This is aimed at encouraging creative or reflective writing in English, Hindi and other Indian languages, published within the specified award period. The literary genres of poetry, short story, novel, drama, critique, biography, as well as humour, satire, essays, philosophy etc., will be considered for this award. Last three years Awardees
2008-09 Inderjit Nandan	2009-10 Ashok Pawar	2010-11 Thoudam Netrajit Singh
Inderjit is a promising young voice in contemporary Punjabi literature. Her poetry has delicate rhythm, which enhances its communicability. It delves deep into the psyche and consciousness of women and brings forth their experience and turbulence. At the same time, her poetry also addresses wider issues and subjects of her society. The most remarkable fact is that her poetry and other writings embody immense love for human life. Her first two collections ‘Dishadiyon Ton Par’ and ‘Chup De Rang’ came out in 2002 and 2005 respectively. She also wrote a biographical account of noted Punjabi theatre artist Joginder Baharla in the year 2006 which was a huge success and attracted widespread attention of critics. In 2008, her epic ‘Bhagat Singh: Anathak Jivangatha’ was published, where she has portrayed the life and struggles of Bhagat Singh from a distinct creative lens, not only from the ideological standpoint. The credit for being the first poetess in Punjabi language creating an epic also goes to Inderjit Nandan. Inderjit has deep social commitments. She says: ‘Literature refines individual. The work of a writer is to provide direction to society, but for that, a writer is required to correctly determine his or her own direction. She or he should never forget her or his responsibility towards the society”. This strong commitment moves Inderjit ahead and engages her in numerous social developmental works. Her passion for poetry is evident in her own words “I cannot live without poetry. The part of my life, which I have not shared with anyone, has been shared with poetry.”	Ashok Pawar is one of the powerful emerging voices in the Dalit literature coming out from Maharashtra. His first autobiographical work Birad proved to be a trail-blazer with its brutal candidness and immediacy of the appeal. Marked by a rare balance of intensity of expression and seemingly detached presentation of all that he as an individual hailing from disadvantaged moorings went through, his story raised some questions about the superficiality of the socio-economic development scorching enough to make thinking minds think afresh about the issues. His is not a yet another Dalit story, punctuated alternately with wails of helplessness, and fists raised in protest, it is much more. His second work Elanmal, is an extension of his debutant work Birad. The form of novel offered him a new freedom to blend the facts with fiction. His writing acquires a sharper edge here reflecting sufferings of the people who are brazenly exploited by the rich, ‘better educated’ and the upper caste. His works offer a window to the caste pyramid and the way it takes toll on the lowest wrung for generations on end and the past has its feet buried deep in the quagmire of irrational and unfair repression, and the present is only a shade different. The foreseeable future offers no magic carpet for something rooted so deep. Ashok Pawar has come on the literary scene without any precursor and has no isms to lean on. His is a tale told in stark simplicity, his expression untamed by the rules of sophistication giving new expressions to Marathi stemming from the nomadic dialect he has grown up with. His novels, ‘Thangpata’ and ‘Gardal’ are ready for publications. He has been honored with 13 awards so far.	Netrajit, one of the prominent young poets of Manipur passed his matriculation in 1993 from Salam village but could not progress further in his study because of health issues. Despite writing being an uphill task, he wrote of his undying faith in the emotional integrity of the people, using poetry and short story as his modes of expression. He has written of the bleeding populace of Manipur, the helpless innocent who are being crushed between the armed insurgents and the security forces. His first collection of poems ‘Imphal Sahar,’ published in 1995, reflects the traumatic experience of the young poet. In addition, he has published 4 books, viz: Saharagee Meekap (1996, The Wailing Cries of the Sahara, short stories), Ei Khutlai Paide (1997, I Don’t Hold Weapons, poetry), Kangshinkhraba Mitkee Pee (2000, Dried up Tears), Lanphamsida (2006, In this Battle, poetry). His poetry deals with the many contemporary situations of Manipur, particularly violation of human rights, longing for peace, disappointments of younger generations, exploitation, etc. Most of his poems are short but they are charged with force and strength. His use of symbols and imagery is lively and powerful. He has presented his poems in forums like the All India Literary Conference (2004) of the Progressive Writers’ Association, Hyderabad and SAARC Poetry Festival (2008). He has also participated in the International Conference on Manipuri Literature (2009) of the Bangladesh Manipuri Sahitya Sansad. He was honoured with Yuba Puraskar in 2006 for Saharagee Meekap by Bhartiya Bhasha Parishad, Kolkata besides winning other laurels.