Awards AppointmentsMonday, 16 March 2026·The Hindu
R Vairamuthu gets 2025 Jnanpith Award; key facts on India’s highest literary honour
R Vairamuthu was conferred the 2025 Jnanpith Award, India’s oldest and highest literary honour instituted in 1961 by Bharatiya Jnanpith.
Key highlights
Direct fact
In March 2026, Tamil lyricist-poet R Vairamuthu was conferred the 2025 Jnanpith Award, the highest literary honour in India, instituted by Bharatiya Jnanpith in 1961.
Key specifics
- The award carries a cash prize of ₹11 lakh, a citation, and a Vagdevi statue.
- R Vairamuthu became the third Tamil writer to receive the Jnanpith Award, after Akilan in 1975 and Jayakanthan in 2002.
- He made his Tamil film debut in 1980 with Nizhalgal, directed by Bharathiraja.
- He has written over 7,500 songs and poems across more than five decades.
- He received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2003 for Kallikkattu Ithikasam.
Exam lens
Awards and honours question, Jnanpith Award = 1961, Bharatiya Jnanpith, ₹11 lakh, first recipient G. Sankara Kurup (1965); TNPSC may ask the third Tamil laureate or the year-wise match.