The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India.[1] Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of, the Indian government. Its office is located in Rabindra Bhavan near Mandi House in Delhi.
The Sahitya Akademi organises national and regional workshops and seminars; provides research and travel grants to authors; publishes books and journals, including the Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature; and presents the annual Sahitya Akademi Award of Rs. 100,000 (approx. USD 1,500 (in year 2013)) in each of the 24 languages it supports, as well as the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship for lifetime achievement.
The Sahitya Akademi Library is one of the largest multi-lingual libraries in India, with a rich collection of books on literature and allied subjects.
It publishes two bimonthly literary journals: Indian Literature in English and Samkaleen Bharatiya Sahitya in Hindi.[1][2]
A key concern in the early days of the Sahitya Akademi was the establishment of its autonomy from the Central Government. This concern was echoed by the Prime Minister, who noted that, "...it is an honour to be the President of an organisation which includes it in its fold the eminent writers of India in various languages. As President of that Akademi I may tell you quite frankly, I would not like the Prime Minister to interfere in my work."[4] The first Council made recommendations to amend the Akademi's governing constitution, including proposals to have the chairman elected by the Council and not appointed by the Government.[5] Some of these suggestions were incorporated, and the Akademi was constituted as a society under the Societies Registration Act of 1860, as it had not originally been incorporated by an Act of Parliament, but by an executive order.The first General Council of the Akademi included members such as S. Radhakrishnan, Abul Kalam Azad, C. Rajagopalachari, K.M. Panikkar, K.M. Munshi, Zakir Hussain, Umashankar Joshi, Mahadevi Varma, D. V. Gundappa, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, and was presided over by the then-Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.[3] The Government of India clarified that the choice of Prime Minister Nehru as the first chairperson was "not because he is Prime Minister, but because he has carved out for himself a distinctive place as a writer and author."[3]
The Sahitya Akademi was formally inaugurated on 12 March 1954 in New Delhi. A ceremony was held in the Indian Parliament's Central Hall, with speeches by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and S. Radhakrishnan. S. Radhakrishnan elaborated on the purpose of the Sahitya Akademi in his speech, noting that,
"The phrase, Sahitya Akademi, combines two words. 'Sahitya' is Sanskrit, and 'Academy' is Greek. This name suggests our universal outlook and aspiration. Sahitya is a literary composition; Academy is an assembly of men who are interested in the subject. So Sahitya Akademi will be an assembly of all those who are interested in creative and critical literature. It is the purpose of this Akademi to recognise men of achievement in letters, to encourage men of promise in letters, to educate public taste and to improve standards of literature and literary criticism."[3]
A key concern in the early days of the Sahitya Akademi was the establishment of its autonomy from the Central Government. This concern was echoed by the Prime Minister, who noted that, "...it is an honour to be the President of an organisation which includes it in its fold the eminent writers of India in various languages. As President of that Akademi I may tell you quite frankly, I would not like the Prime Minister to interfere in my work."[4] The first Council made recommendations to amend the Akademi's governing constitution, including proposals to have the chairman elected by the Council and not appointed by the Government.[5] Some of these suggestions were incorporated, and the Akademi was constituted as a society under the Societies Registration Act of 1860, as it had not originally been incorporated by an Act of Parliament, but by an executive order.[5] The Council was reconstituted and elected Prime Minister Nehru as its president, and he continued in that capacity until his death in 1964.[5]
