DMK’s counter to Sahitya Akademi: Stalin announces annual National Award for best literary works in Indian languages

From this year onward, the Tamil Nadu government will institute annual awards, ‘Classical Literary Award’, for best literary works in Indian languages as a counter to the Sahitya Akademi, Chief Minister MK Stalin announced on Sunday, breaking the image that the DMK is wedded to Tamil chauvinism.

The award also carries a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh , with the Tamil Nadu government being the patron.

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“I am very happy to announce the annual national awards, Classical Literary Award, of the Tamil Nadu government for the best literary works in Indian languages. In the first phase, the awards with a cash component of Rs 5 lakh each would be given to Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Odiya and Marathi. To ensure the quality of the literary works and a transparent selection process, a panel comprising renowned writers and past awardees would be constituted for each language. The Tamil Nadu government would be the patron,” he said, addressing the valedictory of the Chennai International Book Fair (CIBF).

Slamming the Modi government for interference in the Sahitya Akademi awards for 2025, he said, “Political interference in awards for art and literature is a dangerous trend. Recent news from the national capital about the cancellation of Sahitaya Akademi awards for the year 2025 was disheartening. The awards function was cancelled at the eleventh hour following the intervention of the Union Culture Ministry. It is very doubtful whether it will be held or not. Given this situation, many writers and literary and cultural associations have demanded that the Tamil Nadu government respond positively to this development, and I have accepted it as it is the need of the hour.”

He said Book Fairs are conducted in every district, and the CIBF, with the participation of 102 countries, is a bridge for publishers and authors and an exchange of knowledge.

“I am very proud to share the dais with Booker Prize-winning Kannada author Banu Mushtaq, a progressive writer. The focus of CIBF is translation and copyright exchange. Only because her work was translated into English (Heart Lamp) Banu Mushtaq has won the coveted Booker Prize , and the lives of South Indian women have got global attention. She belongs to our Dravidian family of languages and hails from a minority community but uses her writing to fight regressive ideas and to uphold social justice,” he said.

“It was the Dravidian movement which took Tamil Nadu on the path of modernity by fighting against entrenched conservative ideas. The ideas that have sprouted in our land have to be taken to all four corners of the world , and knowledge, both scientific and literary, around the globe, should reach us.

”Literature has no boundaries, and language is a bridge and not a divisive wall. The ‘Thirukkural’ of sage-poet Thiruvalluvar, the epic of Ilango Adigal (Silappathikara), the poetry of modernist Tamil poet Bharathi and Bharathidasan should resonate in all languages,” he said, adding, “Scientific works should be made available in racy Tamil for the kids.”