Ramachandra Guha receives Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize

NEW DELHI: Historian Ramachandra Guha has been awarded with the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize in the academic category.

The Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize, established in 1990 by the Japanese city of Fukuoaka, recognises outstanding achievements by individuals or groups in preserving and creating the unique and diverse cultures of Asia.

Guha received the notification letter of the prize at a function here today.

Also read: Pulitzer-winning poet Vijay Seshadri & author Jung Chang confirmed for JLF in America



The prize will be conferred upon the historian on September 17 in Fukuoka International Congress Center in Japan, following which the awardees will be deliberating lectures at high-schools and universities across the city.

Guha, who is best known for his book, 'India After Gandhi' is slated to speak on "Gandhi, India and the World" at the event.

Also read: Five tips to read a book a day every day

"The aim is to foster and increase awareness of the value of Asian cultures as well as to establish a framework within which Asians can learn from and share with each other," Masanao Nakazono, Deputy Mayor Fukuoka City said at the function.

In his acceptance speech, Guha expressed gratitude to Krishna Das, former editor at Economic and Political Weekly (EPW).

"I published my first essay 32 years ago in the EPW. Without the EPW I would never have published an article, never have published a book. I would not be here today. My scholarship would be unknown," Guha said.

He also thanked Anjan Ghosh, his professor at Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata and his cousin and former historian Dharma Kumar.

The Fukuoka Prize is offered in three categories viz. Grand prize, Academic prize and Arts and Culture prize.

The Grand Prize this year went to Thant Myint-U from Myanmar and the Arts and Culture Prize was won by Vietnamese fashion designer Minh Hanh.

Other Indian Fukuoka Prize winners include sitar maestro Ravi Shankar, danseuse Padma Subrahmanyam, historian Romila Thapar, sarod player Amjad Ali Khan, social and cultural critic Ashis Nandy, post colonial studies scholar Partha Chatterjee, environmental activist Vandana Shiva and contemporary artist Nalini Malani.