🇮🇳 Sahitya Akademi Award

National academy of letters award; India's most recognised literary prize after Jnanpith

India 1954 Literary Awards

🏆 Key Facts

Awarded by Sahitya Akademi (est. 1954) for outstanding works in 24 Indian languages

Covers poetry, fiction, drama, essays and autobiography; prize is ₹1 lakh + a copper plaque

Rabindranath Tagore declined the honor posthumously; many winners have returned the award in protest (2015 award wapsi)

Sahitya Akademi (National Academy of Letters) was established by the Government of India in 1954