{{Short description|Gujrati language authority in India}} {{distinguish|Gujarati Literary Academy}} {{Infobox organization | name = Gujarat Sahitya Akademi | native_name = ગુજરાત સાહિત્ય અકાદમી | native_name_lang = gu | image = Gujarat Sahitya Akadami.jpg | image_size = | caption = Akademi headquarters in [[Gandhinagar]] | logo = Gujarat Sahitya Akademi logo.jpeg | logo_size = 150px | logo_caption = logo of Akademi | map = | map_size = | map_alt = | map_caption = | map2 = | map2_size = | map2_alt = | map2_caption = | abbreviation = | predecessor = | merged_into = | successor = | formation = {{start date and age|df=y|1981|9|24}} | founder = [[Government of Gujarat]] | founding_location = | type = Literary institution | tax_id = <!-- or | vat_id = (for European organizations) --> | registration_id = <!-- for non-profit org --> | status = | purpose = Literary and language development | headquarters = Jhaverchand Meghani Bhavan, Sector-10, Behind Krushi Bhavan, [[Gandhinagar]], [[Gujarat]], India | location = | coordinates = {{coord|23.224431|72.654421|display=inline, title}} | region_served = | services = | products = | methods = | fields = [[Gujarati literature]] | num_members = | num_members_year = | language = | secretary_general = | leader_title = Chairman | leader_name = [[Bhagyesh Jha]] | leader_title2 = Registrar | leader_name2 = Jayendrasinh Jadav | leader_title3 = | leader_name3 = | leader_title4 = | leader_name4 = | board_of_directors = | key_people = | main_organ = ''[[Shabdasrishti]]'' | parent_organization = | subsidiaries = | secessions = | affiliations = Sports, Youth and Cultural Activities Department, [[Government of Gujarat]] | budget = | budget_year = | revenue = | revenue_year = | disbursements = | expenses = | expenses_year = | endowment = | num_staff = | num_staff_year = | num_volunteers = | num_volunteers_year = | slogan = | mission = | website = {{URL|sahityaacademy.gujarat.gov.in/}} | remarks = | former_name = | footnotes = }}
The '''Gujarat Sahitya Akademi''' ({{langx|gu|ગુજરાત સાહિત્ય અકાદમી}}) or '''Gujarat Sahitya Academy''', established in 1981, is a government institution dedicated to the development of the languages spoken in [[Gujarat]], [[India]] and their literature. Gujarati, an official language of Gujarat, is one of them; the others are [[Hindi language|Hindi]], [[Sanskrit]], [[Kutchi language|Kutchi]], [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]] and [[Urdu]]. {{as of|2022}}, Bhagyesh Jha is the chairman of the Akademi.<ref name="Janmbhoomi">{{cite news |script-title=gu:ભાગ્યેશ જહા ફરી ગુજરાત સાહિત્ય અકાદમીના અધ્યક્ષ બન્યા |url=https://janmabhoominewspapers.com/news/385335 |access-date=14 November 2022 |agency=janmabhoominewspapers.com |date=22 July 2022 |archive-date=14 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221114085659/https://janmabhoominewspapers.com/news/385335 |url-status=live }}</ref>
== History == The Akademi was founded on 24 September 1981 by the [[Government of Gujarat]]. It was inaugurated on 17 June 1982 with the appointment of a chairman, a vice chairman and other members.<ref name="RahmanVerma2005">{{cite book|author1=Syed Amanur Rahman|author2=Balraj Verma|title=The Beautiful India - Gujarat|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8qKZPAAACAAJ|access-date=27 August 2017|date=9 August 2005|publisher=Reference Press|location=New Delhi|isbn=81-88583-98-7|pages=231–233|archive-date=7 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107050457/https://books.google.com/books?id=8qKZPAAACAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=AGSI>{{cite book|title=અર્વાચીન ગુજરાતી સાહિત્યનો ઈતિહાસ - આધુનિક અને અનુઆધુનિક યુગ (History of Modern Gujarati Literature – Modern and Postmodern Era)|first=Prasad|last=Brahmabhatt |publisher=Parshwa Publication|location=Ahmedabad|year=2010|pages=396|language=gu|isbn=978-93-5108-247-7}}</ref>
== Activity == The main aim of the Akademi is to:<ref name="RahmanVerma2005"/> * Encourage organizations and writers in Gujarat to promote the development of Gujarati, Sanskrit and other modern languages * Promote the research of Gujarati folk literature * Collect and publish books of literature * Assemble and maintain a library * Recognize and aid literary societies * Publish criticism of various forms of literature * Organize birthday celebrations for noted authors * Award prizes for books published in different forms of literature * Award financial scholarships to students of literature * Financially assist elderly, physically handicapped, and indigent authors living in Gujarat. * Annually award [[Sahitya Gaurav Puraskar]] to an established author and [[Yuva Gaurav Puraskar]] to a young writer. * Since 2016, the Akademi has conferred the [[Sahityaratna Award]] to Gujarati authors for their significant contribution; and the [[Ramanlal Nilkanth Hasya Paritoshik]] which is conferred to Gujarati authors for their significant contribution in Gujarati humorous literature.
