Onlykashmir.in News Desk
New Delhi: In a significant recognition for the publishing and literary heritage of Jammu and Kashmir, Sheikh Bashir Ahmad, Managing Director of Jay Kay Books, Kashmir, and Kitab Mahal Publishers, has been conferred the prestigious Golden Award 2026 at the 72nd Annual General Meeting of the Federation of Publishers’ & Booksellers’ Associations in India (FPBAI).
The award was presented at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, in recognition of Sheikh Bashir Ahmad’s sustained contribution to the publishing sector and his longstanding efforts to preserve, promote and disseminate literature, culture and knowledge.
With this distinction, Sheikh Bashir Ahmad has become the first publisher from Jammu and Kashmir to receive the FPBAI Golden Award.
The award was presented by S. K. Ghai, President and Chairman of the FPBAI Award Committee, and Arunjit Singh Gujral, Vice-President (North), FPBAI. Vikas Chowdhary, Hony. Secretary, FPBAI, read out the citation.
The citation described Sheikh Bashir Ahmad as the torchbearer of a six-generation publishing legacy. Under his stewardship, Jay Kay Books has published an extensive body of works spanning history, culture, heritage, literature, Sufism, geography, and Indian and Western philosophy, thereby contributing to the preservation and wider dissemination of intellectual and cultural knowledge.
His contribution during the COVID-19 pandemic was also acknowledged. At a time when conventional access to books was severely disrupted, his organisation made e-text modules available free of cost to readers and learners. This initiative was subsequently complemented by home-delivery services aimed at sustaining access to books and reading material.
The family’s publishing tradition traces its origins to Sheikh Muhammad Ibrahim, who introduced rare Persian manuscripts from Central Asia to Kashmir through a Lahore-based publishing agency. His son, Sheikh Abdul Ghaffar, expanded the enterprise by establishing a publishing outlet at Chattabal, Srinagar, while Sheikh Ghulam Muhammad subsequently transformed the venture into a full-fledged publishing house at Maharaj Gunj.
Carrying this enduring legacy forward through Jay Kay Books, Sheikh Bashir Ahmad has sought to strengthen the culture of reading, nurture emerging writers and make significant books and manuscripts more accessible to scholars, students and general readers.
The Golden Award acknowledges not only his contribution to the publishing and book trade, but also his engagement with scholarship, literary culture and public service, as well as his sustained commitment to safeguarding and advancing Kashmir’s rich literary and intellectual heritage.
