:The Sixth Ramesh Mehta Memorial Award – 2026, instituted and jointly administered by the family of the late Ramesh Mehta and the Hindi Sahitya Mandal, Jammu, will be awarded to Kirpal Singh Dev, a renowned heritage conservation activist, expert and speaker from Jammu, in recognition of his outstanding contributions.
The award was instituted in 2021 in the memory of the late Ramesh Mehta, a writer, editor and former Secretary of the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages.
The decision for the sixth award was announced in a joint press release issued today by Pavitra Mehta, daughter of the late Ramesh Mehta, on behalf of the family, and Dr. Chanchal Dogra, President of the Hindi Sahitya Mandal.
In this regard, the permanent jury nominated by the family and the Mandal reached a unanimous decision on Friday, the 9th, and formally communicated it to the Mehta family and the Hindi Sahitya Mandal for further action.
The award will be presented to Kirpal Singh Dev at a formal ceremony in Jammu on the occasion of the birth anniversary of the late Ramesh Mehta, which falls on 13 November.
It may be recalled that the organisers had established the award’s objectives in 2021. The award was intended to recognise contributions to the performing and fine arts, folk art, Hindi literature and writing—including Hindi journalism and art-related writing in Hindi and English—as well as Hindi teaching and the preservation, promotion and advancement of literature, social and folk traditions, etc. All awards presented to date have adhered to these established criteria.
It was also envisaged that the award would honour deserving and dedicated individuals from the Jammu region who, despite their outstanding work, may not have received due recognition from regional or national art and literary academies, or from the government, society and other institutions, for various reasons. Alternatively, the jury could decide that a particular individual from any domain deserved special recognition in their discretion.
In accordance with these criteria and the specified fields of activity, the jury independently considered the names of several currently active individuals, artists, writers and institutions in the Jammu region. Following deliberations, it unanimously decided that:
“For its sixth edition, the Ramesh Mehta Memorial Award – 2026 shall be conferred upon Shri Kirpal Singh Dev for his outstanding contribution to generating public awareness and consciousness about the folk traditions, architecture, fine arts, and tangible and intangible heritage of Jammu, as well as for his efforts towards heritage conservation and the promotion of public participation in these endeavours.”
This is the first time that the Ramesh Mehta Memorial Award has been conferred upon an individual associated with the conservation and promotion of Jammu’s tangible and intangible heritage.
As is customary, the award comprises a cash prize of ₹11,000, a citation and a dushala (traditional ceremonial shawl). The award presentation ceremony is organised in collaboration with the Hindi Sahitya Mandal, Jammu.
The previous recipients of the award are as follows:
* 2021: Ms. Raj Bharti, director of Viraj Kala Kendra and Viraj Bal Bharti.
* 2022: Painter and journalist Jangs Wermann, and singer and musician Sham Sajan.
* 2023: Theatre artist Deepak Kumar, recipient of the third edition.
* 2024: Shiv Dobalia, a custodian and promoter of the folk culture of Basohli, recipient of the fourth edition.
* 2025: Late Kavi Rattan, a renowned theatre personality, who was honoured posthumously in the fifth edition.
The permanent jury of the Ramesh Mehta Memorial Award comprises three distinguished personalities: Prof. Kiran Bakshi, a well-known Hindi short-story writer and retired principal; Prof. (Dr.) Chanchal Dogra, a poet and retired principal; and Padma Shri Prof. (Dr.) Lalit Magotra, a Dogri short-story writer, retired Head of Department at the University of Jammu, former Convener for Dogri at the Sahitya Akademi, and President of the Dogri Sanstha.