Jnanpith Award - Wikipedia Jnanpith Award Jnanpith Award Award for individual contributions to Literature Instituted in 1961 Awarded for Literary award in India Sponsored by Bharatiya Jnanpith Reward ( s ) ₹ 11 lakh ( equivalent to ₹ 12 lakh or US $18,000 in 2017 ) First awarded 1965 Last awarded 2017 Most recent winner Krishna Sobti Highlights Total awarded 58 First winner G. Sankara Kurup Website Official website The Jnanpith Award is an Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their `` outstanding contribution towards literature ''. Instituted in 1961, the award is bestowed only on Indian writers writing in Indian languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India and English, with no posthumous conferral. From 1965 till 1981, the award was given to the authors for their `` most outstanding work '' and consisted of a citation plaque, a cash prize of ₹ 1 lakh ( equivalent to ₹ 48 lakh or US $71,000 in 2017 ), and a bronze replica of Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of knowledge and wisdom. The first recipient of the award was the Malayalam writer G. Sankara Kurup who received the award in 1965 for his collection of poems, Odakkuzhal ( The Bamboo Flute ), published in 1950. The rules were revised in subsequent years to consider only works published during the preceding twenty years, excluding the year for which the award was to be given and the cash prize was increased to ₹ 1.5 lakh ( equivalent to ₹ 22 lakh or US $33,000 in 2017 ) from 1981. As of 2015, the cash prize has been revised to ₹ 11 lakh ( equivalent to ₹ 12 lakh or US $18,000 in 2017 ) and out of twenty - three eligible languages the award has been presented for works in fifteen languages : Hindi ( eleven ), Kannada ( eight ), Bengali ( six ), Malayalam ( five ), Gujarati, Marathi, Odia, and Urdu ( four each ), Telugu ( three ), Assamese, Punjabi, and Tamil ( two each ), Kashmiri, Konkani, and Sanskrit ( one each ). The award has been conferred upon fifty - seven writers including seven women authors. In 1976, Bengali novelist Ashapoorna Devi became the first woman to win the award and was honoured for the 1965 novel Pratham Pratisruti ( The First Promise ), the first in a trilogy. The most recent recipient of the award is Hindi fiction writer and essayist Krishna Sobti who was awarded for the year 2017. Contents 1 Background 2 Rules and selection process 3 List of recipients 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References 7 Bibliography 8 Further reading 9 External links Background The Bharatiya Jnanpith, a research and cultural institute founded in 1944 by industrialist Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain of the Sahu Jain family, conceived an idea in May 1961 to start a scheme `` commanding national prestige and of international standard '' to `` select the best book out of the publications in Indian languages ''. Later in November, Rama Jain, the Founder President of the Bharatiya Jnanpith, invited a few literary experts to discuss various aspects of the scheme. Jain along with Kaka Kalelkar, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, Jainendra Kumar, Jagdish Chandra Mathur, Prabhakar Machwe, Akshaya Kumar Jain, and Lakshmi Chandra Jain presented the initial draft to the then President of India Rajendra Prasad who had shown interest in the scheme 's implementation. The idea was also discussed at the 1962 annual sessions of the All India Gujarati Sahitya Parishad and the Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad. On 2 April 1962, around 300 writers of various Indian languages were invited to Delhi for the two sessions conducted by Dharamvir Bharati in which the draft was finalised and later presented to Prasad. The first award selection committee meeting was scheduled on 16 March 1963 and Prasad was appointed as its president. However, Prasad died on 28 February 1963 and thus the scheduled meeting was chaired by Kalelkar and Sampurnanand acted as president of the committee. The first Selection Board consisted of Kalelkar, Niharranjan Ray, Karan Singh, R.R. Diwakar, V. Raghavan, B. Gopal Reddy, Harekrushna Mahatab, Rama Jain, and Lakshmi Chandra