The New India Foundation (NIF) has announced the commencement of the application process for the second round of NIF Translation Fellowships, scheduled to be granted in the year 2024. These fellowships are geared towards promoting the translation of significant non-fiction literary works from various Indian languages into English. The aim of the NIF Translation Fellowships is to illuminate India’s rich history, spanning its diverse languages and literary traditions. The application window opened on September 20, and the submission deadline is December 31.The inaugural round of these fellowships, which were awarded for translations from Bangla, Kannada, and Marathi, is on track for publication by 2025. These three noteworthy translations will complement the 32 books already published under the aegis of the New India Foundation through its flagship Book Fellowship program.
The Translation Fellowships are an integral part of NIF’s mission to support research and writing on all facets of Independent India. Translators are invited to submit proposals for translating texts from ten Indian languages: Assamese, Bangla, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Malayalam, Odia, Tamil, and Urdu. Fellowship recipients will be selected based on their choice of text, the quality of their translation work, and the overall project proposal. The source text for translation from any of the ten languages can encompass a wide range of topics and genres, as long as it sheds light on socio-economic or cultural aspects of Indian history from the year 1850 onwards. It’s important to note that for the Translation Fellowship, NIF’s focus extends to modern India, as broadly defined, post-1947.
Each Translation Fellowship will be granted for a duration of 6 months, accompanied by a stipend of Rs 6-lakh for each recipient. These fellowships are intended for translators and writers dedicated to rendering historical Indian-language texts into English for publication. Fellows are expected to complete and publish their translated works by the end of the year, building upon the concepts outlined in their winning proposals.
