Saturday, October 2, 2010

Hitler usurps the Mahatma

Experts at a loss to explain why Mein Kampf is outselling My Experiments... by such a huge margin

This may sound strange, but in Gandhi's India, it is Hitler who is vying for attention. History refers to Adolf Hitler as a dictator and an oppressor. He may be a hate figure in the West but the Nazi leader appears quite popular in India.

Selling his autobiography, Mein Kampf, penned in 1924, is almost blasphemous in Europe. But it's one of the perennial bestsellers in Mumbai and indeed across the country.

The sales are increasing at a dramatic rate. Consider this: At the Strand bookstore in Fort, the sale has shot up by 600 per cent over the last two years. Before 2008, we used to sell barely 50-75 copies of this book per year, whereas last year we sold nearly 300 copies," said P M Shenvi, manager of the bookstore.

The trend in other parts of the country is no different. Jaico, leading among a clutch of publishers and distributors of Mein Kampf, sold nearly 15,000 copies last year. Jaico's editor R H Sharma confirmed the fact.

In stark contrast, Mahatma Gandhi's autobiography, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, is less popular then Mein Kampf.

Full report here Mid Day

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