French Ambassador to India Thierry Mathou on Thursday conferred the insignia of Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) on Executive Director of Vani Prakashan Aditi Maheshwari at a special ceremony at the French Embassy in India.

Vani Prakashan is a Hindi publishing conglomerate.

The distinction comes in recognition of Maheshwari’s achievements in the field of Hindi publishing and her commitment to promoting the voices of the marginalised, including that of LGBTQ , Dalits, Adivasi and feminists, in the Hindi language, as per an official release.

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After completing her studies in the humanities in India, Maheshwari pursued a business and marketing programme in Scotland, UK, in 2012. In 2013, she decided to return and join the publishing house her grandparents had founded and her parents ran the Vani Prakashan Group.

She started as an editorial intern at the house of Vani 14 years ago and has now been appointed as the Executive Director of the Group.

Vani Prakashan celebrates 60 years of publishing this year. With 400 annual publications, almost exclusively in Hindi, Vani Prakashan Group became the largest publishing conglomerate after it took over the publishing programme of India’s oldest publishing house, Bharatiya Jnanpith.

Vani Prakashan’s list includes 32 Sahitya Akademi award-winning books and authors, nine Nobel laureates translated into Hindi, and several other award-winning writers and books, as per the release.

Meanwhile, the French Ambassador to India while speaking at the investiture, said: “I am delighted to confer the insignia of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, on behalf of the Ministry of Culture, on you, Aditi Maheshwari for your dedication to Hindi literature and initiatives to make French literature available for Hindi language readers. This award also recognises your commitment to promoting the voices of minorities, women and the marginalised in Hindi literature. I believe your own exceptional professional journey paved the way for numerous women aspiring to join the publishing industry, marking a significant step towards achieving gender equality.”

Aditi Maheshwari said, “Vani Prakashan Group is at the centre of an inclusive Hindi and Indian language public sphere. French history and thought have a deep impact on the Indian languages’ literature and thought. It is a moment of great honour that my yatra as a publisher has been awarded the prestigious Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres.”

She added: “Like the French, we too stand by the ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity. I thank Thierry Mathou, Ambassador of France to India, for conferring this prestigious honour on me. I accept it with gratitude on behalf of the authors, the Hindi language, and its literary history. I look forward to the continued cooperation between the French and Hindi publishing industries.”