Amrita Pritam

Amrita Pritam (1919 to 2005) was a celebrated Punjabi and Hindi poet, novelist, and essayist. Born in Gujranwala (now in Pakistan), she experienced the trauma of the 1947 Partition, which deeply shaped her writing. She published more than 100 books, including poetry, novels, memoirs, and essays. Her iconic poem Ajj Aakhaan Waris Shah Nu became one of the defining literary responses to Partition. She was the first woman to receive the Sahitya Akademi Award for Punjabi literature and later received the Jnanpith Award and the Padma Vibhushan.