== Organisation == The Gujarat Academy oversees five other academies; namely the Hindi Sahitya Academy for [[Hindi language|Hindi]], the Sanskrit Sahitya Academy for [[Sanskrit language|Sanskrit]], the Kutchi Sahitya Academy for [[Kutchi language|Kutchi]], the Sindhi Sahitya Academy for [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]] and the Urdu Sahitya Academy for [[Urdu language|Urdu]]. The registrar is the administrative head of all five academies. There are three standing committees, each of which has ten members, including five official members, for folk literature, Sanskrit language and literature, and other modern Indian languages.<ref name="RahmanVerma2005"/>
The chairman, the vice chairman and the registrar have day-to-day control of the Akademi. The Akademi's overall controlling authorities are the general body and the executive council. The term of the general body is 5 years. The general body is made of 41 members including the education commissioner of Gujarat, the financial adviser of the education department, the registrar of Akademi, the higher education commissioner of Gujarat, the director of language of Gujarat, five members from the Gujarati literary community selected by the state government, 9 members selected by the committee appointed by representative of different Gujarati literary institutions, 8 members representing of the University of Gujarat, 3 members selected by the members of the general body of the Akademi, 9 members selected by a committee appointed by Gujarati writers, 2 members who have been awarded the [[Sahitya Gaurav Puraskar]]. The executive council is made up of a maximum of ten members including the chairman, the registrar and the vice-chairman of the Akademi, the education commissioner of Gujarat, the financial adviser of the education department, the education commissioner of Gujarat and five members of the general body selected by the state government.<ref name=thesis>{{cite thesis|last=Dhameliya|first=Priti Y.|script-title=gu:ગુજરાતી સાહિત્ય પરિષદના મુખપત્ર 'પરબ' તથા ગુજરાત સાહિત્ય અકાદમીના મુખપત્ર 'શબ્દસૃષ્ટિ'ના વિશેષાંકોનો સમિક્ષાત્મક અભ્યાસ|date=2016|publisher=[[Bhavnagar University]]|place=Bhavnagar |trans-title=A Critical Study of Gujaratí Sahitya Parishad's organ 'Parab' and Gujarat Sahitya Academy's organ 'Shabdasrishti|language=gu|type=PhD|script-chapter=gu:પ્રકરણ 2: સાહિત્ય સંસ્થાઓનો પરિચય |trans-chapter=Chapter 2: An Introduction of Literary Institutions|hdl=10603/129321|pages=8–27}}</ref>
===List of chairmen=== Following people served as chairmen:<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://sahityaacademy.gujarat.gov.in/list-of-all-members.htm|title=List of all Members {{!}} Gujarat Sahitya Academy|website=sahityaacademy.gujarat.gov.in|language=en|access-date=2018-01-21|archive-date=2018-01-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180121184310/http://sahityaacademy.gujarat.gov.in/list-of-all-members.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> {| class="wikitable" !No.!!Chairman!!From !To |- |1 |[[Mohammad Mankad]] |17 June 1982 |26 April 1984 |- | 2 || Kulinchandra Yagnik ||27 April 1984 |27 December 1984 |- | 3 || [[Bhupat Vadodaria]] ||28 December 1984 |13 March 1986 |- | 4 || [[Ramanlal Joshi]] ||14 March 1986 |7 June 1987 |- | 5 || Hasmukh Patel (Education Minister) ||8 June 1987 |10 December 1988 |- | 6 || Arvind Sanghavi (Education Minister) ||11 December 1988 |12 December 1989 |- | 7 || Hasmukh Patel (Education Minister) ||13 December 1989 |11 March 1990 |- | 8 || Karsandas Soneri (Education Minister) ||12 March 1990 |11 August 1991 |- | 9 || [[Manubhai Pancholi]] ||12 August 1991 |1998 |- | 10 || [[Bholabhai Patel]] ||5 October 1998 |2003 |- | 11 || Secretary; Sports, Youth and Cultural Activities Department ([[Ex-officio]]) ||2003 |6 May 2015 |- | 12 || Bhagyesh