The Jnanpith Award is the highest literary honour conferred in the Republic of India. It is presented by the Jnanpith Trust, which is largely owned by the Jain family, publishers of The Times of India. The award carries a cheque for Rs. 500,000, a citation plaque and a bronze replica of Vagdevi. The award was instituted in 1961. An Indian citizen who writes in any of the official languages of India is eligible for the honour. Before 1982, the awards were given for a single work by a writer. From 1982, the award has been given for a lifetime contribution to Indian literature. So far Kannada writers have won 7 awards, which is the highest for any language. Hindi writers have won 6.

The recipients of Jnanpith Award

1965 - G Sankara Kurup - Odakkuzhal (flute) - Malayalam
1966 - Tarashankar Bandopadhyaya - Ganadevta - Bengali
1967 - Dr. K.V. Puttappa - Sri Ramayana Darshanam (Glimpses of Ramayana) - Kannada
1967 - Uma Shankar Joshi - Nishitha - Gujarati
1968 - Sumitranandan Pant - Chidambara - Hindi
1969 - Firaq Gorakhpuri - Gul-e-Naghma - Urdu
1970 - Viswanatha Satyanarayana - Ramayana Kalpavrikshamu (A resourceful tree:Ramayana) - Telugu
1971 - Bishnu Dey - Smriti Satta Bhavishyat - Bengali
1972 - Ramdhari Singh 'Dinkar' - Urvashi - Hindi
1973 - Dattatreya Ramachandra Bendre - Nakutanti (Four Strings) - Kannada
1973 - Gopinath Mohanty - Mattimatal - Oriya
1974 - Vishnu Sakaram Khandekar - Yayati - Marathi
1975 - P.V.Akilandam - Chitttrappavai - Tamil
1976 - Asha Purna Devi - Pratham Pratisruti - Bengali
1977 - K.Shivaram Karanth - Mookajjiya Kanasugalu (Nanny's dreams) - Kannada
1978 - S.H.V. Ajneya - Kitni Navon Men Kitni Bar (How many times in many boats?) - Hindi
1979 - Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya - Mrityunjay (Immortal) - Assamese
1980 - S. K. Pottakkat - Oru Desattinte Katha (Story of a land) - Malayalam

---

---

Page URL: http://www.chennainetwork.com/india/jnanpithaward.html

---

Contact us to include your Company / Firm / Organisation Details
to this page FREE of Charge.

---

© 2001 Chennainetwork.com. All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

---