Jnanpith Award

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The Jnanpith Award is the oldest and the highest Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their "outstanding contribution towards literature". Instituted in 1961, the award is bestowed only on Indian writers writing in Indian languages included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India and English,Template:Efn with no posthumous conferral.[1]

From 1965 till 1981, the award was given to the authors for their "most outstanding work" and consisted of a citation plaque, a cash prize and a bronze replica of Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of knowledge and wisdom.[2][3][4] The first recipient of the award was the Malayalam writer G. Sankara Kurup who received the award in 1965 for his collection of poems, Odakkuzhal (The Bamboo Flute), published in 1950.[5] The rules were revised in subsequent years to consider only works published during the preceding twenty years, excluding the year for which the award was to be given and the cash prize was increased to Template:INRConvert from 1981.[6]

Template:As of, the cash prize has been revised to Template:INRConvert. The award has been conferred upon 65 writers including eight women authors. In 1976, Bengali novelist Ashapoorna Devi became the first woman to win the award and was honoured for the 1965 novel Prothom Protishruti (The First Promise), the first in a trilogy.Template:Efn[7]

Background

The Bharatiya Jnanpith, a research and cultural institute founded in 1944 by industrialist Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain of the Sahu Jain family, conceived an idea in May 1961 to start a scheme "commanding national prestige and of international standard" to "select the best book out of the publications in Indian languages". Later in November, Rama Jain, the Founder President of the Bharatiya Jnanpith, invited a few literary experts to discuss various aspects of the scheme. Jain along with Kaka Kalelkar, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, Jainendra Kumar, Jagdish Chandra Mathur, Prabhakar Machwe, Akshaya Kumar Jain, and Lakshmi Chandra Jain presented the initial draft to the then President of India Rajendra Prasad who had shown interest in the scheme's implementation. The idea was also discussed at the 1962 annual sessions of the All India Gujarati Sahitya Parishad and the Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad.

On 2 April 1962, around 300 writers of various Indian languages were invited to Delhi for the two sessions conducted by Dharamvir Bharati in which the draft was finalised and later presented to Prasad. The first award selection committee meeting was scheduled on 16 March 1963 and Prasad was appointed as its president.[2] However, Prasad died on 28 February 1963 and thus the scheduled meeting was chaired by Kalelkar and Sampurnanand acted as president of the committee.[2][8]

The first Selection Board consisted of Kalelkar, Niharranjan Ray, Karan Singh, R. R. Diwakar, V. Raghavan, B. Gopal Reddy, Harekrushna Mahatab, Rama Jain, and Lakshmi Chandra Jain and was headed by Sampurnanand. Works that were published between 1921 and 1951 were considered for the first award. The nine language committees that were formed were to submit to the board nominations along with translations of the work into Hindi or English. The final round had four authors; Kazi Nazrul Islam (Bengali), D. V. Gundappa (Kannada), Viswanatha Satyanarayana (Telugu), and G. Sankara Kurup (Malayalam). On 19 November 1966, Kurup was presented with the citation, statue of Saraswati, and a cheque for prize of Template:INRConvert at a ceremony held at Vigyan Bhavan, Delhi.Template:Efn In his acceptance speech, Kurup appreciated the concept of the new award and thanked it for bringing "integration of the diverse people of this land on a spiritual plane".[9]

Rules and selection process

The nominations for the award are received from various literary experts, teachers, critics, universities, and numerous literary and language associations. Every three years, an advisory committee is constituted for each of the languages.[2] The language of the most recent recipient's work is not eligible for consideration for the next two years.[1] Each committee consists of three literary critics and scholars of their respective languages. All the nominations are scrutinised by the committee and their recommendations are submitted to the Jnanpith Award Selection Board.