Jha || 7 May 2015<ref name="IndiaTimes2017"/> |13 May 2017 |- | 13 || [[Vishnu Pandya]] || 13 May 2017<ref name="IndiaTimes2017">{{cite web | title=Vishnu Pandya replaces Bhagyesh Jha at Sahitya Akademi | website=The Times of India | date=2017-05-13 | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/vishnu-pandya-replaces-jha-at-sahitya-akademi/articleshow/58651041.cms | access-date=2017-10-25 | archive-date=2019-01-07 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107050454/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/vishnu-pandya-replaces-jha-at-sahitya-akademi/articleshow/58651041.cms%20 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="DeshGujarat 2017">{{cite web | title=Vishnu Pandya appointed Chairman of Gujarat Sahitya Akademi | website=DeshGujarat | date=2017-05-12 | url=http://deshgujarat.com/2017/05/12/vishnu-pandya-appointed-chairman-of-gujarat-sahitya-akademi/ | access-date=2017-10-25 | archive-date=2019-01-07 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107050452/http://deshgujarat.com/2017/05/12/vishnu-pandya-appointed-chairman-of-gujarat-sahitya-akademi/ | url-status=live }}</ref> ||13 May 2022 |- | 14 || Bhagyesh Jha || 22 July 2022 <ref name="Janmbhoomi"/> |}
=== List of registrars === Following people served as registrars:<ref name=":0" /><ref name=AGSI/>
{| class="wikitable" ! No !! Registrar !!From !To |- | 1 || [[Hasu Yajnik]] ||25 February 1982 |29 February 1996 |- | 2 || Dankesh Oza ||1 May 1997 |16 March 1998 |- | 3 || Dalpat Padhiyar ||12 June 1998 |9 May 2000 |- | 4 || K. M. Pandya ||10 May 2000 |3 September 2003 |- | 5 || V. V. Pandit ||4 September 2003 |3 September 2005 |- | 6 || Kirit Doodhat ||22 January 2008 (from other department) |? |- | 7 || [[Harshad Trivedi]] ||5 December 2009 |27 July 2014 |- | 8 || Chetan Shukla ||28 December 2014 |17 August 2015 |- | 9 || Manoj Oza ||18 August 2015 |30 September 2017 |- |10 |[[Ajaysinh Chauhan]] ||7 December 2017 | 3 March 2020 |- |11 |Himmat Bhalodiya ||1 July 2020 |17 August 2021 |- |12 |Jayendrasinh Jadav || 26 August 2021 |Incumbent |}
== Controversy == The Akademi is an autonomous body empowered by its constitution to elect its chairman through a [[Electoral system|voting process]] by the 41 members of the general body.<ref name="The Indian Express 2015">{{cite web | title=Bharat Mehta returns state Akademi award | website=The Indian Express | date=2015-11-04 | url=http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/ahmedabad/bharat-mehta-returns-state-akademi-award/ | access-date=2017-10-25 | archive-date=2019-01-07 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107050459/https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/ahmedabad/bharat-mehta-returns-state-akademi-award/ | url-status=live }}</ref>
The Akademi did not have a chairman from 2003 to 2015 as the government did not held an election.<ref name=AGSI/> It was run by the registrar in-charge and the secretary of the sports, youth and cultural activities department; ex-offcio. In April 2015, the state government appointed Bhagyesh Jha, a Gujarati writer and retired [[Indian Administrative Services|IAS]] officer, as the new chairman of the Akademi without any election.<ref name="IndiaTimes2017"/> This resulted in the Autonomous Academy Agitation (''Swayatta Akademi Andolan'') led by [[Gujarati Sahitya Parishad]], the oldest literary institute in Gujarat and several Gujarati writers including Manishi Jani, [[Shirish Panchal]], [[Dhiru Parikh]], [[Chandrakant Topiwala]], Bharat Mehta, Paresh Naik and Raju Solanki.