Bankim Puraskar (, Bankim Memorial Award) is the highest award given by the Government of

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

for contribution to Bengali fiction. The award was instituted in 1975 in memory of

Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay (anglicized as Bankim Chandra Chatterjee; 26 or 27 June 1838 – 8 April 1894) was an Indian Bengali novelist, poet, essayist and journalist.Staff writer"Bankim Chandra: The First Prominent Bengali Novelist" ''The ...

, a famous Bengali novelist of the 19th century. It has been brought under the aegis of

Paschimbanga Bangla Akademi The Pashchimbanga Bangla Akademi (, , ) is the official regulatory body of the Bengali language in India. It was founded on 20 May 1986 in Kolkata to act as the official authority of the language and is entrusted with the responsibility of ref ...

, functioning under the Department of Information & Cultural Affairs, in 2003. The award is handed over by the Chief Minister of

Awardees

*1975 – Prabodh Chandra Sen *1982 –

Gour Kishore Ghosh Gour Kishore Ghosh (20 June 1923 – 15 December 2000) was an Indian writer and journalist in Bengali language, Bengali. Associated with ''Anandabazar Patrika'' for decades, Ghosh was known for his novels ''Desh Mati Manush'' and ''Prem Nei''. ...

*1983 –

Sunil Gangopadhyay Sunil Gangopadhyay or Sunil Ganguly (September 7, 1934 – October 23, 2012) was an Indian poet, novelist, short story writer, and critic. He played a key role in modernizing Bengali poetry and co-founded the 1953 Avant-garde, avant-gra ...

– ''Sei Samay'' (novel, 2 volumes) *1984 – Sushil JanaDutt, Kartik Chandra
Who's who of Indian Writers, 1999: A-M

Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of the Indian government. Its off ...

, 1999 *1985 –

Prafulla Roy Prafulla Roy (11 September 1934 – 19 June 2025) was a Bengali author, lived in West Bengal, India. He received Bankim Puraskar and Sahitya Akademi Award for his literary contribution in Bengali. Roy died on 19 June 2025, at the age of 90. ...

–
Akasher Neeche Manush
' (novel) *1986 – Amiya Bhushan Majumdar – ''Rajnagar'' (novel) *1987 – Amalendu Chakraborty – ''Jabajjiban'' (novel) *1988 – Sachindranath Bandyopadhyay *1990 –

Dibyendu Palit Dibyendu Palit (; 5 March 1939 – 3 January 2019) was a Bengali novelist, poet, and short-story writer. His oeuvre consists of some forty novels, twenty-five short-story collections, ten poetry collections and several essays. He was senior ass ...

*1991 –

Kamal Kumar Majumdar Kamal Kumar Majumdar () (17 November 1914 – 9 February 1979) was a major fiction-writer of the Bengali language. The novel ''Antarjali Jatra'' is considered his most notable work. Early life Majumdar was the son of Prafullachandra Majumdar an ...

– ''Galpasamagra'' (complete stories) (posthumous) *1992 – Abhijit Sen – ''Rahu Chandaler Harh'' (novel) *1993 – Shankar (Mani Shankar Mukhopadhyay) – Gharer Madhye Ghar *1994 –

Syed Mustafa Siraj Syed Mustafa Siraj (; 14 October 1930 – 4 September 2012) was an Indian author. In 1994, he received the Sahitya Akademi Award for his novel '' Aleek Manush'' (''Mythical Man''), considered his most lauded work. In 2005, his short story "Ran ...

– ''Aleek Manush'' (novel) *1995 – Manjush Dasgupta,

Sandipan Chattopadhyay Sandipan Chattopadhyay (25 October 1933 – 12 December 2005) was an Indian Bengali writer. His 1961 book ''"Kritadas Kritadasi"'' changed the landscape of Bengali fiction and made his name. A staunch anti-establishment figure and a supporter o ...

