The Sahitya Akademi was inaugurated by the Government of India in which year?

Explanation

The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, was formally inaugurated by the Government of India on 12 March 1954. It is the central institution for literary activity in India and works to promote literature in Indian languages.

The Sahitya Akademi is an autonomous organisation, although it is funded by the Ministry of Culture. Its headquarters is at Rabindra Bhavan in New Delhi, which it shares with the Sangeet Natak Akademi and the Lalit Kala Akademi. Jawaharlal Nehru was its first President. The Akademi recognises 24 languages: the 22 languages of the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, together with English and Rajasthani.

The Akademi gives several important awards. The Sahitya Akademi Award, first given in 1955, is presented every year for the most outstanding book in each of the 24 languages. The Sahitya Akademi Fellowship is its highest honour, given to a small number of eminent writers; its first fellow was the philosopher and President S. Radhakrishnan (1968). It also gives the Bhasha Samman (for languages not recognised by the Akademi and for classical and medieval literature), the Yuva Puraskar (for young writers under 35), the Bal Sahitya Puraskar (for children's literature) and the Translation Prize. It publishes books and journals, organises seminars and maintains a large library.

The three national academies of the arts were set up soon after independence:

• The Sangeet Natak Akademi (music, dance and drama) was inaugurated in 1953.
• The Sahitya Akademi (literature) was inaugurated in 1954.
• The Lalit Kala Akademi (visual arts) was inaugurated in 1954.

Why not the other options?

• ✗1947 is the year of India's independence.
• ✗1961 is the birth centenary year of Rabindranath Tagore.
• ✗1969 is the year the Dadasaheb Phalke Award was instituted.