Subsequent
Subsequent presidents of the Sahitya Akademi have included S. Radhakrishnan (1958) who succeeded Jawaharlal Nehru after serving as the Vice-President along with him; Zakir Hussain (1963); Suniti Kumar Chatterjee (1967); K.R. Srinivasa Iyengar (1969, and re-elected in 1973); Umashankar Joshi (1978); Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya (1983); U. R. Ananthamurthy (1993); Ramakanta Rath (1998); and Gopi Chand Narang (2003).[6] Sunil Gangopadhyay was elected president in 2008,[7] and held office until his death in 2012.[8] The current president is Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari. The Akademi has never elected a female president although, in 2003, Mahasweta Devi unsuccessfully contested Gopi Chand Narang for the position.[6]
The Sahitya Akademi was constituted by the Government of India by a resolution passed on 15 December 1952.[9] It was formally inaugurated on 12 March 1954.[10] It initially functioned under executive order, but was subsequently registered as a society under the Indian Societies Registration Act, 1860.[10] The constitution of the Sahitya Akademi provides that it shall be run by three authorities — a General Council, an Executive Board, and a Finance Committee.[11]
The General Council is empowered to elect a president and vice-president, from a panel of three candidates chosen by the Executive Board.[12] In addition to these, the Executive Board appoints a secretary, who functions as both the Secretary of the Akademi and as ex-officio secretary of all three governing bodies.[12]
The General Council of the Sahitya Akademi operates for a term of five years, following which it is reconstituted. It meets once a year and performs several important functions, including appointing the Akademi's president and vice-president, electing members of the Executive Board, framing rules and procedures for the Akademi, and electing fellows on the recommendation of the Board.[13 The General Council is empowered to elect a president and vice-president, from a panel of three candidates chosen by the Executive Board.[12] In addition to these, the Executive Board appoints a secretary, who functions as both the Secretary of the Akademi and as ex-officio secretary of all three governing bodies.[12]
The General Council of the Sahitya Akademi operates for a term of five years, following which it is reconstituted. It meets once a year and performs several important functions, including appointing the Akademi's president and vice-president, electing members of the Executive Board, framing rules and procedures for the Akademi, and electing fellows on the recommendation of the Board.[13]
The General Council consists of the following members:[14]
The General Council consists of the following members:[14]
The Executive Board of the Sahitya Akademi exercises executive authority and is responsible for supervising and controlling the Akademi's work. It prepares the Akademi's annual budget, appoints the secretary, and prepares panels of nominees for the General Council to consider and select fellows.[16] It consists of the president, the vice-president, the financial advisor, two of the Government of India's nominees in the General Council (one of whom must represent the Ministry of Culture) and one person to represent each of the Akademi's supported languages, as nominated by the General Council.[16]
The Finance Committee's role is to prescribe the limit for total expenditure by the Sahitya Akademi in a financial year, and consider and recommend budget estimates to the Executive Board. The Finance Committee consists of a financial advisor, a nominee from the Government of India, a representative each from the General Council and Executive Board, and the vice-president of the Akademi.[17] The accounts of the Sahitya Akademi are audited by the Auditor General of India.[18]
The Sahitya Akademi publishes several regular publications, in addition to its bi-monthly journal, Indian Literature. It undertakes bibliographic surveys, conducts translation workshops, seminars, and an annual festival of letters.
