Jnanpith Award Winners List

Jan 2020|🟢Current|2 min read|11 entries

Key Takeaway

is one of the most prestigious Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith Foundation to an author for their "outstanding contribution towards literature."

Last verified: 12 Feb 2026·Source: www.pscarivukal.com

Jnanpith Award(11)

KurupMalayalam2008Akhlaq Mohammed KhanUrdu2009Amar Kant and Shrilal ShuklaHindi2010Chandrasekhar KambarKannada2011Prathibha RaiOriya2012Ravuri BharadhwajaTelugu2013Kedarnath SinghHindi2014Bhalchandra NemadeMarathi2015Raghuveer ChaudhariGujarati2016Shankha GhoshBengali2017Krishna SobtiHindi2018Amitab GhoshEnglish2019 [55th]Akkitham Achuthan NamboothiriMalayalam2021Nilmani PhukanAssamese2022Damodar MauzoKonkani2023GulzarJagadguru RambhadracharyaUrduSanskrit2024[59th]Vinod Kumar ShuklaHindiSideNotes:Instituted on
22 May 1961No. of Malayalam writers who have received the Jnanpith so far –6.1965 – G. Shankara Kurup (Odakkuzhal)1980 – S.K. Pottekkatt (Oru Desathinte Katha)1984 – Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai (Kayar)1995 – M.T. Vasudevan Nair (Overall Contribution)2007 – O.N.V. Kurup (Overall Contribution)2019 – Akkitham Achuthan NamboothiriFirst Malayali to win the Jnanpith Award –G. Sankara Kurup.G. Shanakara Kurup is also known as –'Mahakavi G'Birth place of G. Shanakara Kurup –Nayathode(Ernakulam)
First Mystic Poet in Kerala
G. Sankara Kurup
Jnanpith award winner who became a member of Rajya Sabha
G. Sankara Kurup(1968)
Autobiography
Ormmayude Olangalil
First Poet to become a member of Rajya Sabha
Maithilisharan Gupta (1952)
First novelistto win Jnanapith Award
Tharashankar Banerjee(1966)First Malayalinovelistto win the Jnanpith Award –S. K Pottekkatt(1980, Shankaran Kutty Pottekkatt) (G. Shankara Kurup was a poet)
Only Jnanpith award winner to become a member of Lok Sabha
S.K. Pottekkatt.(Kannur, 1962)Most no. of travelogues in Malayalam were written by –S.K. Pottekkatt
First womanrecipient of Jnanpith Award
Ashapoorna Devi(Bengali Writer)
First English language writer to receive the award
Amitab Ghosh(2018)
Jnanpith winner who was the Vice-Chancellor of MG University
Prof. U.R. Anantha Murthy (1994)Malayalam writer to win Jnanpith Award for his overall contribution in Malayalam literature on 1995 –M. T Vasudevan Nair(Madathil Thekkepattu Vasudevan Nair)
Famous Works of Akkitham:Akkitham KavithakalArangettam,Veeravadam,Antimahakalam,Nimisha Kshethram,Idinju Polinja Lokam,Balidarsanam,Amrita Khatika,Kalikkottilil &Irupatham Noottandinte Ithihasam (Epic of Twentieth Century)Awards won by Akkitham so far
Padmasree, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award(1972 and 1988),Sahitya Akademi Award(1973),Aasan Prize(1994), Vallathol Award, Vayalar Award (2012 -Anthimahakalam),Odakkuzhal Award(1973 -Nimisha Kshethram),Ezhuthachan Award(2008),Nalappad Award,Mathrubhumi Award, KrishnaGeedhi Award, and Kabir Samman