Chandrakant Sheth
A Gujarati poet, essayist and critic with more than 150 books who helped create the Gujarati encyclopaedia, honoured posthumously with the Padma Shri in 2025.
Chandrakant Sheth was one of Gujarati literature’s most prolific writers: a poet, essayist, critic, translator and editor with more than 150 books to his name. He was named for the Padma Shri in 2025, posthumously, in the field of literature and education, from Gujarat [1].
A life in words
Chandrakant Trikamlal Sheth was born on 3 February 1938 in Kalol, in Panchmahal district [2]. His first published piece, in 1948, was a poem in tribute to Mahatma Gandhi [2]. He went on to publish fifteen collections of poetry, 31 books of criticism and 17 collections of essays, his favourite form [2].
His autobiography, Dhool Ma Ni Paglio, won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1986 and has gone through eight editions [2]. In 2018 he also won the Sahitya Akademi’s award for children’s literature [2].
Teacher and encyclopaedist
Sheth taught at Gujarat Vidyapith, the university founded by Mahatma Gandhi, for 35 years [2]. From 1998 he worked with the Gujarat Vishwakosh Trust for more than 25 years, helping to produce its 25-volume general encyclopaedia in Gujarati and then leading a ten-volume children’s encyclopaedia [2].
He died on 2 August 2024 [2].
Sources
- [1] Padma Awards 2025: list of awardees — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed 11 October 2026.
- [2] Padma Awards 2025: citation for Chandrakant Sheth — Padma Awards, Government of India. Accessed 11 October 2026.
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