“Literature is not only the mirror of the society, but it also has to do the ‘hand-holding,' and lead and show the way to society,” Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar told a gathering in Panaji on Saturday.

Ms. Kumar was presenting the prestigious Jnanpith Award to octogenarian Konkani litterateur Ravindra Kelekar in the presence of Chief Minister Digambar Kamat at a glittering function held in the city on Saturday, July 31.

Goa Legislative Assembly Speaker Pratapsingh Rane, Jnanpith selection board chairman Sitakant Mahapatra and Hindi writer Namwar Singh were among those present.

The 42nd Jnanpith Award for 2006 carried a citation, shawl, srifal, a bronze idol of Vagdevi Saraswati and a cash prize of Rs. 7 lakh.

Ms. Kumar congratulated Mr. Kelekar and said that his literature reflected culture, principles of non-violence and Buddha's teachings.

Referring to caste and social discrimination prevalent in the country, the Speaker recalled and echoed the views of her late father Babu Jagjivan Ram as to why a renaissance could not take place in India.

Full report here Hindu