National Current Affairs
60th Jnanpith Award for 2025
- 18 Mar 2026
- 2 min read
Why in News?
Vairamuthu has been selected for the 60th Jnanpith Award (for 2025), becoming the third Tamil writer to receive the prize and the first to be recognised for Tamil poetry.
Key Points:
- About: The Jnanpith Award is the highest literary honour in India, instituted in 1961 and awarded annually for outstanding contributions to literature in Indian languages.
- Recognition: Vairamuthu is the third Tamil writer to win the Jnanpith Award after Akilan (1975) and Jayakanthan (2002).
- Apart from literature, he is a renowned lyricist in Tamil cinema, having written over 7,000–8,000 songs and won multiple National Awards.
- His novel Kallikkaattu Ithihasam, depicting displacement due to the Vaigai dam, received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2003.
- Dedication: He dedicated the award to Tamil people and society, highlighting the cultural importance of the honour.
- Major Awards:
- National Film Award (Best Lyrics) – 7 times
- Padma Shri (2003)
- Padma Bhushan (2014)
- Sahitya Akademi Award (2003)
- Award Components: The award carries a cash prize of ₹11 lakh, a bronze statuette of Goddess Saraswati (Vagdevi), and a citation.
- Previous Winners:
- 58th (2023): Jagadguru Rambhadracharya & Gulzar
- 59th (2024): Vinod Kumar Shukla
- First Winner: The first Jnanpith Award (1965) was given to G. Sankara Kurup.
- First Woman Winner: The first woman to receive the Jnanpith Award was Ashapurna Devi in 1976 for her novel Pratham Pratisruti.
- Significance: The award reinforces India’s linguistic diversity and highlights the contribution of regional literature to the national cultural landscape.
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