*1996 – Nabarun Bhattacharya – ''Harbart'' (novel) (award returned in 2007 in protest against the

Nandigram violence Nandigram Violence refers to the violence in Nandigram, West Bengal, India, in 2007 due to the land acquisition for a project taken up by the Left Front-led Government of West Bengal to create a chemical hub, a type of special economic zone ...

) *1998 –

Atin Bandyopadhyay Atin Bandyopadhyay or Atin Banerjee (1934–2019) was an Indian writer of Bengali literature. Early life Atin Bandyopadhyay was born in 1934 in a Rarhi Kulin Brahmin family from Sammandi, Bikrampur, Dhaka. He spent his childhood in a joint fam ...

– ''Dui Bharatbarsha'' (novel) * ... ... . –

Bani Basu Bani Basu (born 11 March 1939 ) is a prolific Bengali Indian author, essayist, critic, poet, translator and professor. Life She received her formal education from the well-known Lady Brabourne College, Scottish Church College and at the Univ ...

*2000 –

Narayan Sanyal Narayan Sanyal (26 April 1923 – 7 February 2005) was an Indian writer of modern Bengali literature as well as a civil engineer. Biography Narayan Sanyal was born in Hindmotor to Chittasukh Sanyal and Basantalata Devi. His name was initial ...

– ''Rupamanjari'' (3 volumes) (historical novel) *2001 – Samir Rakshit ''Dukher Akhyan'' (novel), *2001 – Amar Mitra – '' Ashwacharit'' (novel) *2002 – Chitta Ghoshal – ''Nirbachita Galpo'' volume 2 (selected stories) * 2002 . –

Tapan Bandyopadhyay Tapan Bandyopadhyay (born 7 June 1947) is an eminent Bengalis, Bengali novelist. He won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2022 for his novel ''Birbal''. Early life Tapan Bandyopadhyay was born in 1947 in Satkhira District. His family migrated from ...

– ''Nadi, Mati, Aranya'' (3 volumes) *2004 – Bhagirath Mishra – Mrigaya *2005 – Sadhan Chattopadhyay * ... ... . –

Nabendu Ghosh Nabendu Ghosh (27 March 1917 – 15 December 2007) was an Indian author in Bengali literature, and screenwriter. He has written screenplays of classic Bollywood movies like, Sujata, Bandini, Devdas, Majhli Didi, Abhimaan and Teesri Kasam. ...

– ''Chand Dekhechhilo'' (novel) * ... ... . –

Swapnamoy Chakraborty Swapnamoy Chakraborty (born 24 August 1951) is a Bengalis, Bengali novelist and essayist. Career Chakraborty was born in Kolkata. He worked in the Land Department under the Government of West Bengal and All India Radio, Akashvani Kolkata as an ...

– ''Abantinagar'' (novel) *2006 –

Ramkumar Mukhopadhyay Ramkumar Mukhopadhyay (born 8 March 1956) is a Bengali people, Bengali writer from India. He has written novels and short stories for both adults and children. Life Ramkumar Mukhopadhyay was born in Calcutta. His father was Ramangamohan Mukhop ...

*2007 – Jhareswar Chattopadhyay – Sohish *2008 – Kinnar Roy – Mrittukushum, Nalini Bera *2010 – Afsar Ahmed – Hire Bhikharini O Sundori Ramoni Kissa *2010 – Anil Ghorai –
Ananta Draghima
' (Study on the use of colors in the works and paintings of

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...

) *2011 – Rabisankar Bal – '' Dozakhnama'' (novel) *2012 – Kamal Chakraborty *2014 – Ramanath Roy *2015 – Gautam Basu – ''Bengali Poetry'' *2016 –

Abul Bashar Abul Bashar () is a popular Indian Bengali writer from the state of West Bengal in India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest ...

*2017 – Balaram Basak *2018 – Subrata Sengupta *2022 – Harsha Dutta for Bengali Prose Fiction Literature * 2023 – Jayanta Dey ''Annapurna'' (novel) * 2025 – Sanmatrananda

References

{{Reflist, 2 Bengali-language literature Indian literary awards Bengali literary awards Civil awards and decorations of West Bengal

Awardees

See also

References