India, Nov. 14 -- Jalandhar-based Balbir Parwana has been awarded the 2025 Dhahan Prize for Punjabi fiction for his novel, Rauleyan Vele (In the Time of Unrest).

The Richmond-based Dhahan Prize, set up in 2013, is the largest international literary award for fiction in Punjabi language and awards a total of $51,000 ( Rs.32.26 lakh) in prize money. Parwana, the 12th annual winner, won $25,000 CAD ( Rs.15.8 lakh) for the top prize, which was announced at a ceremony in Surrey, Canada, on November 13.

A prolific writer, Parwana has written 15 novels to date, including Punjab Di Naxalbari Lehar, Amber Vall Udaan, Pind Da Dard and Pagadhi Sambahal Jatta. His Dhahan Prize-winning novel Rauleyan Vele follows a documentary filmmaker as he interv...