Which award is conferred by the Government of Madhya Pradesh on women for excellence in tribal, folk and traditional arts?

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — C, Rashtriya Devi Ahilya Samman (National Devi Ahilya Award). Instituted by the Madhya Pradesh Culture Department in 1996-97, it recognises the creativity of WOMEN artists specifically in tribal, folk and traditional arts, carrying a cash prize and citation.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) A genuine Madhya Pradesh honour (Rashtriya Kabir Samman, instituted 1986-87) — but for POETRY/literature in any Indian language, named after the poet-saint Kabir; it is not gender-specific and has no connection to tribal or folk arts.  (b) Madhya Pradesh's Rajya Shikhar Samman (instituted 1980-81) recognises excellence across literature, music, theatre and visual art broadly — including both tribal and non-tribal art forms — and is not restricted to women or to tribal/folk arts specifically.  (d) MP's parallel award in the SAME field (tribal, traditional & folk arts, instituted 1983) — but for MALE artists; the Devi Ahilya Samman is its women-only counterpart.

Concept: Madhya Pradesh's Culture Department runs a mirror-image pair of state awards for tribal, folk and traditional arts: the Rashtriya Tulsi Samman (male artists, since 1983) and the Rashtriya Devi Ahilya Samman (women artists, since 1996-97) — both covering art, theatre, dance and music, differing only by the artist's gender. Separately, the state also runs broader, non-gender-specific culture honours — the Rajya Shikhar Samman (general excellence across literature/music/theatre/visual art, 1980-81) and the Rashtriya Kabir Samman (poetry, 1986-87) — that get mixed in with the tribal-arts pair in exam options.

State PCS 2024 Q26 — Madhya Pradesh GK PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2024 Q26 — Madhya Pradesh GK PYQ with Answer