India Knight

She was born to Sabiha Rumani Malik (of a family related to Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, one of the leaders of the Indian independence movement and a scholar and poet) and Michel Aertsens, the son of First World War hero Gaston Aertsens and Marie-Louise Lacroix, of the family of Belgian statesman Henri Jaspar. At the time of India's birth Malik was 17 years old while Aertsens was 20 years Malik's senior. Soon after her birth India’s parents separated and India lived in Brussels with her mother who, whilst continuing her studies, worked as a translator to support her daughter and herself.

In December 2015 she announced her forthcoming marriage to former MP Eric Joyce, her boyfriend of six years.

In August 2014, Knight was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue.

In 1975 India’s mother married Andrew Knight, the editor of The Economist; at age 9 India moved to London to live with her mother and stepfather. At the age of 13, she changed her name via deed poll to India Knight, choosing the name to reflect her mother's Asian heritage alongside her stepfather's surname. Her mother and stepfather were married for 17 years and had two daughters, Amaryllis and Afsaneh. They were divorced in 1991, and soon after, India's mother married a family friend, the architect Norman Foster; they remained married until 1995. In her semi-autobiographical novel Comfort and Joy, Knight writes about her family and her mother.

India Knight (born 14 December 1965) is a British journalist and author. She writes for British newspapers, and has written the books: My Life on a Plate, Don't You Want Me?, The Shops, Neris and India's Idiot-Proof Diet and The Thrift Book (2008). Her novels have been translated into 28 languages.