Book Fair opens, sees huge rush
Book lovers in the city thronged Pragati Maidan on Monday as the New Delhi World Book Fair was inaugurated by Union minister Shashi Tharoor.
The World Book Fair, which will go on till February 10, has become an annual event from this year, 41 years after its inception as a book carnival held every alternate year. Indian Council of Cultural Relations president Karan Singh and French ambassador Francois Richier graced the event as guests of honour.
Mr Tharoor said books have become increasingly important in an age of “competitive intolerance”. He said the importance of the World Book Fair was in upholding the ethos of a “secular society and freedom of expression”. The theme for the year’s exhibition is “Indigenous Voices: Mapping India’s Folk and Tribal Literature”. Nearly 1,100 exhibitors from India and abroad have displayed books at around 2,100 stalls. About 23 countries have displayed books in the foreign pavilion.
Mr Karan Singh pointed out that the term ‘indigenous’ used in the theme was inappropriate as all the languages have their importance and significance.
“Every language that flourishes in India is indigenous,” he noted.
The mind of the nation depends on “how does it find expression in a predominant civilisation mode of one living in a time of transition”, he said.
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