• Eminent Hindi writer Vinod Kumar Shukla was named the recipient of the 59th Jnanpith Award, India's highest literary honour. He will be the first writer from Chhattisgarh to receive the award.

• The 88-year-old short story writer, poet and essayist, considered one of the greatest contemporary writers in the language, is the 12th Hindi writer to receive the award.

• The award carries a cash reward of Rs 11 lakh, a bronze statue of Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of learning, and a citation.

• This honour is being conferred upon him for his outstanding contribution to Hindi literature, creativity and distinctive writing style.

• His name was finalised for the award during the meeting of the Jnanpith Selection Committee, chaired by eminent storyteller and Jnanpith awardee Pratibha Ray.

• Vinod Kumar Shukla was born on January 1, 1937 in Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh.

• He began his creative journey with the poetry collection Laughing Jai Hind.

• Known for his distinctive linguistic texture and emotional depth, Shukla received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1999 for his book ‘Deewar Mein Ek Khirkee Rahati Thi’.

• His other notable works include ‘Naukar ki Kameez’ (1979), a novel that was adapted into a film by Mani Kaul, and a poetry collection ‘Sab Kuch Hona Bacha Rahega’ (1992).

Jnanpith Award

• Bharatiya Jnanpith is one of the premier literary organisations of India, which is nurturing literature and culture through its literary endeavors, which include awards, publication, fellowship and research for the last several decades. The organisation was established in 1944.

• Jnanpith Award is regarded as the most prestigious literary award in India, which is given every year, to an author for his/her outstanding contribution towards Indian literature through creative writing in any of the Indian languages mentioned in Schedule VIII of Indian Constitution and English.

• It was instituted in 1961.

• The first recipient of the award was Malayalam poet G. Sankara Kurup, who received the award in 1965 for his collection of poems ‘Odakkuzhal’.

The process of selection

• Only those creative writers, who are alive and are Indian citizens, can be proposed for the Award.

• The Award is to be given to an author for outstanding contribution towards literarure.

• A language which receives the Award in a particular year is not eligible for consideration for the next two years. 

• A writer who receives the Award once will not be considered again.

• The Award may not be given in a particular year if the Jnanpith Award Selection Board feels that there is no suitable name which comes up to the expected standard of the Award.

• The process of selection is broadly as follows: There is an advisory committee for each language, consisting of three eminent scholars and/or critics, which scans the proposals received in response to this letter. The committee is free to consider any other writer eligible in accordance with the Rules of the Award.

• In fact, a Language Advisory Committee is expected to ensure that no deserving writer of the language concerned is left out of consideration. 

• Recommendations of various Language Advisory Committees are screened and evaluated by the Jnanpith Award Selection Board, consisting of eminent scholars and writers. 

• Wherever necessary, selected writings of the proposed writers are translated into Hindi or English, wholly or in part. The Selection Board takes into account the totality of an author’s creative writing and its literary merit in the context of contemporary Indian writing is not restricted to committee’s recommendations.

• The Selection Board is the final authority for the selection.

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