About
Amrita Pritam, born Amrita Kaur in Gujranwala (now in Pakistan), is a major figure in 20th-century Indian literature. She published her first poetry collection at sixteen and wrote over a hundred books in Punjabi and Hindi. Her most famous poem, Ajj Aakhaan Waris Shah Nu, denounces the horrors of the Partition of India, as does her novel Pinjar. The first woman to receive the Sahitya Akademi Award (1956), she also won the Bharatiya Jnanpith (1982) and several Indian civilian honors. A member of the Rajya Sabha from 1986 to 1992, she advocated for writers' rights. Her autobiography Raseedi Ticket (1976) was noted for its frankness.
* 1919-08-28 — † 2005-10-28
Major works
- Amrit Lehran (1936)poetry collection
- Pinjar (1950)novel
- Sunehade (1955)long poem
- Raseedi Ticket (1976)autobiography
- Kagaz Te Canvaspoetry collection
Key milestones
- 1956First woman to receive the Sahitya Akademi Award for Sunehade.
- 1982Receives the Bharatiya Jnanpith, one of India's highest literary honors.
- 1986Nominated to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament, serving until 1992.
Themes
Partition of IndiaWomen's conditionLove and lossIdentity and memorySocial engagement
Sources: id.loc.gov · sahitya-akademi.gov.in · sahitya-akademi.gov.in