59th Jnanpith Award 2024 Winner: Vinod Kumar Shukla of Chhattisgarh

Eminent Hindi poet and writer Vinod Kumar Shukla of Chhattisgarh has been selected for the prestigious 59th Jnanpith Award 2024. Vinod Kumar Shukla is the first from Chhattisgarh and the 12th eminent Hindi writer to receive the prestigious award. 

The 58th Jnanpith Award 2023 was awarded to Jagadguru Rambhadracharyaji for Sanskrit and Gulzar for Urdu. 

The Bharatiya Jnanpith Trust administers the Jnanpith and Moorti Devi awards. Jnanpith Award which was first conferred on eminent Malayalam writer G S Kurup is considered one of the most prestigious awards in the field of literature in India. 

About Vinod Kumar Shukla and His Work

88-year-old Vinod Kumar Shukla was born in Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh, and did his post-graduation in Krishi Vigyan from Jabalpur. His first poetry collection ‘Lagbhag Jai Hind’ was published in 1971. He has also written novels- ‘Naukar ki Kameez, “Deewar mein ek Khidki Rehti Thi” and “Khilega to Dekhenge”.

His novel Naukar ki Kameez was made into a film by noted filmmaker Mani Kaul in 1999.

Vinod Kumar Shukla's books have been translated into several languages including English, Italian, and German.

Other Awards for Vinod Kumar Shukla 

• Vinod Kumar Shukla was honoured with the 1999 Sahitya Akademi Award for his novel “Deewar mein ek Khidki Rehti Thi”.
• 2023 PEN/Nabokov Award for achievement in international literature.

About the Jnanpith Award 

The Jnanpith Award is given by the Bharatiya Jnanpith Trust.

The Award carries a cash prize of Rs 11 lakhs, a citation, and a statue of Vagdevi( Goddess Saraswati).

The award is given to an Indian Citizen only.

Since the 18th award, The award is given for a lifetime of work of an author.

The award is given for work in the Indian language and English.

Once a language gets the awards it is not eligible for the award for the next two years.

The first Janapith winner was eminent Malayalam writer G S Kurup in 1965.

The first woman to get the Jnanpith Award- Ashapurna Devi (Bangla) in 1976.

Hindi Language winner 

Following is the list of the 12 eminent Hindi language winners of the Jnanpith Award.

1. Sumitranandan Pant in 1968
2. Ramdhari Singh Dinkar in 1972.
3. Sachchidananda Hirananda Vatsyayan popularly known as Agyeya in 1978
4. Mahadevi Verma in 1982
5. Naresh Mehta in 1992
6. Nirmal Verma in 1999
7. Kunwar Narain in 2005
8. Shrilal Shukla 2009
9. Amarkant in 2009
10. Kedarnath Singh in 2013
11. Krishna Sobti 2017
12. Vinod Kumar Shukla in 2024