New India Foundation Announces 2026 Book Prize Shortlist

The New India Foundation (NIF) announced the shortlist for the 2026 Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize on October 28–29, 2026. The shortlist comprises five non-fiction books published in 2025 on modern and contemporary India. The winner will receive a cash prize of ₹15 lakh, with the award presentation scheduled for December 12, 2026, at the Bangalore Literature Festival.

The Award and Its Namesake

The Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize was instituted in 2018 to recognise outstanding non-fiction on modern and contemporary India. It is named after Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay (1903–1988), an Indian freedom fighter, social reformer and advocate of handicrafts and theatre. She was associated with the All India Women’s Conference and the Indian Cooperative Union.

Shortlisted Books

The five shortlisted books and their authors are:

• A Man for All Seasons: The Life of KM Panikkar by Narayani Basu is a biography of historian and diplomat K. M. Panikkar.
• Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern Asia by Sam Dalrymple examines the history of five partitions in Asia.
• Assembling India’s Constitution: A New Democratic History by Rohit De and Ornit Shani concerns the making of India’s Constitution.
• A Sixth of Humanity: Independent India’s Development Odyssey by Devesh Kapur and Arvind Subramanian addresses development in independent India.
• The Secret Master: Arun Kashalkar and a Journey to the Edge of Music by Sumana Ramanan concerns Hindustani classical vocalist Arun Kashalkar.

Jury and Award Schedule

Political scientist Niraja Gopal Jayal chaired the seven-member jury. Its other members were Tata Sons chairman N. Chandrasekaran, former Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, historian Srinath Raghavan, Rahul Matthan, Jahnavi Phalkey and entrepreneur Manish Sabharwal. The winner is scheduled to be announced in December 2026, and the award presentation is set for December 12 at the Bangalore Literature Festival.

Important Facts for Exams

:

• The Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize was instituted in 2018.
• The prize recognises non-fiction on modern and contemporary India.
• The 2026 shortlist contains five books, all published in 2025.
• The 2026 winner will receive ₹15 lakh.

Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay was born in 1903 and died in 1988. The 2026 award presentation is scheduled to take place in Bengaluru on December 12.