<ref name="The Indian Express 2011">{{cite web | title=Writers demand autonomy for Sahitya Academy | website=The Indian Express | date=2011-06-06 | url=http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/ahmedabad/writers-demand-autonomy-for-sahitya-academy/ | access-date=2017-10-24 | archive-date=2019-01-07 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107050444/https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/ahmedabad/writers-demand-autonomy-for-sahitya-academy/ | url-status=live }}</ref> Parishad boycotted the activities of the Akademi in protest. In March 2016, the Gujarati poet [[Harsh Brahmbhatt]] declined the award which had been conferred to him by the Akademi for his book.<ref name="The Indian Express 2016">{{cite web | title=Writer declines award from 'non-autonomous' Academy | website=The Indian Express | date=2016-03-29 | url=http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/ahmedabad/writer-declines-award-from-non-autonomous-academy/ | access-date=2017-10-24 | archive-date=2019-01-07 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107050447/https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/ahmedabad/writer-declines-award-from-non-autonomous-academy/ | url-status=live }}</ref> In November 2015, Bhagyesh Jha and two other writers [[Chinu Modi]] and [[Vinod Bhatt]], said to be the supporter of Jha, used the word ''[[Taliban]]'' for the writers like [[Dhiru Parikh]] and [[Niranjan Bhagat]], who had supported the agitation. [[Pravin Pandya]] returned the award he had received in 2004 in protest.<ref name="The Times of India 2016">{{cite web | title=Writer returns award to Gujarat Sahitya Parishad | website=The Times of India | date=2016-01-15 | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Writer-returns-award-to-Gujarat-Sahitya-Parishad/articleshow/49613917.cms | access-date=2017-10-24 | archive-date=2019-01-07 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107050448/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Writer-returns-award-to-Gujarat-Sahitya-Parishad/articleshow/49613917.cms%20 | url-status=live }}</ref> Another Gujarati writer and literary critic, Bharat Mehta, returned the award which he had received in 2008.<ref name="The Indian Express 2015"/><ref name="Divya Bhaskar 2015">{{cite news |title=પ્રો. ભરત મહેતાએ સાહિત્ય અકાદમીનો એવોર્ડ પરત કર્યો|newspaper=Divya Bhaskar|date=4 November 2015|url=https://www.divyabhaskar.co.in/news/MGUJ-AHM-HMU-MAT-latest-ahmedabad-news-084247-2969710-NOR.html|access-date=7 December 2023|language=gu}}</ref> Dhiru Parikh, along with other writers, submitted a [[public interest litigation]] to the [[Gujarat High Court]].<ref name="The Indian Express 2015"/><ref name="The Times of India 2016"/><ref name="IndiaTimes2017"/> In January 2020, another writer Bipin Patel refused the award presented by Akademi for his story collection ''Vaans Na Ful'' citing the inaction by the government to restore autonomy of the Akademi.<ref name="Patadiya 2020">{{cite web | last=Patadiya | first=Vishal | title=Writer refuses Sahitya Academy prize | website=Ahmedabad Mirror | date=20 January 2020 | url=https://ahmedabadmirror.indiatimes.com/ahmedabad/others/writer-refuses-sahitya-academy-prize/articleshow/73395694.cms | access-date=20 January 2020 | archive-date=31 March 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210331181145/https://ahmedabadmirror.indiatimes.com/ahmedabad/others/writer-refuses-sahitya-academy-prize/articleshow/73395694.cms | url-status=live }}</ref>
==See also== *[[Gujarat Sahitya Sabha]] *[[Gujarat Vidhya Sabha]]
== References == {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{Gujarati Vishwakosh}} * {{Internet Archive author|sname=Gujarat Sahitya Academy}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Gujarati literature]] [[Category:1981 establishments in Gujarat]] [[Category:Organizations established in 1981]] [[Category:Government of Gujarat]] [[Category:Gujarati literary institutions]] [[Category:Book publishing companies of India]] [[Category:Arts organizations established in 1981]] [[Category:Language regulators]]