Babu Gulabrai (January 17, 1888 – April 13, 1963) was one of the greatest literary figures of modern Hindi literature.

He completed MA in Philosophy and LLB from Agra university. His initial works were in English with the subjects drawn from Western and Indian Philosophy. The nationalistic surge at the beginning of the 20th century motivated him to write in Hindi and enrich the national language.

His first two major works were 'Shanti dharma' and 'Maitri dharma' which deeply reflected his ideology. He then worked for the Maharaja of Chhatarpur as the Private Secretary to the King, Prime Minister and the Chief Justice. After the death of Maharaja, he came back to Agra and resumed his literary pursuits. He taught in the historical St Johns College, Agra and was highly revered for his teaching skills as well as his student friendly attitude. Most of the works written in this period were essays including his legendary autobiography titled 'Meri Asafaltein' (My Failures). His literary works deeply reflect his philosophy of Shanti (Peace), Samanvaya (Co-ordination) and Sahanshilta (Tolerance). It is said that Gandhian thoughts were propagated by Premchand through stories, by Maithali Sharan Gupt through poetry and by Babu GulabRai through essays.

He was conferred with an honorary doctorate from Agra University in the year 1957 by V V Giri. He left this world on 13th April 1963 after writing more than 50 books and providing theoretical foundations to the literature of Hindi.

In June 2002, the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee issued a Rs 5 stamp to commemorate his contribution to Hindi literature.