Awarding Young History Enthusiasts: Highlights from the Sri Aurobindo Annual History Essay Competition Award Ceremony 2025
The Sri Aurobindo Annual History Essay Competition Prize Distribution Ceremony took place on 24th April 2025 at Hotel Greenpark, Bengaluru, with Shri Tejasvi Surya, Hon’ble Member of Parliament, as the Chief Guest. The event welcomed over 180 attendees, including students, parents, and educators. Smt. Rajalakshmi Aggarwal and Shri Devesh Varma from the OLA Foundation were among the distinguished guests. Moreover, a heartfelt tribute was paid to Ms. Jayashree Ravindra, Dr. Sampath’s school teacher, for her invaluable impact. The conference was brought to a close with a Virtual Reality showcase by Who VR, giving visitors an immersive experience of India’s journey through history.
The ceremony received media coverage in Kannada dailies like Bangalore Dinamani and Vishwavani. Shri Tejasvi Surya’s social media handles shared highlights of the event, and schools that participated, namely Bal Bharati Public School and M.C. Kejriwal Vidyapeeth, celebrated their winners on social media as well.
Winners:
Jury
Co-Chairs
Amish Tripathi
Chair Member
Amish Tripathi
Amish Tripathi is a celebrated Indian author renowned for his mythological fiction, which presents ancient Indian epics with a modern perspective. His critically acclaimed works include the Shiva Trilogy (The Immortals of Meluha, The Secret of the Nagas, The Oath of the Vayuputras) and the Ram Chandra Series. A former banker, he transitioned to writing and is widely recognised for his immersive storytelling and in-depth research on Indian mythology.
Ashwin Sanghi
Chair Member
Ashwin Sanghi
Ashwin Sanghi is a distinguished Indian author known for his gripping thrillers and historical fiction. His narratives combine history, mythology, and theology, creating thought-provoking and engaging stories. He has authored several bestsellers, including The Rozabal Line, Chanakya’s Chant, and The Krishna Key, which form part of his acclaimed Bharat Series. Mr. Sanghi holds an MBA from Yale University.
Jury
Mala Kumar
Jury Member
Mala Kumar
Mala Kumar is an accomplished writer and editor with an extensive body of work spanning over 40 children’s books. A dedicated advocate for accessible and engaging learning, she explores diverse subjects in her writings. Her latest book, Travelling Treasures, delves into the fascinating journey of everyday objects to India.
Chandrachur Ghose
Jury Member
Chandrachur Ghose
Chandrachur Ghose is an esteemed author, columnist, and public speaker specialising in history, politics, economics, and environmental issues. He is best known for his authoritative biography Bose: The Untold Story of an Inconvenient Nationalist. A graduate of Visva Bharati (Santiniketan) and the University of Sussex, he has co-authored Conundrum: Subhas Bose’s Life After Death and The Bose Deception, Declassified with Anuj Dhar, addressing the enduring controversies surrounding Netaji’s legacy. His book 1947-57: India – The Birth of a Republic explores India’s formative post-independence years.
Alo Pal
Jury Member
Alo Pal
Alo Pal is the Co-Director of the Pondy LitFest and a dedicated educator at the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education in Pondicherry. With a strong passion for literature and education, she plays a vital role in curating intellectual discussions at the festival while fostering holistic academic growth among students.
Heeraman Tiwari
Jury Member
Heeraman Tiwari
Professor Heeraman Tiwari is a distinguished scholar and faculty member at the Centre for Historical Studies, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. His expertise spans Sanskrit language and literature, intellectual history, and philosophy. He earned his PhD from the University of Delhi (1989), specialising in Sanskrit, Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta, and Nyāya Philosophy, followed by a D.Phil. (1994) in Indian Philosophy of Language and Indology from the University of Oxford.