The Selection Board consists of between seven and eleven members of "high repute and integrity". Each member is part of the committee for a term of three years which can also be extended further for two more terms.[2] The recommendations of all language advisory committees are evaluated by the board based on complete or partial translations of the selected writings of the proposed writers into Hindi or English. The recipient for a particular year is announced by the Selection Board, which has final authority in selection.[1]

List of recipients

Key
† Indicates a joint award for the given year
File:G.shankarakurup.jpg
G. Sankara Kurup was the first recipient of the award.
File:Pratibha Devisingh Patil presenting the Rajat Kamal Award to Shri Vairamuthu for the Best Lyrics (Tamil Thenmerkku Paruvakkatru), at the 58th National Film Awards function, in New Delhi on September 09, 2011 (cropped).jpg
Vairamuthu is the most recent recipient of the award.
List of award recipients, showing the year, and language(s)[10]
Year Recipient(s) Language(s) Template:Tooltip
1965
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1966
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1967
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1968
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1969
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1970
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1971
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1972
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1973
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1974
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1975
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1976
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1977
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1978
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1979
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1980
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1981
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1982
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1983
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1984
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1985
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1986
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1987
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1988
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1989
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1990
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1991
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1992
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1993
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1994
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1995
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1996
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1997
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1998
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1999
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2000
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2001
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2002
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2003
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2004
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2005
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2006
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2007
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2008
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2009
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2010
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2011
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2012
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2013
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2014
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2015
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2016
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2017
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2018
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2019
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2020
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[46]
2022
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2023
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2024
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2025
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Jnanpith Award visualization on map
Jnanpith Award visualization on map

Jnanpith recipients by language

Out of twenty-three eligible languages, the award has been presented for works in sixteen languages. The 66 Jnanpith awardees from 1965 to 2025 wrote in the following languages:

Language Number
Hindi 12
Kannada 8
Bengali 6
Malayalam
Urdu 5
Gujarati 4
Marathi
Odia
Assamese 3
Tamil
Telugu
Konkani 2
Punjabi
Sanskrit
English 1
Kashmiri

See also

Notes

Template:Notelist

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Proposal for the 52nd Jnanpith Award. Bharatiya Jnanpith(18 April 2016). Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Jnanpith Award @ Bharatiya Jnanpith. Bharatiya Jnanpith. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  3. ↑ Gujarati writer Raghuveer Chaudhary chosen for Jnanpith Award. The Hindu(30 December 2015). Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  4. ↑ Vasant Panchami, a celebration of Goddess Saraswati. Government of Odisha. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  5. ↑ Handbook of Twentieth-century Literatures of India{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Greenwood Publishing Group(1996). ISBN 978-0-313-28778-7
  6. ↑ Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Sahitya Akademi(1987). ISBN 978-81-260-1803-1
  7. ↑ Indian Women Writers: Critical Perspectives{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Sarup & Sons(1999). ISBN 978-81-7625-072-6
    • Self as Image in Asian Theory and Practice{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. SUNY Press(1998). ISBN 978-0-7914-2725-5
  8. ↑ Nation honours Dr Rajendra Prasad on his 53rd death anniversary(28 February 2016). Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  9. ↑ Sweet, Gentle, Radiant: Selected Poems of G. Sankara Kurup{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Sahitya Akademi(2001). ISBN 978-81-260-1341-8
  10. ↑ Jnanpith Laureates. Bharatiya Jnanpith. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  11. ↑ 11.00 11.01 11.02 11.03 11.04 11.05 11.06 11.07 11.08 11.09 11.10 11.11 11.12 11.13 11.14 11.15 11.16 11.17 11.18 Template:Cite magazine
  12. ↑ Poet's visual expression. The Telegraph(5 May 2013). Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  13. ↑ Literary Trust Launches Programme to Honour Masti. The New Indian Express(10 June 2015). Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  14. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
  15. ↑ Sachidananda Routray passes away. The Hindu(22 August 2004). Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  16. ↑ Telugu writer Ravuri Bharadwaja honoured with Jnanpith award. Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  17. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
  18. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
  19. ↑ Everyman's poet bids final farewell: Obituary [Subhas Mukhopadhyay]. The Telegraph(9 July 2003). Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  20. ↑ The Spirit of Poetry. The Pioneer(1 March 2015). Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  21. ↑ UR Ananthamurthy, renowned Kannada writer, dies in Bangalore. The Times of India(22 August 2014). Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  22. ↑ Template:Cite press release
  23. ↑ Template:Cite press release
  24. ↑ Template:Cite press release
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Nirmal Verma, Gurdial Singh jointly get Jnanpith Award. The Hindu(11 March 2000). Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  26. ↑ Template:Cite press release
  27. ↑ Third Gujarati to win Jnanpith. The Hindu(18 July 2003). Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  28. ↑ Jnanpith award for Jayakanthan. The Times of India(20 March 2005). Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  29. ↑ Template:Cite press release
  30. ↑ Template:Cite press release
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 Template:Cite press release
  32. ↑ Template:Cite press release
  33. ↑ Doyen of Urdu poetry Shahryar presented Jnanpith Award. The Hindu(19 September 2011). Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 Amar Kant, Shrilal Shukla, Kambar win Jnanpith Award. The Hindu(20 September 2011). Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  35. ↑ Template:Cite press release
  36. ↑ Template:Cite press release
  37. ↑ 48th Jnanpith Award to Eminent Telugu Littérateur Shri Ravuri Bharadhwaja. Bharatiya Jnanpith(17 April 2013). Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  38. ↑ Kedarnath Singh chosen for Jnanpith(21 June 2014). Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  39. ↑ 50th Jnanpith Award to Eminent Marathi Littérateur Shri Bhalchandra Nemade. Bharatiya Jnanpith(6 February 2015). Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  40. ↑ 51st Jnanpith Award to Eminent Gujarati Littérateur Shri Raghuveer Chaudhari. Bharatiya Jnanpith(29 December 2015). Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  41. ↑ Acclaimed Bengali poet Shankha Ghosh to get 2016 Jnanpith Award. Daily News Analysis(23 December 2016). Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  42. ↑ Hindi writer Krishna Sobti chosen for Jnanpith Award. The Hindu(3 November 2017). Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  43. ↑ Author Amitav Ghosh honoured with 54h Jnanpith award. The Times of India(14 December 2018). Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  44. ↑ Malayalam poet Akkitham wins 55th Jnanpith Award. The Hindu(29 November 2019). Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  45. ↑ Damodar Mauzo wins Jnanpith Award, here's all you need to know about the renowned Goan writer, Srikanth, Swarna. Free Press Journal(2021-12-07). Retrieved 2026-03-14.
  46. ↑ Jnanpith. Jnanpith dot net. Retrieved 6 Sep 2023.
  47. ↑ Damodar Mauzo wins Jnanpith Award, here is all you need to know about the renowned goan writer. FreePress Journal.in(7 December 2021). Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  48. ↑ Gulzar, Sanskrit scholar Rambhadracharya selected for Jnanpith Award. The Indian Express(17 February 2024). Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  49. ↑ Gulzar, Sanskrit scholar Rambhadracharya selected for Jnanpith Award(17 February 2024). Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  50. ↑ Hindi writer Vinod Kumar Shukla selected for 59th Jnanpith award Nation. Deccan Chronicle(2025-03-22).
  51. ↑ Vairamuthu wins Jnanpith Award, third Tamil writer to receive honour. The Hindu(2026-03-14). Retrieved 2026-03-14.
  52. ↑ Hara Parasad das gets Moortidevi Award.

