Prakash N. Shah (born 12 September 1940) is an Indian writer, editor and journalist from

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

, India. He was appointed the president of

Gujarati Sahitya Parishad Gujarati Sahitya Parishad () is a literary organisation for the promotion of Gujarati literature located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. It was founded by Ranjitram Mehta with the aim of creating literature appealing to all classes of society an ...

(Gujarati Literary Council) in 2020.

Early life

Prakash N. Shah was born to his father Naveenchandra Lalbhai and mother Induben on 12 September 1940 in

Manasa Manasa () is a Hindu goddess of snakes. She is worshipped mainly in Bihar, Bengal, Jharkhand, Lower Assam and other parts of northeastern India and in Uttarakhand, chiefly for the prevention and cure of snakebite, and also for fertility and pr ...

. His father's business career led to his primary education in Amritsar and

Vadodara Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...

. He completed his secondary education from Sarasvati Mandir High School, Maninagar,

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

. He received M.A. in political science.

Career

In 1965, Shah joined H. K. Arts College, Ahmedabad as a professor of

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

. Earlier, he was involved in a creative and ideological awareness campaign of a youth organisation named 'Aarat'. He was also active in the editing work of ''Vishvamanav'' magazine and the activities of Gandhi Shanti Prasthan. In 1971, he quit his job as a professor and joined the

Sardar Patel University Sardar Patel University (SPU) is a public state university in Vallabh Vidyanagar, a town Gujarat, India. It is named after the iron man of India Vallabhbhai Patel, and was founded in October 1955 by an Act of the Legislative Assembly of the then ...

Vallabh Vidyanagar Vallabh Vidyanagar, also known as V.V.Nagar, is a town and a municipality in Anand district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is located between Ahmedabad and Vadodara, from the town of Anand. V.V.Nagar is renowned as an educational hub of Guj ...

, as a co-editor in the ''Gyangangotri'' book series with

Bhogilal Gandhi Bhogilal Chunilal Gandhi (26 January 1911 – 10 June 2001) was an Indian scholar, poet, critic, translator, and independence activist from Gujarat, India. He edited ''Vishvamanav'', a Gujarati-language literary-socio-political journal. He wrote ...

. In 1974, Shah participated in

Navnirman Andolan ''Navnirman Andolan'' (Re-invention or Re-construction movement) was a socio-political movement in 1974 in Gujarat by students and middle-class people against economic crisis and corruption in public life. It is the only successful agitation in t ...

. He was co-secretary of the

Janata Morcha The Janata Morcha ("People's Front") was a coalition of Indian political parties formed in 1974 to oppose the government of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her Congress (R) party. The coalition was an integral part of the popular movemen ...

. During the political chaos of the

emergency An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...

, he was arrested under a MISA in a protest against the abolition of civil rights. Initially he was placed in Palanpur sub-jail and then shifted to the central jail of Vadodara for ten months (till January 1977). Later, he became active in journalism. He remained associated with the '' JanSata-Loksata'' newspaper till 1990. He also wrote in newspapers like ''

Divya Bhaskar ''Divya Bhaskar'' () is a Gujarati newspaper in Gujarat, India, owned by D B Corp Ltd. It is one of the highest circulation Gujarati dailies. With the most local editions in Gujarat, it is published from Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot, Jam ...

'', '' Gujarat Today'', ''

Gujarat Mitra ''Guajratmitra'' ( gu, ગુજરાતમિત્ર) is a leading daily newspaper of Surat and Gujarat in India. RNI , Reg. No.1687/1957 , Name: GUJARATMITRA AND GUJARAT DARPAN , Link: http://rni.nic.in/registerdtitle_search/registeredti ...

'' and ''Samkalin''. He served for four years as an administrative secretary of the

. He is well known as editor of the ''Nirikshak'' magazine. His preface to ''Maari Vachankatha'' (

Manubhai Pancholi Manubhai Pancholi also known by his pen name Darshak, was a Gujarati language novelist, author, educationist and politician from Gujarat, India. He participated in the Indian independence movement and held several offices after independence. B ...

), ''Rudraveena no Zankar'' (Bhanu Adhvaryu) and the Gujarati translation of

Acharya Kripalani Jivatram Bhagwandas Kripalani (11 November 1888 – 19 March 1982), popularly known as Acharya Kripalani, was an Indian politician, noted particularly for holding the presidency of the Indian National Congress during the transfer of power in 1 ...

's autobiography is considered to be his significant work in Gujarati literature. He is currently the president of the

Personal life

Shah is married to Naynabahen. They have two daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shah, Prakash N. 1940 births Living people Gujarati-language writers Indian magazine editors Journalists from Gujarat Presidents of the Gujarati Sahitya Parishad

Early life

Career

Personal life

See also

References