The Sahitya Akademi publishes bibliographies, compilations, and criti The Finance Committee's role is to prescribe the limit for total expenditure by the Sahitya Akademi in a financial year, and consider and recommend budget estimates to the Executive Board. The Finance Committee consists of a financial advisor, a nominee from the Government of India, a representative each from the General Council and Executive Board, and the vice-president of the Akademi.[17] The accounts of the Sahitya Akademi are audited by the Auditor General of India.[18]
The Sahitya Akademi publishes bibliographi The Sahitya Akademi publishes bibliographies, compilations, and critical editions in addition to publishing individual works and anthologies of literature and translation in the 24 languages that it supports. Amongst other things, it publishes the National Bibliography of Indian Literature (NBIL), an ongoing selective index of publications in 24 languages.[19] The first series of the NBIL consisted of four volumes, spanning literature published between 1901 and 1953.[20] The Sahitya Akademi has stated that the second series will cover literature published between 1954 and 2000. The second series will consist of 16 volumes, of which seven have been published.[21] In addition, the Sahitya Akademi has published the Collected Works of Maulana Azad in Urdu and Telugu, and critical editions of books by Kalidasa, Bankimchandra Chatterjee, and Rabindranath Tagore.[22]
The Sahitya Akademi maintains reference materials for Indian literature, including the National Register of Translators, the Who's Who of Indian Writers,[23] and the Who's Who of Sanskrit The Sahitya Akademi maintains reference materials for Indian literature, including the National Register of Translators, the Who's Who of Indian Writers,[23] and the Who's Who of Sanskrit literature.[22] Two ongoing series of reference material are the Makers of Indian Literature, which consist of biographical monographs on Indian writers, and Histories of Indian Literature, 18 of which have been published thus far.[22] It publish two journal: Indian Literature (started in 1957) in English, and Samakaleen Bharatiya Sahitya (started in 1980) in Hindi.[24]
The Sahitya Akademi holds over 100 programmes related to Indian literature every year across India. It holds frequent seminars on Indian literature, as well as translation workshops.[25] In addition, it holds several regular and annual events, including a Festival of Letters and the Samvatsar Annual Lecture.
The The Samvatsar Annual Lecture is organised by the Sahitya Akademi and is delivered during the Akademi's Annual Festival of Letters. The Sahitya Akademi notes that these lectures "should open up new vistas of thinking regarding a literary movement, a current literary trend, some original thinking about a great writer or a great classic or a new path in literary criticism or literary creation".[29] The Lectures have been delivered since 1986 by people including the Hindi writer Sachchidananda Vatsyayan (1986), Marathi poet and writer Vinda Karandikar (1991), Assamese novelist Nabakanta Barua (1994), and Malayalam author and director, M T Vasudevan Nair (1999).[30]
In 2014, the lecture was delivered by Girish Karnad, a Kannada playwright and author.[30] The most recent lecture was delivered by Dr. Girish Karnad, a Kannada playwright and author.[30] The most recent lecture was delivered by Dr. Chandrashekhar Shankar Dharmadhikari, an author, lawyer, and former judge in the Bombay High Court on 17 February 2016.[31]
The Sahitya Akademi organises regular public interactions with published Indian authors. These sessions, titled 'Meet the Author' consist of a 40-minute lecture by the invited author followed by an open session of questions and discussions.[32] 'Meet the Author' programmes have been conducted in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, and Bengaluru. Over 180 authors have participated to date.[33]
To complement this, the Sahitya Akademi has held a parallel lecture series titled 'Men in Books' in which the Akademi invites persons distinguished for interdisciplinary studies to speak about literature. Notable speakers in the past have included film-maker Adoor Gopalakrishnan, journalist Dilip Padgaonkar, lawyer To complement this, the Sahitya Akademi has held a parallel lecture series titled 'Men in Books' in which the Akademi invites persons distinguished for interdisciplinary studies to speak about literature. Notable speakers in the past have included film-maker Adoor Gopalakrishnan, journalist Dilip Padgaonkar, lawyer Laxmi Mall Singhvi, and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.[34]
The Kavi Anuvadak programmes, started in 2001, consist of a live performance of poetry in the original language and in translation. Nine Kavi Anuvadaks have been held to date, featuring, amongst others, K. Satchidanandan, Manglesh Dabral, and Ayyappa Paniker.[35]
Sahitya Akademi confe Sahitya Akademi conferres annually the Yuva Puraskar to young writers (under 35 years) of outstanding works in one of the 24 major Indian languages. It was founded in 2011.[36]
Finance Committee
Publications and activities
Publications
Publications and activities
International seminars
Sahitya Akademi Award
Other programmesOther programmes organised by the Sahitya Akademi include the Mulakat lectures, a special platform for lesser-known authors;[37] the Through My Window lectures, in which one author speaks on the works of another Indian author;[38] and the Loka programmes on Indian folklore and the Kavisandhi poetry readings.[39]