List of Jnanpith (Gyanpith) Award Winners till 2019
The Literary award Jnanpith or Gyanpith is one of the highest literary honour in India. Some call it Gyanpeeth award also. The award is meant to recognize, nurture and promote the excellence in writing in all recognized Indian languages. It is awarded only to Indian nationals.
In recent past, there have been a few questions asked on this topic. Since the topic of Jnanpith Awards is a very simple topic, this quick compilation will help the aspirants in answering random questions from here.
>> The Jnanpith award is awarded every year for best creative writing to an Indian citizen in any of the 22 languages that are included in Schedule VIII of the Indian Constitution. English has also been included for consideration of the award from 49th award onwards.
This Award is sponsored by the Bharatiya Jnanpith Trust, which is a literary and cultural organisation that was set up in 1944, by the late Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain and his wife Rama Jain. The Jain family are the publishers of The Times of India newspaper. This award is considered to be the most prestigious literary award of the country.
The Jnanpith Award : It carries a cash price of Rs 11 lakhs, a citation plank and a bronze replica of goddess Saraswati ‘Vagdevi’.
Prior to 1982, the Jnanpith Award were given for a single work of Author, but after that, the Jnanpith Award is being given for the lifetime contribution of the writer to the Indian literature. The Jnanpeeth Award has become a symbol of the comprehensive vision of Indian literature along with national integrity.
Side read: Read about the basic structure of Indian constitution here
Important firsts in Jnanpith Awards: |
|
About recent Jnanpith Award winners:
Amitav Ghosh gets first Jnanpith Award for English language
The most recent Jnanpith Award has been the 54th Jnanpith Award to Amitav Ghosh for “outstanding contribution towards literature”. Ghosh’s novels include Shadow Lines, The Glass Palace, The Hungry Tide, and the Ibis trilogy — Sea of Poppies, River of Smoke, and Flood of Fire. The Indian government awarded Ghosh the Padma Shri in 2007. Ghosh is also a recepient of Sahitya Akademi Award, Ananda Puraskar and Prix Medicis Award from France. He was elected as Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2009. He was also shortlisted for Man Booker prize 2008.
The 53rd Jnanpith Award was given to eminent Hindi Litterateur Krishna Sobti, who is 
known for creating bold and daring characters in her stories. She experiments with new writing styles and her language is highly influenced by the intermingling of Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi cultures. Her celebrated works include Mitro Marjani, Daar Se Bichhudi, Zindaginama, Badalom ke Ghere, Ai Ladki, Dil-o-Danish and Gujarat Pakistan Se Gujarat Hindustan. She has been the recipient of many coveted awards, including Hindi Akademi Awards, Shiroman Awards, Maithli Sharan Gupt Samman, Sahitya Akademi Fellowship and Padma Bhushan(she declined).
The 52nd Jnanpith Award was given to veteran modern Bengali poet Shankha Ghosh for year 2016. He is a leading authority on Rabindranath Tagore. Ghosh was conferred the Padma Bhushan in 2011 and the Sahitya Academi award in 1999. Shankha Ghosh is the seventh Bengali author to win India’s highest literary award.
Here is the List of all Jnanpith Award Winners – India’s Highest Literary Award
| YEAR | NAME OF WINNER | CONTRIBUTION & WORK | LANGUAGE |
| 2018 | Amitav Ghosh | Path-breaking english novelist exploring Indian protagonist ranging across wide international field in both his fictional and discursive writings. Celebrated works include – The Circle of Reason, The Shadow Lines, The Calcutta Chromosome, The Glass Palace, The Hungry Tide and the Ibisi Triology. | English |
| 2017 | Krishna Sobti | Her writings have ranged from the Partition, and relationships between man and woman, to the changing dynamics of the Indian society and the gradual deterioration of human values. Celebrated works include Daar Se Bichhudi, Mitro Marjani, Zindaginama, Dil-o-Danish, Badalom ke Ghere, Ai Ladki and Gujarat Pakistan Se Gujarat Hindustan. | Hindi |
