Basava Puraskara

Basava Puraskara is an award conferred by the Government of Karnataka on the basis of an individual's achievements in the areas of literature, social justice, and harmony.^[1] It is named after Basava, who was a philosopher and Lingayat social reformer in the 12th century.^[2]

Basava Puraskara
Civilian award
Awarded for	Awarded for contributions towards social reform and social change
Sponsored by	Government of Karnataka
Reward	₹10 lakh (US$12,000)
First award	2000
Final award	2021
Highlights
First winner	Saraswathi Gora
Last winner	Anand Teltumbde

Recipients

Year	Recipient[3]	Notes	Ref.
2000	Saraswathi Gora	Social worker, co-founder of the Atheist Centre	[4]
2001	H. Narasimhaiah	Independence activist, physicist	[5]
2002	Puttaraj Gawai	Social worker, musician
2003	S. G. Susheelamma	Social worker, President of Sumangali Seva Ashram
2005	L. Basavaraju	Professor, writer	[6]
2006	A. P. J. Abdul Kalam	Scientist, former President of India	[7]
2007	Shivakumara Swami	Pontiff of the Siddaganga Matha, founder of the Sri Siddaganga Education Society	[8]
2008	Vijaya Mahantappa Swami	Pontiff of Chittaragi Sri Vijaya Mahantheshwara Matha, Ilkal	[9]
2009	Siddhalinga Mahaswami	Pontiff of Tontadarya Matha, Gadag	[10]
2010	Javare Gowda	Writer, educationist	[9]
2011	Ramzan Darga	Writer
2012	U. R. Ananthamurthy	Writer, activist	[11]
2013	M. M. Kalburgi	Scholar, epigraphist
2014	Veerabhadra Chennamalla Swami	Pontiff of the Nidumamidi Matha, Kolar
2015	Go. Ru. Channabasappa	Writer, folk scholar	[12]
2016	Sindhutai Sapkal	Social worker
2017	Patil Puttappa	Writer, journalist	[13]
2018	H. S. Doreswamy	Independence activist, social worker, journalist	[14]
2019	Chandrashekhar Patil	Writer, playwright	[15]
2021	Basavaliga Pattaddevaru	Seer	[16]
2022	N.G. Mahadevappa	Professor	[2]
2023	Anand Teltumbde	Scholar, activist	[2]