January 29, 2002
‘11’ PUBLICATIONS DIVISION PARTICIPATES IN WORLD BOOK FAIR WITH ITS RICH COLLECTION OF BOOKSPublications Division of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, once again brings to the discerning readers its rich collection of well researched and unbelievably low priced books on subjects ranging from history to science at the World Book Fair.
The repertoire includes, among others, hardbound volumes with colour plates on schools of painting, a visual voyage of Indian cinema, collection of Galib’s ghazals, Wood Carvings of Gujarat and a very unusual one on marine archaeology in India. Since they carry the stamp of Publications Division they are authentic, yet affordably priced.Such volumes do sound surprising from a publishing house that people usually identify with India/Bharat reference annual, Employment News/ Rozgar Samachar along with Yojana and Kurukshetra magazines. They are indeed the most sought after publications of this Division as they continue with their reputation of being among the best and the most authentic in their respective fields.
Recently the Division has also forayed into production of compact discs, the first being one that compresses the entire works of Mahatma Gandhi in a single disc and also carries an audio visual part with his voice, video clippings and photographs. The Division’s collection on including correspondence with his close associates. It is also fun to browse through its history collection that includes old jems like Dadabhai Naoroji’s "Poverty and UnBritish Rule in India" Tarachand’s "History of Freedom Movement in India" and to recollect the passions of the freedom struggle titles like "Zabtshuda Tarane" and "Yaad Kar Lena Kabhi" in all regional languages.
Even after the passage of sixty years the government owned Publications Division is still a name in reckon with. Despite the rapid growth of the private publishing industry what sets the Division apart from other players in the field is the nature and subject of its titles – selected with the underlying objective of preserving national heritage and disseminating information on issues of national importance. At the end of the day the books are well researched, authentic, excellent reference material packaged at unbelievably low prices.
Publications Division also has a large section of books for children – richly illustrated short stories and life sketches of great men and women along with a monthly magazine "Bal Bharati". Besides these Publications Division also publishes biographies under the Builders of Modern India series, books on land and people, flora and fauna, science and technology. Stalls 509, 510, 511 in Hall No. 11 promise to have on offer books of the kind which very few other stalls would have – at least not at the same or comparable rates.