Dr UR Ananthamurthy , Honourary Chair 

 Renowned Kannada writer and critic Dr UR Ananthamurthy is the Honourary Chair of 'Tagore Chair in Indian Literature' at IGNOU.

 The activities of the Chair include the editing of a bilingual (English and Hindi) Journal on Literature, Language and Culture Studies.

Dr Ananthamurthy was a professor of English Literature for several years at Mysore University, later Vice Chancellor of the Mahatma Gandhi University in Kottayam, Chairman of the National Book Trust and President of the Sahitya Akademi in Delhi. At present, he is serving as the second-time chairman of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune.

Dr Ananthamurthy began his literary career in 1955 with the story volume Endendhigu Mugiyada Kathe. Since then, he has published five novels, one play, six short story volumes, four poetry volumes (including translation of Tao, Yeats and Rilke and Brecht) and 10 essay volumes in Kannada and several pieces on English literature.

His works have been translated into several Indian and European languages and have been awarded with significant literary prizes, including the Jnanpeeth Award (1994). He was honoured by the Government of India with the Padma Bhushan in 1998. His most significant works include Samskara, Bhava, Bharathi Pura and Avasthe.