Nirmala Lakshman wins Sharjah Award for book on Tamil community
The author and journalist received the Best International Non-Fiction Book award for her work titled The Tamils: A Portrait of a Community.
Author and journalist Nirmala Lakshman has won the Sharjah Award for the Best International Book in the Best International Non-Fiction Book category for her work, The Tamils: A Portrait of a Community, according to The Hindu.
Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, the Chairperson of the Sharjah Book Authority, presented the award, which is part of the Sharjah International Book Fair Awards for English non-fiction works.
The book, published by Aleph Book Company in January 2025, uses historical research and personal observations to examine the history, culture, and society of the Tamil people.
Dr. Lakshman, who is also the Festival Director of The Hindu Lit for Life, said she felt honoured by the recognition and noted that the writing process was a way to explore a complicated history and convey the diversity of Tamil life.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman described the book as an extraordinary attempt to collect various events from the history of Tamil Nadu, noting that Lakshman uses a mix of oral history, fieldwork, and interviews.
Aleph Book Company publisher David Davidar said Lakshman provides insight and personal engagement to the portrait of the Tamil people, making a complex history accessible.