Opinion World Book Fair turns into Delhi Book Rush

When title inflation is rampant across so many industries, one should not begrudge the humble reader their wish for a promotion. This is a time of “voracious” readers (who presumably devour, rather than read, books) and Bookstagrammers. Dating apps have respectable populations of “sapiosexuals” revelling in their nerd cred. Books, for some, have become commodities, to be possessed, aesthetically displayed and perhaps, consumed in impressive quantities. Is it any wonder, then, that an opportunity to quickly grab a large number of them should lead to disorder?

Viral videos purportedly from the just-concluded World Book Fair in Delhi appear to show crowds of people rushing to grab books off the shelves and jostling each other. Some climb or jump up to a high shelf to literally knock books off. In the aftermath, social media has seen an outbreak of condemnation and pontification. The recurring villain in instances of poor public behaviour — Indians’ lack of “civic sense” — was trotted out, together with stronger expressions (at least one “moral collapse” was spotted in the wild) and as-yet unconfirmed allegations of large-scale theft. And indeed, thoughts on the commodification of books.

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According to some reports, the incident was triggered by a free book giveaway at a particular stall, which led to crowding, overwhelmed staff and general chaos. So, there may also be a point to make about organisation and crowd management here. On the theft allegations, more clarity and official confirmation is required before anything can be said. As for the books themselves, one hopes they end up in the hands of those who will read them, whether retiring bookworms or raucous book-hunters. A gold rush can trigger an economic boom in a region — let’s hope the Delhi Book Rush of 2026 can at least inspire some minds.