed by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, Shaurya Chakra awardee.
 * Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, killed in action during the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, consequently awarded the Ashoka Chakra, Indian Army

Judiciary

 * Justice Manepalli Narayana Rao Venkatachaliah, retired Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
 * Justice N Y Hanumanthappa, Chief Justice of Orissa High Court and Ex-Member of Parliament, Chitra Durga
 * Justice Santhosh Hegde, retired Supreme Court Judge
 * Justice H.L.Dattu, retired Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
 * Justice V. Gopala Gowda, Supreme Court Judge
 * Chief Justice of India P. B. Gajendragadkar, from Gajendragad

Bharat Ratna

 * Sir M. Visvesvaraya, 1955
 * Bhimsen Joshi, 2008
 * C.N.R. Rao, 2014

Jnanpith Award

 * Kuvempu, for his epic Sri Ramayana Darshanam, in 1969
 * D. R. Bendre, for his anthology of poems Naku Thanthi, in 1974
 * K. Shivaram Karanth, for his novel Mookajjiya Kanasugalu, in 1977
 * Masti Venkatesha Iyengar, for his historical novel Chikkaveera Rajendra, in 1983
 * V. K. Gokak, for Bharatha Sindhu Rashmi, in 1990
 * U. R. Ananthamurthy, for his monumental contributions, in 1994
 * Girish Karnad, for his monumental contributions to Kannada literature and for contributions to Kannada theatre (Yayati), in 1998
 * Chandrashekhara Kambara, for his monumental contributions to Kannada literature, in 2010

Saraswati Samman

 * S. L. Bhyrappa, for his novel Mandra, in 2010

Militants

 * Iqbal Bhatkal
 * Kafeel Ahmed, 2007 London car bombing
 * Riyaz Bhatkal
 * Yasin Bhatkal

Others

 * Shakuntala Devi, calculating prodigy; "called human computer"
 * N. Someswara, doctor and quiz master of Thatt Antha Heli
 * Aluru Venkata Rao
 * Huilgol Narayana Rao
 * Ravi Belagere
 * Mayurasharma
 * Pulakesi I
 * Krishna Deva Raya
 * Kudroli Ganesh, magician
 * Kumara Rama
 * Somesvara I
 * Belawadi Mallamma
 * Kittur Chennamma
 * Attimabbe
 * Raghavendra Acharya
 * Pandita Ramabai, reformer for women's education, Sanskrit scholar, Christian Bible translator into Marathi
 * Saraswati Gangadhar
 * S. D. Phadnis, cartoonist
 * A. N. Prahlada Rao, crossword writer; created 40,000 crosswords; name mentioned in LIMCA Book of Records 2015