Manuel Aaron (born 30 December 1935) is the first Indian chess master in the second half of the 20th century.

Born in Toungoo (colonial Burma) of Indian parents, Aaron grew up in Tamil Nadu, India, where he did his schooling.

Aaron was Indian National Champion nine times (out of 14 championships between 1959 and 1981), including a run of five consecutive titles between 1969 and 1973.

[5] These wins at the Asian level qualified him for the Stockholm Interzonal in 1962 and although finishing last (23rd place), he inflicted defeats on grandmasters Lajos Portisch[6] and Wolfgang Uhlmann.

At the time of the 2013 World Championship match in Chennai, Manuel Aaron was still active in Indian chess circles.