The award, constituted by K K Birla Foundation, carries a cash reward of Rs ten lakh, a citation and a plaque.
The 79-year-old writer was selected for the honour by a 13-member jury headed by Former Chief Justice of India R C Lahoti after considering works published in 22 languages published during 2002-2011, a statement said here today.
The award is given annually to an outstanding literary work written in any Indian language during the last ten years.
"Sugathakumari has established herself as a major poet of Malayalam with a unique voice of her own characterised by emotional empathy, humanist sensitivity and moral alertness.
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"She began as a poet of subjective sentiments and personal quests but progressively widened her thematic range, assimilating into her poetry, contemporary social concerns such as ecological crisis, oppression of women and failures of ideals that inspired the very idea of Indian nation," the statement said.
Sugathakumari, a known environmentalist, was also the Chairperson of Kerala's State Women's Commission.