Winners of Sahitya Akademi 2024 Announced: Total of 21 Indian Languages been Awarded

On December 18 2024, the Sahitya Akademi, under the Ministry of Culture announced the winners of the Sahitya Akademi Awards 2024, the annual award that recognizes literary works in 24 Indian languages (including English). The award winners were selected based on recommendations made by a Jury of three members in the concerned languages.

• The awards for Bengali, Dogri and Urdu language will be announced at a later date.
• The award ceremony will be held on International Women’s Day, March 8 2025 at Kamani Auditorium, New Delhi (Delhi).

Sahitya Akademi Awards 2024: 

i. The winners of the Sahitya Akademi Awards 2024 include 8 books of Poetry, 3 Novels, 2 short stories, 3 Essays, 3 Literary Criticism, 1 Play and 1 Research.

ii.The winners of the awards are recommended by the jury members in 21 languages and were approved by the Executive Board of the Sahitya Akademi under the chairmanship of  Madhav Kaushik, President, Sahitya Akademi.

Winners of Sahitya Akademi Awards 2024: 

Prizes for Sahitya Akademi Awards: 

i.The award consists of a casket with an engraved copper plaque, a shawl, and a cash prize of Rs. 1 lakh.

ii.It honors works in various categories, including poetry, short stories, novels, plays & dramas, literary criticism, autobiographies, essays, collections of articles and literary history.

iii.The award was presented annually by the Sahitya Akademi, the award recognizes the authors of the most outstanding books first published in the five years prior to the award year (i.e., between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2022).

Eligibility and Selection Criteria:

i.The work or book must make a significant contribution to the language and literature it represents.

ii.In cases of equal merit, additional factors such as the author’s overall literary contribution and reputation are taken into account when selecting the award recipient. The author must be an Indian citizen. 

Key Facts about Sahitya Akademi Awards:

• The plaque presented by the Sahitya Akademi was designed by renowned filmmaker Satyajit Ray.
• The first Hindi writer to receive the award was Makhanlal Chaturvedi in 1955, for his poetry collection Him-Tarangini.
• During the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965, the plaque was temporarily replaced with national savings bonds.
• Amrita Pritam became the 1st woman to win the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1956, for her Punjabi poem Sunehure.

Other Sahitya Akademi Awards:

i.Bal Sahitya Puraskar: The award was established in 2010, this award recognizes significant contributions to children’s literature, specifically aimed at readers aged 9 to 16.

• The prize includes a casket with an engraved copper plaque and a cheque for Rs 50,000.

ii.Yuva Puraskar:The award was launched in 2011, the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar honors young writers aged 35 years and below.

• The award consists of an engraved copper plaque and a cheque for Rs 50,000.

List of Winners of Bal Sahitya Puraskar 2024 & Yuva Puraskar 2024 

About Sahitya Akademi:

i.The Sahitya Akademi Award is the 2nd-highest literary honor in India, following the Jnanpith Award.

ii.The award was established by the Government of India (GoI) in 1954, the Sahitya Akademi is India’s National Academy of Letters.

• The first Sahitya Akademi Awards were presented in 1955.

iii. The Akademi works to preserve and promote literature in 24 Indian languages (including the 22 languages listed in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution, along with English and Rajasthani) through awards, fellowships, grants, publications, and other initiatives.
iv.The headquarters of the Sahitya Akademi is located in New Delhi (Delhi), India.