Who was the first Indian musician to win a Grammy Award?

Ravi Shankar was the first Indian musician to win a Grammy Award.

Shankar won in 1971 for West Meets East, his collaborative album with violinist Yehudi Menuhin. The recording won Best Chamber Music Performance and brought Indian classical sitar music and Western classical violin together in a Grammy-recognized project.

The award was important because Shankar’s international career had already made him a leading ambassador for Indian classical music. His performances and recordings introduced the sitar and raga traditions to wide audiences beyond India.

This fact is sometimes mixed up with later Grammy wins by Indian artists, including A. R. Rahman and Zakir Hussain. Shankar’s 1971 award came decades earlier and is generally cited as the first Grammy win by an Indian musician.