| 2016 | Shankha Ghosh | Adim Lata – Gulmomay, Murkho Baro, Samajik Noy, Baborer Prarthana | Bengali |
| 2015 | Raghuveer Chaudhary | Contribution to Gujarati poetry, novels including trilogy (Uparvaas), Rudra Mahalaya, Venu Vatsala | Gujarati |
| 2014 | Bhalchandra Nemade (50th Jnanpith award) | Kosala(Cocoon) | Marathi |
| 2013 | Kedarnath Singh | Akaal main Saras | Hindi |
| 2012 | Ravuri Bharadhwaja | Paakudurallu | Telugu |
| 2011 | Pratibha Ray | Yajnaseri | Oriya |
| 2010 | Chandrashekhara Kambara | For his contributions to Kannada literature | Kannada |
| 2009 | Amar Kant | Hindi | |
| 2009 | Shrilal Shukla | Hindi | |
| 2008 | Akhlaq Mohammed Khan ‘Shahryar’ | For his contribution to Urdu Poetry. He is only the 4th urdu writer to be awarded the Jnanpith Award | Urdu |
| 2007 | Dr. O. N. V. Kurup | for his contributions to Malayalam literature | Malayalam |
| 2006 | Satya Vrat Shastri | Sanskrit | |
| 2006 | Ravindra Kelekar | Konkani | |
| 2005 | Kunwar Narayan | Hindi | |
| 2004 | Rahman Rahi | Subhuk Soda, Kalami Rahi and Siyah Rode Jaren Manz | Kashmiri |
| 2003 | Vinda Karandikar | Ashtadarshana (poetry) | Marathi |
| 2002 | D. Jayakanthan | Tamil | |
| 2001 | Rajendra Keshavlal Shah | Gujarati | |
| 2000 | Indira Goswami | Assamese | |
| 1999 | Gurdial Singh | Punjabi | |
| 1999 | Nirmal Verma | Hindi | |
| 1998 | Girish Karnad | for his contributions to Kannada literature and for contributions to kannada theater (yayati) | Kannada |
| 1997 | Ali Sardar Jafri | Urdu | |
| 1996 | Mahasweta Devi | Hajar Churashir Ma | Bengali |
| 1995 | Dr. M. T. Vasudevan Nair | Randamoozham (Second Chance) | Malayalam |
| 1994 | U. R. Ananthamurthy | for his contributions to Kannada literature | Kannada |
| 1993 | Sitakant Mahapatra | for contribution to the enrichment of Indian literature | Oriya |
| 1992 | Naresh Mehta | Hindi | |
| 1991 | Subhas Mukhopadhyay | Padati | Bengali |
| 1990 | V. K. Gokak (Vinayaka Krishna Gokak) | Bharatha Sindhu Rashmi | Kannada |
| 1989 | Qurratulain Hyder | Akhire Shab Ke Humsafar | Urdu |
| 1988 | Dr. C. Narayana Reddy | Vishwambhara | Telugu |
| 1987 | Vishnu Vaman Shirwadkar(Kusumagraj) | Natsamrat | Marathi |
| 1986 | Sachidananda Rout Roy | Oriya | |
| 1985 | Pannalal Patel | Maanavi Ni Bhavaai (માનવીની ભવાઇ) | Gujarati |
| 1984 | Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai | Kayar {Coir} | Malayalam |
| 1983 | Maasti Venkatesh Ayengar | Chikkaveera Rajendra (Life and struggle of Kodava King Chikkaveera Rajendra) | Kannada |
| 1982 | Mahadevi Varma | Yama | Hindi |
| 1981 | Amrita Pritam | Kagaj te Canvas | Punjabi |
| 1980 | S. K. Pottekkatt | Oru Desathinte Katha (Story of a land) | Malayalam |
| 1979 | Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya | Mrityunjay (Immortal) | Assamese |
| 1978 | Sachchidananda Hirananda Vatsyayan ‘Ajneya’ | Kitni Navon Men Kitni Bar | Hindi |
| 1977 | K. Shivaram Karanth | Mookajjiya Kanasugalu (Mookajjis dreams) | Kannada |
| 1976 | Ashapurna Devi | Pratham Pratisruti | Bengali |
| 1975 | P. V. Akilan | Chitttrappavai | Tamil |
| 1974 | Vishnu Sakharam Khandekar | Yayati | Marathi |
| 1973 | Dattatreya Ramachandra Bendre | Nakutanti (Naku Thanthi) | Kannada |
| 1973 | Gopinath Mohanty | Paraja | Oriya |
| 1972 | Ramdhari Singh ‘Dinkar’ | Urvashi | Hindi |
| 1971 | Bishnu Dey | Smriti Satta Bhavishyat | Bengali |
| 1970 | Viswanatha Satyanarayana | Ramayana Kalpavrikshamu | Telugu |
| 1969 | Firaq Gorakhpuri | Gul-e-Naghma | Urdu |
| 1968 | Sumitranandan Pant | Chidambara | Hindi |
| 1967 | Umashankar Joshi | Nishitha | Gujarati |
| 1967 | Kuppali Venkatappagowda Puttappa(Kuvempu) | Sri Ramayana Darshanam | Kannada |
| 1966 | Tarashankar Bandopadhyaya | Ganadevta | Bengali |
| 1965 | G. Sankara Kurup | Odakkuzhal (Flute) | Malayalam |
This list is updated and maintained with the latest information regrading the Gyanpeeth Awards.
We hope this short compilation of List of Jnanpith (Gyanpith) Award Winners – General Awareness Study Material & Notes will be useful for the candidates of various examinations. If you want us to make any additions to the article, you can mention them in the comments below.
<< Read about major ports in India >>
