Thiruvalluvar Award is an annual award given by the State Government of Tamil Nadu, India, in memory of the ancient poet-philosopher Valluvar. It is given to those who have made an outstanding contribution towards the Kural literature and its philosophy. It is given in January of every year since 1986, on the 2nd day of the Tamil month of Thai observed by the Tamil Nadu government as the Thiruvalluvar Day, and is given on behalf of Tamil Development Authority.[1]
The award carries a cash prize of ₹ 100,000, a 1-sovereign gold medal, and a citation.[2] The award originally included a cash prize of ₹ 10,000. From 1991, the prize amount was increased to ₹ 20,000. From 1999, the prize amount was again increased to the current measure of ₹ 100,000.[3]
S.No. | Year | Recipient | Image | Birth / Death | Country | Description |
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1 | 1986 | Kundrakudi Adigalar | 1925–1995 | ![]() |
Hindu spiritual guru | |
2 | 1987 | K. A. P. Viswanatham | 1899–1994 | ![]() |
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3 | 1988 | S. Dandapani Desikar | ![]() |
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4 | 1989 | V. Suba. Manikkam | 1917–1989 | ![]() |
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5 | 1990 | K. S. Anandan | 1934–1999 | ![]() |
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6 | 1991 | Sundarashanmuganar | 1922–1997 | ![]() |
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7 | 1992 | 'Navalar' Nedunchezhiyan | 1920–2000 | ![]() |
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8 | 1993 | Kallai D. Kannan | ![]() |
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9 | 1994 | Thirukkuralar V. Munusamy | 1913–1994 | ![]() |
Awarded posthumously. | |
10 | 1995 | S. Sivakamasundari | ![]() |
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11 | 1996 | M. Govindasamy | ![]() |
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12 | 1997 | K. Mohanraj | ![]() |
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13 | 1998 | Ira. Sarangapani | ![]() |
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14 | 1999 | V. S. Kulandhaisamy | 1929–2016 | ![]() |
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15 | 2000 | T. S. K. Kannan | ![]() |
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16 | 2001 | V. M. Sethuraman | ![]() |
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17 | 2002 | I. Sundaramurthi | ![]() |
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18 | 2003 | K. Mangaiyarkarasi | ![]() |
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19 | 2004 | R. Muthukumarasamy | ![]() |
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20 | 2005 | P. Arangasamy | ![]() |
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21 | 2006 | Aru. Alagappan | ![]() |
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22 | 2007 | K. P. Aravanan | 1941–2018 | ![]() |
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23 | 2008 | Kundrakudi Ponnambala Adigalar | ![]() |
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24 | 2009 | Pon Kodhandaraman (Porko) | ![]() |
Tamil academician and former Madras University vice-chancellor.[4] | ||
25 | 2010 | Iravatham Mahadevan | 1930–2018 | ![]() |
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26 | 2011 | P. Valan Arasu | ![]() |
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27 | 2012 | S. Varadharajan | ![]() |
Founder—Kural Manam monthly magazine[citation needed] | ||
28 | 2013 | N. Murugan | ![]() |
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29 | 2014 | Yu Hsi | 1951– | ![]() |
The first foreign scholar to receive the Thiruvalluvar award.[5] | |
30 | 2015 | K. Baskaran | 1951– | ![]() |
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31 | 2016 | V. G. Santhosam | ![]() |
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32 | 2017 | P. Veeramani | ![]() |
Tamil scholar.[2] | ||
33 | 2018 | G. Periyannan | ![]() |
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34 | 2019 | M. G. Anwar Bacha | ![]() |
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35 | 2020 | N. Nithyanandha Bharathi | ![]() |
[6] | ||
36 | 2022 | M.Meenakshi Sundaram | ![]() |
Former president of Bengaluru Tamil Sangam |