Delhi govt names Hindi literary awards after nationalists, freedom fighters

New Delhi: Delhi govt’s Hindi Academy has named several of its literary awards after nationalists and freedom fighters, including Veer Savarkar, Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay and Madan Mohan Malaviya. A new Atal Bihari Vajpayee Award for promotion of Indian culture and knowledge traditions has also been instituted. A Hindi service award has been named after late BJP functionary Vijay Kumar Malhotra.An autonomous body under Delhi govt, Hindi Academy was established in 1981 with the objective to promote and preserve Hindi language, literature and culture. It honours writers and scholars, supports literary publications, holds seminars and cultural events, publishes journals, facilitates translations, and organises events aimed at advancing Hindi.Among the major changes, the academy’s highest honour, the Hindi Academy Shalaka Samman, has been renamed the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Shalaka Samman, and the award amount enhanced from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh. The newly-introduced Atal Bihari Vajpayee Bhartiya Sanskriti and Gyan Parampara Samman, aimed at recognising efforts to promote Indian culture and knowledge traditions, offers a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh.Other awards include the Rani Ahilyabai Holkar Samman for women litterateurs, Sant Ravidas Sahitya Samman and Veer Savarkar Samman for national consciousness, each carrying a cash award of Rs 2 lakh. The award for women litterateurs was previously named after Santosh Koli, the anti-corruption activist who died in a road accident. The honour had been instituted in her memory during the previous AAP govt.Other awards carrying prize money of Rs 1 lakh include the Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya Hindi Sahityakar Samman, Baba Jorawar Singh Samman for children’s literature and the Swami Vivekanand Yuva Pratibha Samman.Journalists selected for contributions to Hindi journalism will receive the Vidya Niwas Mishra Samman, which carries a cash reward of Rs 1 lakh. The Dr Vijay Kumar Malhotra Hindi Sewi Samman, instituted for individuals engaged in the promotion of Hindi, also carries a prize of Rs 1 lakh.The academy has uploaded details of all award categories on its website and has sought recommendations from intellectuals, writers, poets and journalists across the Delhi-NCR region. Eligible Hindi writers, litterateurs and individuals working for the advancement of the language can be nominated for consideration.The list of honours also includes the Nirmal Verma Samman for Hindi translation, Ramchandra Shukla Hindi Utkarsh Samman, Vasudev Sharan Agrawal Samman for folk writings, Devendra Swaroop Samman for works in subjects like science, economics, political science, history and sociology, Mridula Sinha Samman for women litterateurs, and Narendra Kohli Samman for contributions across various literary forms.The academy has invited nominations for awards covering 2022-23 to 2025-26 from Delhi-NCR-based litterateurs, poets and journalists. Sixteen award categories carrying cash prizes ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 7 lakh will be conferred.According to officials, applications can be submitted until June 23 under the academy’s ‘Sahityakar Samman Yojna’, which recognises individuals who have made notable contributions to the promotion and growth of Hindi language and literature.