54th Jnanpith Award | 13 Jun 2019

Author Amitav Ghosh has been felicitated with the 2018’s Jnanpith Award for his outstanding contribution to the enrichment of Indian Literature in English.

• The author is the first English language writer to become a Jnanpith laureate.
• He was also awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1990 for his book ‘The Shadow Lines’ and the Padma Shri in 2007 for his services to literature and education.
• The Jnanpith award is the highest literary award in India and can only be conferred upon an Indian citizen. English language was added to the list of languages for consideration after the 49th Jnanpith Award.
• The recipients of the award are given a cash prize of Rs 11 lakh, a citation plaque and a bronze replica of Goddess Saraswati.
• In 1965, famous Malayalam writer G Sankara Kurup became the first winner of the Jnanpith Award.