The National Book Trust will continue to work towards promotion of a reading culture with more vigour
The world of books is wonderful. Books have their own fragrance and reading them gives us joy,” said Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister for Human Resource Development, in his video address at the inauguration of two-day national seminar on nationalism and literature held at IIC.
The seminar was organised by the National Book Trust, India, to mark its 60 years of foundation. Javadekar urged its members to create an action plan, a strategy and a vision to create a new world.
Emphasising that even though digitisation is taking place in the world, the love for books has not diminished. Every year 70,000 books are published, of which 20,000 books are in English. India is the third largest publisher in the world. He added that the format of reading may be different — e-books, audio books or printed books — but the reading habit has not diminished. He further said that these formats complement each other.
Javadekar also talked about the role that libraries play in creating book culture. He said readers can access 60,000 books through the National Digital library.
Dr Krishna Gopal, renowned scholar, thinker and writer, who was the chief speaker on the occasion, said that literature is incomplete if it does not create a sense of nationalism. He further said that since Vedic times, nationalism and mankind are an integral part of Indian literature. Talking about the unity in diversity of India, Krishna Gopal said that though we have different languages and culture, the sense of nationalism remains the same in literature. He further said that the concept of nationalism is not new, it was present in Indian literature since ancient times. Even though the foreign invaders were victorious, they were defeated by the philosophic tradition of Indian litterateurs.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Kuldeep Chand Agnihotri, Vice Chancellor, Central University, Himachal Pradesh, the special guest on the occasion, said that nationalism can only be felt, it cannot be seen. He was of the view that a “nation without nationalism” is incomplete. Quoting Guru Nanak Dev, he said that he travelled across India and was able to spread his message of oneness even though he did not know the languages spoken in those areas.
Mridula Sinha, noted author and Governor of Goa, who presided over the function, said that a book is like a tree which plays the role of a son, a friend and a teacher (guru). She further added that nationalism is like a spark which lights up when the right time comes.
In his address, Baldeo Bhai Sharma, Chairman, NBT, informed about the new initiatives that are being taken by the trust on the completion of its 60 years of formation. He said that NBT will be organising National Sanskrit Book Fair, National Children’s Book Fair and Panchayat Book Fairs. He added that NBT is working towards creating a sense of nationalism among youth through books.
Dr Rita Chowdhury, Director, National Book Trust, India, proposed a vote-of-thanks on the occasion.
On this occasion, NBT released several books. These included Physics in Ancient India, authored by Shankar Nene and NG Dongre; Mahajeevan, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee authored by Anathbandhu Chatterjee, Bharat Ki Maulik Ekta, authored by Vasudev Sharan Aggrawal, Bihar Indradhanushiye lok Rang, authored by Mridula Sinha and Bharat Rashtra Aur Uski Shiksha Padhati, authored by Neerja Madhav.
The inauguration was followed by sessions on nationalism in literature, challenges in children’s writing and nationalism and identity. Eminent writers and scholars, including Dr Sonal Mansingh, Shri Prem Shankar Tripathi, Dr Avnijesh Awasthi, Dr Kshama Sharma, Dr Darshan Singh Ashat among others presented their views.
The august gathering included well-known authors, scholars and publishers like Shri Kamal Kishore Goenka, Nand Kishore pande, Anamika, Alok Mehta, Manohar Puri, Yatindra Mishra, Suresh Rituparn among others.
later in the evening, the NBT Foundation Day lecture was delivered by Prof Makarand R Paranjape.