Chitra Mudgal (born 10 December 1943) is an Indian Writer and one of the leading literary figures of modern Hindi literature.

She is the first Indian woman to receive the coveted Vyas Samman for her novel Avaan.

[2] Her novel 'Aavaan', portrayed the lives and times of the trade union movement when nearly 300,000 workers spearheaded by Datta Samant went on a year long strike of the Mumbai textile mills, which finally saw the collapse of the city's trademark industry.

[3] The plot of her novel Aavaan was conceived following the murder of a committed trade union leader, Shankar Guha Niyogi.

[citation needed] The murder of Datta Samant, who was her guide and philosopher, "shattered her" and became the bases of her novel Aavaan.