NBT leads first-ever India Pavilion at Sharjah International Book Fair

Dubai, Nov 9 (PTI) The National Book Trust (NBT) of India, the country's state-owned publishing body, is leading the first-ever India Pavilion at the ongoing Sharjah International Book Fair 2025, marking a significant milestone in India–Arab literary and cultural collaboration.

The 12-day fair, being held from November 5 to 16 at the Expo Centre Sharjah, features India's largest publishing showcase outside the country, offering multilingual titles across several Indian languages.

The India Pavilion was inaugurated by Consul General of India in Dubai Satish Kumar Sivan in the presence of NBT Chairman Milind Sudhakar Marathe, Joint Director Rakesh Kumar, National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (NCPUL) Director Shams Eqbal and several dignitaries, officials, authors, and community leaders.

The pavilion features participation from leading Indian publishers, offering an opportunity for readers, authors, and distributors in the UAE to connect with India's vibrant publishing industry.

"We are delighted to be part of this journey of Sharjah, which has become one of the world’s leading literary destinations. The first-ever India Stand at the Sharjah Book Fair is a proud milestone for NBT India. It reflects our shared cultural ties with the UAE and our commitment to taking the depth and diversity of Indian publishing to a global audience,” Kumar said.

He said the India Pavilion aims to strengthen collaborations with publishers, authors, and readers in the UAE and across the region.

“Books are ambassadors building bridges between multiple cultures. From regional classics to contemporary voices, the display represents the creative energy and linguistic richness of Indian literature,” Kumar added.

He said by introducing book sales this year, NBT aims to offer UAE readers direct access to India's literary treasures in English, Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Urdu, and several other languages.

“We are receiving an overwhelming response from visitors, readers and authors, including children, who are enthusiastic about the availability of books in many Indian languages at one stand. Books by Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore are among the top sellers, in addition to fiction from across India,” Rakesh said.

The Sharjah International Book Fair is one of the world's largest literary events, attracting global participation from authors, publishers, and readers.

NBT's participation, officials said, underscores its mission to promote Indian literature and authors internationally and to foster cross-cultural literary exchange. PTI CORR SCY SCY