Srinagar, May 17 : Sarhad, a Pune-based socio-cultural organisation, on Sunday announced the ‘Lal Ded National Awards’ for five senior women literary figures for their contributions to Jammu & Kashmir’s cultural and literary landscape.
In a statement issued to news agency Kashmir News Service (KNS) the organisation said the award ceremony is scheduled for Tuesday, May 19, 2026, at 3:45 PM at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar. The awards are instituted in memory of the great Kashmiri Shaivite mystic poetess and cultural icon, Lal Ded.
Lal Ded, a Kashmiri saint, poet and mystic thinker, spread spirituality and preached love beyond caste and religion. She was also a leading scholar and promoter of Kashmiri Shaivism. Her four-line Kashmiri verses, known as ‘Vaakh’, remain the foundation of Kashmiri literature.
The 2019 award will be presented to contemporary Kashmiri poet Bimla Raina; the 2020 award to Sahitya Akademi Award-winning poet Prof. Naseem Shafaie; the 2021 award to writer and official language expert Dr. Sakina Akhtar; the 2025 award to Dr. Syed Darakshan Andrabi; and the 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award to eminent writer, educationist and translator Neerja Mattu.
The awards will be presented by Jammu & Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. Distinguished educationist and DPS Srinagar Chairman Vijay Dhar will be the chief guest. National Commission for Women Chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar will chair the event.
Through Bimla Raina’s poetry collections, the essence of Lal Ded’s literature has reached readers in an innovative style, organisers said. Prof. Naseem Shafaie, the first Kashmiri literary figure to receive the Sahitya Akademi Award, is regarded as a modern inheritor of the Vaakh tradition.
Dr. Sakina Akhtar has preserved the Rishi-Sufi and saint traditions through her research work ‘Kashmiri Folk Literature and Saint Tradition’, strengthening cultural and communal harmony. Dr. Syed Darakshan Andrabi, Chairperson of the J&K Waqf Board, has brought transformative reforms in the management of Sufi shrines, from implementing transparency measures to beautifying the Hazratbal shrine.
Neerja Mattu has dedicated more than three decades to Kashmir’s intellectual and cultural landscape, continuing to serve as a cultural bridge connecting ancient knowledge with the modern world, Sarhad added in the statement. (KNS)
