Any takers for World Book Day?

Nobody knows the precise contribution the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) is making in pursuance of its avowed objective of promoting peace and security in the world by means of “collaboration among nations through education, science, culture and communication in order to further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms which are affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion, by the Charter of the United Nations” (phew!) but it certainly accounts for the largest number of days declared for observance by the member-nations for one reason or another.

One such day which it has earnestly urged the world community to celebrate is the World Book and Copyright Day falling on April 23. The rationale for choosing this date is bizarre: That was the date on which in 1616 Cervantes, Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega (How many have heard this name? Lift your hands, please!) died and it was the date of birth or death of what the UNESCO regards as “prominent” authors such as Maurice Druon, K. Laxness, Vladimir Nobokov, Josep Pla and Manuel Mejia Vallejo.

The UNESCO wants all the governments of the world on this date to encourage everyone, and, in particular, young people, “to discover the pleasure of reading and to gain a renewed respect for the extraordinary contributions of those who have furthered the social and cultural progress of humanity” and, in the bargain, to do something to enforce copyright laws and protect intellectual property.

BLOATED BUREAUCRACIES

It also “solemnly calls on all countries and on UNESCO’s partners and friends to join in common reflection on the place of the book in educational and cultural policies and on its contribution to the emergence of creative diversity that is deemed more useful than ever.” Well, solemn proclamations of this sort do no harm and but for my unearthing the information about April 23, nobody would have known about it either.

But the occasion does merit some relevant reflections on the manner of functioning of international organisations (27 at the latest count) which guzzle up billions of dollars to maintain bloated bureaucracies with tax-exempt salaries disproportionate to the responsibilities. The lay public does not know that before such Days are declared, prolonged discussions are carried on in committees and plenaries at enormous expense. Every comma, semi-colon and period is scrutinised in night-long sessions by the plenipotentiaries of more than 150 nations before adopting these long-winded resolutions in high-flown language.

How come it didn’t strike any of them that there are scores of great litterateurs, novelists, poets and authors in other countries whose works are more prominent, more creative, and more consequential for the social and cultural enrichment than those whose names have been pitch forked in the resolution on the Day?

A substantive issue is the mechanical fashion in which such Days are being plugged in identical phraseologies used by successive chiefs of such organisations year after year without once taking stock of the current context and reviewing the results achieved.

‘DEATH OF BOOKS’?

As regards books, since the UNESCO’s declaration of the Day in 1996, the publishing industry has changed beyond recognition, the reading habit has plummeted, and tastes have become unpredictable. Advances in technology, leading to self-publishing, e-books overtaking customarily printed ones, digitalisation and the like have put paid to the old patterns of formatting, printing, marketing, distribution and promotion.

Statistics are varying depending on the sources of compilation, but the situation has been graphically captured by a debate arranged at the Edinburgh International Book Festival in August 2011 on the ‘End of Books’ which have been given a survival prospect of a generation at the most. There have also been loud lamentations on the ‘death’ of books.

The UNESCO could have been of better service to the world community and yielded a better return on the money spent on it if it had undertaken a scientific evaluation of the developments in the domain of books and come up with approaches to constructively harmonise the creative urges with the needs of the times.

A similar exercise undertaken in India is bound to throw up a mine of highly valuable information providing useful pointers to reorient the educational system and the library movement.

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