THE C. D. NARASIMHAIAH PRIZE
The C. D. Narasimhaiah Prize was instituted in 2006 by the Indian Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies (IACLALS) in memory of the founding Chairperson of IACLALS, Professor C. D. Narasimhaiah who headed the Association from 1974 to 1993.
Professor Narasimhaiah taught English at Maharaja College in Mysore before serving as its Principal. He was a Fulbright Visiting Professor at Yale University, and Visiting Professor at the University of Queensland. He was resident scholar at the International Research Centre, Bellagio. He believed in promoting studies on Indian art and culture and co-founded the Dhvanyaloka Centre for Indian Studies in his efforts to realize this.
His contributions were recognized through several literary and civilian honours: the Rajyotsava Prashasti by the Government of Karnataka in 1987, and the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 1990, for his contributions to literature.
🛠️ Evaluation Process
- Shortlisting: Full papers submitted in advance are coded and sent for blind review to two experts.
- Presentation: Shortlisted papers are orally presented (20 min) in a dedicated session at the annual conference. Followed by Q&A.
- Final Selection: Scores from both stages are combined to determine the winner.
📌 Contestants should ensure the following:
- a) Clear introduction with thesis/argument.
- b) Development with logic, evidence, and persuasive reasoning.
- c) Originality and fresh perspectives.
- d) Well-rounded conclusion.
- e) Lucid, concise language.
- f) Proper citation style – in-text, footnotes, works cited.
- g) Title – relevant, imaginative, original.
📎 Note:
- All abstracts (including CDN Prize submissions) share the same last submission date.
- Joint authorship is not allowed for CDN Prize submissions.
- Minimum word limit for full papers is 3000 words (excluding references). No upper limit.
- Paper must follow a consistent stylesheet. Mention at the end as: Stylesheet used: XYZ
🎓 CDN Prize: Roll of Honour
| Year | Winner |
|---|---|
| 2006 | Sujatha Vijayaraghavan |
| 2007 | Joint winners: Dhrubajyoti Banerjee, Simran Chaddha |
| 2008 | Niladri Chatterjee |
| 2009 | Suchitra Mathur |
| 2010 | Nishat Haider |
| 2011 | Priya V. |
| 2012 | Joint Winners: Debaditya Bhattacharya, Meera B |
| 2013 | Debashree Dattaray |
| 2014 | Parvinder |
| 2015 | Sandhya D Nambiar |
| 2016 | Someshwar Sati |
| 2017 | Natasa Thoudam |
| 2018 | Amrapali Saha |
| 2019 | Srinjoyee Dutta |
| 2020 | Srinjoyee Dutta |
| 2021 | Moinak Banerjee Ishita Sareen (Runner-up) |
| 2022 | Sreejata Paul Namra Sultan (Runner-up) |
| 2023 | Ishita Sareen Diksha Beniwal, Arti Mathur (Runners-up) |
| 2024 | Srestha Bhattacharya Sanyogita Singh (Runner-up) |
| 2025 | Pritha Chakraborty Roshima Uday (Runner-up) |