GNDU alumna Mandeep Aulakh wins Yuva Sahitya Award 2025 for her poetry book

Mandeep Aulakh, a young and upcoming writer of the Punjabi language, has won this year’s Yuva Sahitya Puraskar given by the Sahitya Akademi. Aulakh has won the award for her poetry book, Girls Hostel.

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Mandeep Aulakh’s first book of poetry, ‘Man Kasturi’, was hailed as a fresh piece of Punjabi poetry by linguistic and literary experts. In the second book ‘Girls Hostel’, Aulakh is more diverse and intense as she writes about personal experiences and introspects life through social lens.

Punjabi literary experts have hailed Mandeep’s poetry as refreshing, created by exploring the social and natural contexts of the self. Her book Girls Hostel’s reviews call it a narration of how a girls’ hostel is an exclusive space for girls, where they move around free from the cultural discourses of patriarchy and the pressures of the physical existence of men for some time. The poems are not completely political in nature but merge the narratives together through skilled use of language.

Based in Ludhiana, Mandeep is highly inspired by the works of Punjabi literary greats like Surjit Patar. She is an alumna of the Department of English, GNDU. Thanking the Sahitya Akademi for the award, Aulakh said the recognition to the Punjabi language needs more applause.

The Sahitya Akademi, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, and considered the apex body of Indian literature, declares these awards every year to recognize the unparalleled contribution of young writers. This award is given to honour the creative talent of young litterateurs of India, their dedication to the language and their powerful writing on contemporary issues