Kannada Sahithya Academy to publish 54 books on successful women of Karnataka

Journalist, Late Gauri Lankesh | Photo credit: Bhagya Prakash K.

For the first time in the history of Kannada Sahithya Academy (KSA), around 54 books on women personalities written by various authors from across the state have been selected for release on June 5.

LN Mukundraj, President of Kannada Sahithya Academy explained, “There was no particular reason for publishing these books, but there are fewer books available in the market which cover women personalities who have excelled in various platforms including science, social work, medicine, art and theatre, politics, journalism, literary writers etc. So we decided to have these books written by various authors, researchers and other personalities, but we shortlisted and published 50 of them.” 54 of them.”

He said, “Later we selected people who had done research on these people or those who knew them closely or worked with them. When we approached these people, they were ready to write these books. We also formed a committee of two women editors consisting of HL Pushpa and Meenakshi Baali, followed by sub-editors who edited these books.”

Kannada Sahithya Academy has priced each book at ₹80 so anyone can buy it. “We want people to understand women’s struggles and their achievements in their field. Some of these personalities include Divya KL’s Kempananjammanni Devi, Sabiha Bhoomi Gowda’s Sara Aboobacker, HS Patil’s Rehamanavva Kalmani, Rita Rini’s Leelavathi Devadas, Chittha Mall’s Nadoja Kamala Hampah Hampana and others,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ms. Sirimane, an activist who worked closely with activist and journalist, the late Gauri Lankesh, said, “Through this book, I have tried to tell people about her life, struggles and achievements in the field of journalism. She represented the voices of the people and strongly opposed decisions and policies that were against the public interest and I questioned her as a journalist and when I saw her as a human being.” could have written a book on Gauri, I took the opportunity, I hope I have done my job.”

Published – 02 Jun 2026 20:49 IST