Who is the first English language writer to become a Jnanpith laureate?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
Answer: Amitav Ghosh.
Explanation —
Renowned novelist Amitav Ghosh became the first English-language writer to be honored with the 54th Jnanpith Award in 2018. The Jnanpith Award is India's highest literary honor, conferred by the Bharatiya Jnanpith Trust for outstanding contributions to Indian languages. Amitav Ghosh's major novels include The Shadow Lines, The Glass Palace, Sea of Poppies, and The Hungry Tide. His writing often incorporates historical and political contexts, as well as modern themes such as climate change. He was also conferred with the 'Padma Shri' by the Government of India in 2007.
Additional Points —
Raghuveer Chaudhari: He won the Jnanpith Award for Gujarati literature in 2015.
Kedarnath Singh: A renowned Hindi poet, he was conferred with this honor in 2013.
Shankha Ghosh: A renowned Bengali poet, he received this award in 2016.
The first Jnanpith Award was presented to the Malayalam writer G. Sankara Kurup in 1965.
Potential Exam Questions & Answers —
Question: Who was the first Hindi writer to receive the Jnanpith Award?
Answer: Sumitranandan Pant (1968).
Question: Which of Amitav Ghosh's novels earned him the Sahitya Akademi Award?
Answer: The Shadow Lines (1989).