Jain and was headed by Sampurnanand. Works that were published between 1921 and 1951 were considered for the first award. The nine language committees that were formed were to submit to the board nominations along with translations of the work into Hindi or English. The final round had four authors ; Kazi Nazrul Islam ( Bengali ), D.V. Gundappa ( Kannada ), Viswanatha Satyanarayana ( Telugu ), and G. Sankara Kurup ( Malayalam ). On 19 November 1966, Kurup was presented with the citation, statue of Saraswati, and a cheque for prize of ₹ 1 lakh ( equivalent to ₹ 43 lakh or US $64,000 in 2017 ) at a ceremony held at Vigyan Bhavan, Delhi. In his acceptance speech, Kurup appreciated the concept of the new award and thanked it for bringing `` integration of the diverse people of this land on a spiritual plane ''. Rules and Selection process The nominations for the award are received from various literary experts, teachers, critics, universities, and numerous literary and language associations. Every three years, an advisory committee is constituted for each of the languages. The language of the most recent recipient 's work is not eligible for consideration for the next two years. Each committee consists of three literary critics and scholars of their respective languages. All the nominations are scrutinised by the committee and their recommendations are submitted to the Jnanpith Award Selection Board ( Pravara Parishad ). The Selection Board consists of between seven and eleven members of `` high repute and integrity ''. Each member is part of the committee for a term of three years which can also be extended further for two more terms. The recommendations of all language advisory committees are evaluated by the board based on complete or partial translations of the selected writings of the proposed writers into Hindi or English. The recipient for a particular year is announced by the Selection Board, which has final authority in selection. List of recipients Key † Indicates a joint award for the given year G. Sankara Kurup was the first recipient of the award. Krishna Sobti is the most recent recipient of the award. List of award recipients, showing the year, and language ( s ) Year Recipient ( s ) Language ( s ) Refs. / Notes 1965 ( 1st ) G. Sankara Kurup Malayalam 1966 ( 2nd ) Tarasankar Bandyopadhyay Bengali 1967 ( 3rd ) † Umashankar Joshi Gujarati 1967 ( 3rd ) † Kuppali Venkatappa Puttappa ' Kuvempu ' Kannada 1968 ( 4th ) Sumitranandan Pant Hindi 1969 ( 5th ) Firaq Gorakhpuri Urdu 1970 ( 6th ) Viswanatha Satyanarayana Telugu 1971 ( 7th ) Bishnu Dey Bengali 1972 ( 8th ) Ramdhari Singh ' Dinkar ' Hindi 1973 ( 9th ) † D.R. Bendre Kannada 1973 ( 9th ) † Gopinath Mohanty Odia ( 10th ) Vishnu Sakharam Khandekar Marathi ( 11th ) Akilan Tamil 1976 ( 12th ) Ashapoorna Devi Bengali 1977 ( 13th ) K. Shivaram Karanth Kannada 1978 ( 14th ) Sachchidananda Vatsyayan Hindi 1979 ( 15th ) Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya Assamese 1980 ( 16th ) S.K. Pottekkatt Malayalam 1981 ( 17th ) Amrita Pritam Punjabi 1982 ( 18th ) Mahadevi Varma Hindi ( 19th ) Masti Venkatesha Iyengar Kannada 1984 ( 20th ) Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai Malayalam 1985 ( 21st ) Pannalal Patel Gujarati 1986 ( 22nd ) Sachidananda Routray Odia ( 23rd ) Vishnu Vaman Shirwadkar ' Kusumagraj ' Marathi ( 24th ) C. Narayana Reddy Telugu ( 25th ) Qurratulain Hyder Urdu ( 26th ) Vinayaka Krishna Gokak Kannada 1991 ( 27th ) Subhash Mukhopadhyay Bengali ( 28th ) Naresh Mehta Hindi ( 29th ) Sitakant Mahapatra Odia ( 30th ) U.R. Ananthamurthy Kannada 1995 ( 31st ) M.T. Vasudevan Nair Malayalam ( 32nd ) Mahasweta Devi Bengali ( 33rd ) Ali Sardar Jafri Urdu 1998 ( 34th ) Girish Karnad Kannada 1999 ( 35th ) † Nirmal Verma Hindi 1999 ( 35th ) † Gurdial Singh Punjabi 2000 ( 36th ) Mamoni Raisom Goswami Assamese ( 37th ) Rajendra Shah Gujarati 2002 ( 38th ) Jayakanthan Tamil 2003 ( 39th ) Vinda Karandikar Marathi ( 40th ) Rehman Rahi Kashmiri 2005 ( 41st ) Kunwar Narayan Hindi 2006 ( 42nd ) † Ravindra Kelekar Konkani 2006 ( 42nd ) † Satya Vrat Shastri Sanskrit 2007 ( 43rd ) O.N.V. Kurup Malayalam 2008 ( 44th ) Akhlaq Mohammed Khan ' Shahryar ' Urdu 2009 ( 45th ) † Amarkant Hindi 2009 ( 45th ) † Sri Lal Sukla Hindi ( 46th ) Chandrashekhara Kambara Kannada 2011 ( 47th ) Pratibha Ray Odia 2012 ( 48th ) Ravuri Bharadhwaja Telugu 2013 ( 49th ) Kedarnath Singh Hindi 2014 ( 50th ) Bhalchandra Nemade Marathi 2015 ( 51st ) Raghuveer Chaudhari Gujarati 2016 ( 52nd ) Shankha Ghosh Bengali 2017 ( 53rd ) Krishna Sobti Hindi See also Moortidevi Award, another annual literary award conferred by the Bharatiya Jnanpith. Notes Jump up ^ The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India consists of twenty - two languages viz. Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu. Jump up ^ The trilogy consists of Pratham Pratisruti, Subarnalata, and Bakul Katha. Jump up ^ The Malayalam language committee headed by N.V. Krishna Warrier submitted an undisputed nomination of Kurup 's work Odakkuzhal although the Kerala Sahitya Akademi opined that no work in Malayalam language was worthy of the inaugural prize. Jump up ^ Awarded for Odakkuzhal. Jump up ^ Awarded for Ganadevta. Jump up ^ Awarded for Nishitha. Jump up ^ Awarded for Sri Ramayana Darshanam. Jump up ^ Awarded for Chidambara. Jump up ^ Awarded for Gul - e-Naghma. Jump up ^ Awarded for Ramayana Kalpavrukshamu. Jump up ^ Awarded for Smriti Satta Bhavishyat. Jump up ^ Awarded for Urvashi. Jump up ^ Awarded for Nakutanti. Jump up ^ Awarded for Matimatal. Jump up ^ Awarded for Yayati. Jump up ^ Awarded for Chitttrappavai. Jump up ^ Awarded for Pratham Pratisruti. Jump up ^ Awarded for Mookajjiya Kanasugalu. Jump up ^ Awarded for Kitni Navon Men Kitni Bar. Jump up ^ Awarded for Mrityunjay. Jump up ^ Awarded for Oru Desathinte Katha. Jump up ^ Awarded for Kagaj te Canvas. References Jump up ^ `` The Constitution of India : Eighth Schedule '' ( PDF ). Ministry of Home Affairs ( India ). p. 1. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` Proposal for the 52nd Jnanpith Award '' ( PDF ). Bharatiya Jnanpith. 18 April 2016. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 9 May 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` Jnanpith Award @ Bharatiya Jnanpith ''. Bharatiya Jnanpith. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` Gujarati writer Raghuveer Chaudhary chosen for Jnanpith Award ''. The Hindu. New Delhi. 30 December 2015. Archived from the original on 16 December 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016. Bhattacharji, Jaya Rose ( 31 January 2015 ). `` The prize is right ? ''. The Hindu. Archived from the original on 3 February 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` Vasant Panchami, a celebration of Goddess Saraswati '' ( PDF ). Government of Odisha. 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CS1 maint : Uses authors parameter ( link ) Jump up ^ Vasudev, Chetana Divya ( 10 June 2015 ). `` Literary Trust Launches Programme to Honour Masti ''. The New Indian Express. Gavipuram. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016. Jump up ^ Pillai, Sreedhar ( 4 January 2014 ). `` Crowning achievement ''. India Today. Archived from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016. Jump up ^ Sabharwal 2007, p. 234. Jump up ^ `` Sachidananda Routray passes away ''. The Hindu. Bhubaneswar. 22 August 2004. Archived from the original on 3 February 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2016. Jump up ^ Sabharwal 2007, p. 222. Jump up ^ `` Telugu writer Ravuri Bharadwaja honoured with Jnanpith award ''. Deccan Chronicle. Hyderabad. Archived from the original on 24 September 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016. Jump up ^ Naim, C.M. ( 21 August 2007 ). `` Aini Apa ( 1927 -- 2007 ) ''. Outlook India. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` Jnanpith for 1990 awarded to well - known Kannada writer Vinayak Krishna Gokak ''. India Today. 30 November 1991. Archived from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` Everyman 's poet bids final farewell : Obituary ( Subhas Mukhopadhyay ) ''. The Telegraph ( Calcutta ). 9 July 2003. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016. Jump up ^ Sabharwal 2007, p. 250. Jump up ^ Srivastava, K.K. ( 1 March 2015 ). `` The Spirit of Poetry ''. The Pioneer. Bangalore. Archived from the original on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016. Jump up ^ Rao, Sunitha. R. ( 22 August 2014 ). `` UR Ananthamurthy, renowned Kannada writer, dies in Bangalore ''. The Times of India. Bangalore. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2016. Jump up ^ Sabharwal 2007, p. 262. Jump up ^ `` Mahasweta Devi and Habib Tanvir appointed as National Research Professors '' ( Press release ). Press Information Bureau, India. 2 March 2006. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` The Prime Minister Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee presenting the 33rd Jnanpith Award '' ( Press release ). Press Information Bureau, India. 5 June 1998. Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` The Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee presenting the prestigious Jnanpith Award for the year 1998 '' ( Press release ). Press Information Bureau, India. 27 March 1999. Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2016. Menon, Parvathi ( 1999 ). `` The multi-faceted playwright ''. Frontline. Vol. 16 no. 3. Bangalore : The Hindu. Archived from the original on 22 September 2013. ^ Jump up to : `` Nirmal Verma, Gurdial Singh jointly get Jnanpith Award ''. The Hindu. New Delhi. 11 March 2000. Archived from the original on 3 February 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` The Vice President Shri Krishan Kant presenting the 36th Bhartiya Jnanpith Award '' ( Press release ). Press Information Bureau, India. 24 February 2002. Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` Third Gujarati to win Jnanpith ''. The Hindu. New Delhi. 18 July 2003. Archived from the original on 29 February 2004. Retrieved 20 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` Jnanpith award for Jayakanthan ''. The Times of India. New Delhi / Chennai. 20 March 2005. Archived from the original on 3 February 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` President 's address at the conferment of 39th Jnanpith Award for 2003 '' ( Press release ). Press Information Bureau, India. 10 August 2006. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` 40th Jnanpith Award to Eminent Kashmiri Poet Shri Rahman Rahi '' ( PDF ) ( Press release ). Bharatiya Jnanpith. 9 March 2007. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 7 April 2009. 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Jump up ^ `` Address of the Hon'ble President on the Occasion of Conferring the Jnanapith Award for the Year 2010 on Dr. Chandrashekhara Kambar '' ( Press release ). Press Information Bureau, India. 11 October 2012. Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` Speech by the President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee at the presentation of 47th Jnanpith Award to Dr. Pratibha Ray '' ( Press release ). Press Information Bureau, India. 22 May 2013. Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` 48th Jnanpith Award to Eminent Telugu Littérateur Shri Ravuri Bharadhwaja '' ( PDF ). Bharatiya Jnanpith. 17 April 2013. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` Kedarnath Singh chosen for Jnanpith ''. The Hindu. New Delhi. 21 June 2014. Archived from the original on 7 July 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` 50th Jnanpith Award to Eminent Marathi Littérateur Shri Bhalchandra Nemade '' ( PDF ). Bharatiya Jnanpith. 6 February 2015. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` 51st Jnanpith Award to Eminent Gujarati Littérateur Shri Raghuveer Chaudhari '' ( PDF ). Bharatiya Jnanpith. 29 December 2015. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 23 January 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` Acclaimed Bengali poet Shankha Ghosh to get 2016 Jnanpith Award ''. Daily News Analysis. 23 December 2016. Archived from the original on 23 December 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2016. Jump up ^ `` Hindi writer Krishna Sobti chosen for Jnanpith Award ''. The Hindu. 