MUMBAI
You can kill the man, but not his message. Less than a week after Govind Pansare, the senior Left leader and one of Maharashtra's public intellectuals was shot at, the sales of his books have shot up.
You can kill the man, but not his message. Less than a week after Govind Pansare, the senior Left leader and one of Maharashtra's public intellectuals was shot at, the sales of his books have shot up.
The 82-year old CPI leader, known for his work among the weaker sections of society like hawkers and slum dwellers, was also a prolific author with over 20 books to his name. However, his most popular one, which has run into its 38th edition – almost a record by publishing standards – was Shivaji Kon Hota? (Who was Shivaji?).
Originally a speech delivered in May 1987, which presented a powerful, alternative re-telling of the saga of the 17th century king, the book has sold over a lakh copies, and is counted as a runaway success. Published by the CPI's Lokvangmaya Griha Pvt Ltd, which had Pansare as the chairman, the book has been translated in languages like Hindi, English, Kannada, Urdu and Gujarati, and is a handy primer for progressive activists.
“After the attack on Govindrao, the demand for Shivaji Kon Hota has soared. Earlier, while around five to six copies were sold daily, we have sold around 150 from Monday (around 50 a day),” an employee at the Lokvangmaya Griha's People's Book House in Fort told dna. He added that other books by and on Pansare had also seen a spike in demand, with people from other cities too calling up to place their orders. “Some people are buying around five copies at a time,” he pointed out.
“We have sold up to 3,000 copies of Shivaji Kon Hota in a week. We have pending orders, but have run out of copies, and have sent a fresh lot for printing on Friday,” said Nayana Satam of the Lokvangmaya Griha. This will be the 38th edition of the book with many print runs varying from 3,000 to 5,000 copies. Over 1.25 lakh copies have been sold so far.
The demand of Pansare's other books, like those on Muslims, Marxism, globalisation, Kashmir, Panchayat Raj, the anti-superstition law and Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj, are also in demand; however, that for Shivaji Kon Hota outweighs them all. On his golden jubilee, the Comrade Govind Pansare Golden Jubilee Committee had brought out books on grass-roots activists and unsung heroes of the Left movement like Sudamkaka Deshmukh, Parvatibai Bhor and Gulabrao Ganacharya.
“His thoughts will always live on,” said Satam, adding that Pansare looked into the finer points of the publishing house and the marketing of its books. “Recently, when there was a lull in the publishing business, there were questions on our survival... but he was insistent that we would find a way out and increase the sales and marketing for our books,” she said, adding that Pansare wanted to attract young readers by moving beyond the traditional sales strategies.
Pansare had also held a series of lectures on Rajarshi Shahu in various colleges in Mumbai.
Unlike many xenophobic leaders like those of the Sambhaji Brigade who target Brahmins across the board, and even call for riots against them, Pansare pointed out that Brahminism or Brahmanya was a 'disease' which comprised of hating others and considering oneself supreme regardless of flaws, which was not peculiar to the Brahmins, but also affected other castes.
What is the gist of Shivaji Kon Hota?
In this well-researched book, Pansare has pointed out that Shivaji was a secular king who stood out from most of his contemporaries, due to virtues like respect for women, secularism and love for his people. In contrast to the anti-Muslim image of Shivaji Maharaj as created by the Hindu Right-wingers, Pansare explained that many of his generals like Admiral Daulat Khan, artillery chief Ibrahim Khan and many of his troopers were Muslims.
Shivaji also respected all religions, abolished serfdom, framed pro-farmer policies by doing away with arbitrary powers of local satraps (like Deshmukh's) to collect land revenue, took on established interests, and appointed Dalits and backward classes to prominent positions. In contrast with the modern version of the predatory state, Shivaji also warned his soldiers against “touching a vegetable stalk in the farms of the ryots (farmers).”
Watch: Australia star inquires Rishabh Pant about his next IPL team, gets 2-word reply
Shah Rukh Khan’s house Mannat was first offered to his industry rival…, but he refused because...
The Visionary Who Promises a Blue Sky for India: Holger Thorsten Schubart’s G20 Climate Speech
The Surge of High-End Living: Luxury Residential Market to Outpace Other Segments
FeFCon 2024 to be Held in Bangalore: A Premier Event on Fever Management
London Airport evacuates passengers over security threat, thousands stranded
The World’s First Innovative Iron Supplement to Combat Iron Deficiency and Anaemia
Meet grandmother who became fashion icon after trying on her granddaughter’s clothes
IND vs AUS: Rishabh Pant joins Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma in elite WTC list, becomes 3rd Indian to...
'All scripted drama...': Puneet Superstar allegedly assaulted by influencers in viral video, watch
Actress Ana de Armas caught kissing Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel’s son in viral photos
Oreshnik's Shadow: Will Russia's hypersonic missile force west to back down?
‘You’re So Beautiful’: World’s tallest woman meets world’s shortest woman over tea, pics go viral
Delhi-NCR Air Pollution: Consequences of GRAP-4 are drastic, may have adverse effects, says SC
Delhi-NCR Air Pollution: Schools likely to stay closed till..., check city-wise update
Maharashtra: 3 killed, 9 hospitalised after gas leak at fertiliser plant in Sangli
THIS farm is selling a cup of coffee for Rs 28000, but there's a twist, it is...
Chhattisgarh: 10 Maoists killed after encounter with security personnel in Sukma
Mukesh Ambani's SUPERHIT plan for Jio users, offers unlimited 5G access for 1 year for just Rs...
IND vs AUS 1st Test: KL Rahul's dismissal sparks DRS controversy in Perth Test
Dense fog, heavy rain predicted in these states till November 25; check here
Oreshnik Hypersonic Missile: Which nations are within its range?
Bihar teacher, principal reach school in drunken state; know what happened next
'I have faced a lot of...': Arjun Kapoor REVEALS his biggest fear amid break up with Malaika Arora
How millions of Indians may get affected due to US indictment of Gautam Adani in bribery case
Amid divorce rumours with Aishwarya Rai, Abhishek Bachchan says 'missing someone is okay but...'
After Bibles, watches and sneakers, Donald Trump is now selling autographed guitars, price is...
Delhi pollution: Air quality improves to ‘very poor’ category, AQI at...
Vladimir Putin's BIG threat, warns he could strike UK with new ballistic missile if...
Shillong Teer Results TODAY November 22, 2024 Live Updates: Check winning numbers here
Somebody misbehaved with Alia Bhatt on Highway sets then Imtiaz Ali had to...
Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal reveals twist behind Rs 200000 job fee, closes application window
Days after Ratan Tata's demise, Tata Group's Rs 131000 crore company inks pact with ADB for...
WATCH: Woman makes Biryani with Parle-G biscuits, viral video fumes internet
Only train in India in which passengers can travel for FREE; check route, timings and more
'Justice for biryani': Parle-G biryani takes internet by storm, video goes viral
DNA TV Show: Why Gautam Adani charged with bribery and fraud in US
IND vs AUS: Records Virat Kohli can break during Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Diljit Dosanjh fans get angry over Ananya Panday's birthday post for her grandmother, here's why
Reddit suffers outage with ‘upstream connect error’ message, says 'currently investigating...'
Border-Gavaskar Trophy: How has Jasprit Bumrah fared in Tests in Australia?