Contests 💵 ₹ 1,01,000

Kishwar Memorial Trust All India Essay Competition

Miranda House, DU

📅 30 Jul 2026 🌐 Hybrid 🏷️ Free
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📌 About the Event

The Kishwar Memorial Trust All India Essay Competition invites students, scholars, teachers, and curious minds across India to research and write about their own family, village, town, or city history. Organized by the Kishwar Memorial Trust and launched at the historic Miranda House, Delhi University, this annual competition celebrates India’s living memory its oral histories, genealogical records, and community traditions.

ℹ️ Event Details

  • Category: All India Essay Competition / Historical Research / Family History
  • Organizer: Kishwar Memorial Trust, in association with Miranda House, Delhi University
  • Eligibility: Open to all students, research scholars, teachers, gyanis, and community record keepers across India; no age or educational bar
  • Team Size: Individual
  • Effort Level: Medium to High research-based writing of minimum 5,000 words
  • Submission Type: Online PDF submission only
  • Language: Entries accepted in any of the 22 scheduled languages of India

📅 Important Dates

  • Launch Date: September 20, 2025, Miranda House, Delhi
  • Submission Deadline: July 30, 2026
  • Results Announced: August 30, 2026
  • Award Function: Last week of September 2026
  • Mode: Online submissions; In person award ceremony

🏆 Prize Details and Value

  • Category One: Family history of at least two previous generations (oral accounts, community memory)
    • Exceptional Essay: ₹51,000
    • First Prize: ₹25,000
    • Second Prize: ₹15,000
    • Third Prize: ₹11,000
  • Category Two: Family history of at least five generations (archival records, vanshaavalis, official documents)
    • Exceptional Essay: ₹1,01,000
    • First Prize: ₹51,000
    • Second Prize: ₹25,000
    • Third Prize: ₹15,000
  • Category Three: Non-competing submissions for those who wish to contribute and possibly get published (no prizes, but essays may be featured on the official website)
  • Certificates: Yes, recognition for winners and shortlisted entries
  • Visibility: Essays may be published on the Kishwar Memorial Trust website

🎯 What You Will Do

  • Research your own family, village, or community history through oral accounts, family documents, or archival records
  • Write a minimum 5,000 word essay, no upper word limit, book length manuscripts are welcome
  • Submit verifiable sources, photographs of documents, video or audio recordings of oral interviews
  • Choose your category based on the depth of generational history you can access
  • Contribute to India’s grassroots historiography, preserving stories that mainstream history rarely tells

📦 Resources Available to You

  • Open to all 22 scheduled languages of India, write in your mother tongue
  • Early submissions may receive feedback from the judges before the final deadline
  • Non competing essays considered for publication on the official website

📞 Contact