Famous Marathi Novelist Bhalchandra Nemade, seventy-six-year-old, has been presented with the 50th Jnanpith Award by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a award giving ceremony held in New Delhi. At the ceremony, the Prime Minister has appealed the people to inculcate reading habits. Praising the writing of Prof Bhalchandra Nemade, the Prime Minister compared his views with those of Shri Aurobindo.

Nemade, who hails from Jalgaon, spoke about the need for the Indian society to stop thinking that progress would come only with adopting foreign influences.

Jnanpith Award is the highest award in Indian literature. It carries a cheque for 11 lakh, a citation plaque and a bronze replica of Saraswati, the Indian goddess of knowledge, music, and the arts.

Bhalchandra Nemade

1. Nemade was born in 1938 on May 27th in the village of Sangavi in the Khandesh region of Maharashtra.
2. He received his bachelor’s degree from Fergusson College, Pune and Master’s degree in Linguistics from Deccan College, Pune.
3. He received PhD and D.Lit. degrees from North Maharashtra University.
4. Nemade taught English, Marathi, and comparative literature at various universities including the School of Oriental and African Studies at London.
5. He received a Sahitya Akademi Award for year 1990 for his critical work Teeka Svayanwar.
6. He was conferred with Padma Shri in 2011 by Government of India.
7. Famous for his “Hindu” & “Kosala” books.