Goswami Tulsidas (1511-1623)

Tulsidas has sparked debate because some of his verses (Chaupai) are mentioned in the Ramcharitmanas.

Tulsidas, a Brahmin whose real name was Ram Bola Dubey, is thought to have been born in Rajapur by the Yamuna, which is now part of the Banda district.
He wrote the Ramcharitmanas on the banks of the Ganga in Varanasi, starting on Ram Navami day in 1574 and finishing it over the next few years.
Tulsidas lived during the reign of Emperor Akbar, and some believe he corresponded with Abdurrahim Khan-e-Khanan, Akbar’s commander Bairam Khan’s son.

The poem was written in the 16th century in the Awadhi dialect, which is primarily spoken in the districts of Lucknow, Prayagraj, and Ayodhya today.
It was written in the Avdhi language. The sacred chant ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ is included.
It is divided into seven chapters (Kand), which tell the story of Lord Ram from his birth to his ascension to the throne of Ayodhya.

The Ramcharitmanas is based on the Ramayana, the great epic of sage Valmiki.
It is the holiest book in the Indo-Gangetic region, as well as one of the world’s most widely read holy books — according to one estimate, Geeta Press (Gorakhpur) has sold nearly 7 crore copies.
Throughout the Hindi heartland, “Ramayan” often refers to Ramcharitmanas.
Tulsidas popularised the story of Lord Ram because he wrote in the regional dialect that most people understood.

While Lord Ram is described in the Ramcharitmanas as maryada purushottam, the epitome of righteousness, his actions have been criticised by anti-Brahmin activists such as E V Ramasamy Periyar.
“I shall have no faith in Rama and Krishna, who are believed to be incarnations of God, nor shall I worship them,” one of the 22 pledges Dr. B R Ambedkar administered to his followers while embracing Buddhism in October 1956.
In politics, non-upper caste assertion has occasionally manifested itself in criticism of the Ramcharitmanas.
Critics have used these sections of the poem to accuse Tulsidas of being anti-upper castes and women, as well as a proponent of Brahminical superiority.

Source: https://m.economictimes.com/news/new-updates/tulsidas-jayanti-here-are-some-interesting-facts-about-tuslidas/articleshow/93344481.cms