The Sahitya Akademi is India's National Academy of Letters, an autonomous institution dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Established by the Government of India, it works for the development of Indian letters, sets high literary standards, fosters and coordinates literary activities in the recognised Indian languages, and promotes through them the cultural unity of the country.
| Type | National academy; autonomous body |
|---|---|
| Field | Literature |
| Founded | 12 March 1954 |
| Headquarters | Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi |
| Parent | Ministry of Culture, Government of India |
| Recognised languages | 24 Indian languages, including English |
| Major awards | Sahitya Akademi Award, Sahitya Akademi Fellowship, Bhasha Samman, Yuva Puraskar, Bal Sahitya Puraskar, Translation Prize |
The idea of a national cultural body for letters was discussed in the years after independence, alongside the formation of similar academies for the performing arts and the visual arts. The Sahitya Akademi was inaugurated by the Government of India on 12 March 1954 and registered as a society in 1956 under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. It functions as an autonomous organisation funded by the Ministry of Culture.
The Akademi recognises 24 Indian languages for its activities. These include the 22 languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India, along with English and Rajasthani.
The Akademi is governed by a General Council, an Executive Board, a Finance Committee and language-specific Advisory Boards for each of the recognised languages. Its day-to-day work is led by a President, a Vice-President and a Secretary. The Advisory Boards play a central role in nominating recipients of awards and in planning publications and seminars in their respective languages.
Its headquarters is at Rabindra Bhavan in New Delhi, with regional offices in Kolkata, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai, and additional sub-offices to support work in different linguistic regions.
The Akademi confers several literary honours, of which the most prominent are:
The Sahitya Akademi is one of the principal institutions sustaining the multilingual literary culture of India. By treating each recognised language on an equal footing, supporting translation between them, and publishing works that might not otherwise reach a national readership, it has contributed to a shared sense of Indian literature across linguistic boundaries. Its archives, recordings and bibliographic projects also serve as primary resources for the study of modern Indian writing.