Sahitya Academy
Rabindra Bhawan, Delhi which houses the Sangeet Natak Akademi, Lalit Kala Akademi and Sahitya Akademi
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logo of Sahitya Akademi
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| Abbreviation | SA |
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| Formation | March 12, 1954 |
| Headquarters | Rabindra Bhawan, Delhi |
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Region served
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India |
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President
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Dr. Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari |
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Parent organisation
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Ministry of Culture, Government of India |
| Website | Official Website |
The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of, the Indian government and situated at Rabindra Bhavan near Mandi House in Delhi.
The Sahitya Akademi organises national and regional workshops and seminars; provides research and travel grants to authors; publishes books and journals, including the Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature; and presents the annual Sahitya Akademi Award of Rs. 100,000 (approx. USD 1,500 (as in year 2013)) in each of the 24 languages it supports, as well as the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship for lifetime achievement.
The Sahitya Akademi Library is one of the largest multi-lingual libraries in India, with a rich collection of books on literature and allied subjects. Also it publishes two bimonthly literary journals - Indian Literature in English and Samkaleen Bharatiya Sahitya in Hindi.
The Sahitya Akademi supports work in English, Hindi, and Urdu as well as the following regional languages:
The idea of constituting a National Academy of Letters in India was considered by the colonial British government, and in 1944 a proposal from the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal for the formation of a 'National Cultural Trust' was, in principle, accepted. The original plan concieved of three institutions, or academies, devoted to the visual arts, performing arts, and letters. The independent Government of India carried out this proposal, constituting a National Academy of Letters, called the 'Sahitya Akademi' by a government resolution on 15 December 1952. The first General Council of the Akademi included members such as S. Radhakrishnan, Abul Kalam Azad, C. Rajagopalachari, K.M. Panikkar, K.M. Munshi, Zakir Hussain, Umashankar Joshi, Mahadevi Varma, D. V. Gundappa, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, and was presided over by the then-Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. The Government of India clarified that the choice of Prime Minister Nehru as the first Chairperson was "not because he is Prime Minister, but because he has carved out for himself a distinctive place as a writer and author."
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