3 November 2017. Archived from the original on 3 February 2018. Retrieved 6 November 2017. Bibliography Sabharwal, Gopa ( 2007 ). India Since 1947 : The Independent Years. Penguin Books India. p. 392. ISBN 978 - 0 - 14 - 310274 - 8. Further reading Bandyopadhyay, Tarasankar ( 2009 ). Ganadevta ( in Hindi ) ( 17 ed. ). Bhartiya Jnanpith. ISBN 978 - 81 - 263 - 1675 - 5. Pant, Sumitranandan ( 1991 ). Chidambara ( in Hindi ). Rajkamal Prakashan. p. 353. ISBN 978 - 81 - 267 - 0491 - 0. Gorakhpuri, Firaq ( 2008 ). Gul - e-Naghma ( in Hindi ). Translated by Raza, Jafar. Rajkamal Prakashan. p. 278. ISBN 978 - 81 - 8031 - 285 - 4. Dinkar, Ramdhari Singh ( 2014 ). उर्वशी : खण्ड काव्य ( Urvashi : Poetic Novel ) ( in Hindi ). Bhartiya Sahitya. ISBN 978 - 1 - 61301 - 343 - 4. Khandekar, Vishnu Sakharam ( 1978 ). Yayati : A Classic Tale of Lust. Translated by Kulkarni, Y.P. Orient Paperbacks. p. 258. ISBN 978 - 81 - 222 - 0428 - 5. Devi, Ashapurna ( 2004 ). Pratham Pratisruti ( The First Promise ). Translated by Chowdhury, Indira. Orient Blackswan. p. 541. ISBN 978 - 81 - 250 - 2650 - 1. Karanth, K. Shivarama ( 2014 ). Mookajjiya Kanasugalu ( Dreams of Mookajji ) ( in Kannada ). Sapna Book House. p. 279. ISBN 978 - 81 - 7285 - 062 - 3. Vatsyayan, Sachchidananda ( 2000 ). Kitni Navon Mein Kitni Baar ( in Hindi ). Bharatiya Jnanpith. p. 100. ISBN 978 - 81 - 263 - 0073 - 0. Pritam, Amrita ( 1989 ). Kagaz Aur Canvas ( Paper and Canvas ) ( in Hindi ). Translated by Shanta. Rajkamal Prakashan. p. 155. ISBN 978 - 81 - 267 - 0492 - 7. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jnanpith Award. Official website Jnanpith Award recipients 1965 -- 1985 G. Sankara Kurup ( 1965 ) Tarasankar Bandyopadhyay ( 1966 ) Kuvempu and Umashankar Joshi ( 1967 ) Sumitranandan Pant ( 1968 ) Firaq Gorakhpuri ( 1969 ) Viswanatha Satyanarayana ( 1970 ) Bishnu Dey ( 1971 ) Ramdhari Singh Dinkar ( 1972 ) D.R. Bendre and Gopinath Mohanty ( 1973 ) Vishnu Sakharam Khandekar ( 1974 ) Akilan ( 1975 ) Ashapoorna Devi ( 1976 ) K. Shivaram Karanth ( 1977 ) Sachchidananda Vatsyayan ( 1978 ) Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya ( 1979 ) S.K. Pottekkatt ( 1980 ) Amrita Pritam ( 1981 ) Mahadevi Varma ( 1982 ) Masti Venkatesha Iyengar ( 1983 ) Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai ( 1984 ) Pannalal Patel ( 1985 ) 1986 -- 2000 Sachidananda Routray ( 1986 ) Kusumagraj ( 1987 ) C. Narayana Reddy ( 1988 ) Qurratulain Hyder ( 1989 ) Vinayaka Krishna Gokak ( 1990 ) Subhas Mukhopadhyay ( 1991 ) Naresh Mehta ( 1992 ) Sitakant Mahapatra ( 1993 ) U.R. Ananthamurthy ( 1994 ) M.T. Vasudevan Nair ( 1995 ) Mahasweta Devi ( 1996 ) Ali Sardar Jafri ( 1997 ) Girish Karnad ( 1998 ) Gurdial Singh and Nirmal Verma ( 1999 ) Mamoni Raisom Goswami ( 2000 ) 2001 -- present Rajendra Shah ( 2001 ) Jayakanthan ( 2002 ) Vinda Karandikar ( 2003 ) Rehman Rahi ( 2004 ) Kunwar Narayan ( 2005 ) Ravindra Kelekar and Satya Vrat Shastri ( 2006 ) O.N.V. Kurup ( 2007 ) Akhlaq Mohammed Khan ( 2008 ) Amarkant and Sri Lal Sukla ( 2009 ) Chandrashekhara Kambara ( 2010 ) Pratibha Ray ( 2011 ) Ravuri Bharadhwaja ( 2012 ) Kedarnath Singh ( 2013 ) Bhalchandra Nemade ( 2014 ) Raghuveer Chaudhari ( 2015 ) Shankha Ghosh ( 2016 ) Krishna Sobti ( 2017 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jnanpith_Award&oldid=849703115 '' Categories : Awards Awards established in 1961 Events of The Times Group Indian literary awards Recipients of the Jnanpith Award Hidden categories : CS1 maint : Uses authors parameter Use British English from May 2012 Use dmy dates from May 2012 Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2015 All articles containing potentially dated statements Articles with hCards CS1 Hindi - language sources ( hi ) CS1 Kannada - language sources ( kn ) Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia Featured lists Talk Contents About Wikipedia অসমীয়া বাংলা Deutsch Esperanto Français ગુજરાતી 한국어 हिन्दी Bahasa Indonesia ಕನ್ನಡ Magyar മലയാളം मराठी नेपाल भाषा Norsk ଓଡ଼ିଆ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ پنجابی Русский संस्कृतम् தமிழ் తెలుగు اردو 14 more Edit links This page was last edited on 10 July 2018, at 19 : 24 ( UTC ). 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Question: who was the first punjabi novelist to get jnanpith award
Answer: Amrita Pritam