Bibliography

  • India Since 1947: The Independent Years{{#if:Sabharwal|, Sabharwal}. Penguin Books India(2007). ISBN 978-0-14-310274-8

Further reading

  • Ganadevta{{#if:Bandyopadhyay|, Bandyopadhyay}. Bhartiya Jnanpith(2009). ISBN 978-81-263-1675-5
  • Chidambara{{#if:Pant|, Pant}. Rajkamal Prakashan(1991). ISBN 978-81-267-0491-0
  • Gul-e-Naghma{{#if:Gorakhpuri|, Gorakhpuri}. Rajkamal Prakashan(2008). ISBN 978-81-8031-285-4
  • उर्वशी: खण्ड काव्य{{#if:Dinkar|, Dinkar}. Bhartiya Sahitya(2014). ISBN 978-1-61301-343-4
  • Yayati: A Classic Tale of Lust{{#if:Khandekar|, Khandekar}. Orient Paperbacks(1978). ISBN 978-81-222-0428-5
  • Pratham Pratisruti{{#if:Devi|, Devi}. Orient Blackswan(2004). ISBN 978-81-250-2650-1
  • Mookajjiya Kanasugalu{{#if:Karanth|, Karanth}. Sapna Book House(2014). ISBN 978-81-7285-062-3
  • Kitni Navon Mein Kitni Baar{{#if:Vatsyayan|, Vatsyayan}. Bharatiya Jnanpith(2000). ISBN 978-81-263-0073-0
  • Kagaz Aur Canvas{{#if:Pritam|, Pritam}. Rajkamal Prakashan(1989). ISBN 978-81-267-0492-7

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