Founded in 1923, now world’s largest publisher: The 100-year journey of Gita Press

Gita Press, which has been conferred with the Gandhi Peace Prize 2021 for its contribution towards social, economic and political change through non-violent and other Gandhian methods, was started in a house in Gorakhpur on a rent of just ₹10 a month on April 29, 1923.

After a journey of over 100 years in the Hindi Bazar area of Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, the Gita Press, which is the world’s largest publisher of Hindu religious texts, now runs on an area of about two lakh sq ft.

It currently publishes 1,850 types of books in 15 languages, and has so far published 930 million books that include its monthly magazine, ‘Kalyan’.

The Gita Press presently has 20 branches in India, one in Kathmandu (Nepal), along with 48 railway stalls across India. About 2,500 booksellers are associated with the organisation.

Also Read: Gandhi Peace Prize 2021 to be conferred on Gita Press: Govt

In his book ‘Gita Press and The Making of Hindu India’, author Mukul has given a chapter on The World of Gita Press, and under the subtitle Chronicle of the Dead, there are observations about the organisation’s monthly magazine ‘Kalyan’.

“Following the principle of not talking ill about the dead, ‘Kalyan’ built up an interesting collection of obituaries of a mix of people ranging from Keshav Baliram Hedgewar to King George V, Moti Lal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru, MS Golwalkar, Sampoornanand, S Radha Krishnan, Jugal Kishore Birla, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. The greatest tribute was, however, paid to Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya as ‘Kalyan’ brought out an extra issue on his death in 1946; no other obituary came close to such an expression of reverence,” stated the author.

“There were some significant delays and deliberate omissions as well. The assassination of Mahatma Gandhi was never mentioned, though much later, in 1948, several articles were carried about the life and teachings of Mahatma,” added Mukul.

BR Ambedkar, who remained anathema to Gita Press’s world of ‘Sanatan’ Hindu Dharma, was completely ignored after his death, mentioned the author.

On Sunday (June 18) the Union ministry of culture announced that the Gandhi Peace Prize for 2021 will be conferred on Gita Press.

The award carries a cash prize of ₹1 crore, a citation, a plaque and an exquisite traditional handicraft/handloom item.

To this, Lal Mani Tiwari, manager, Gita Press, said, “We don’t react to any comments made by political parties. We work on character building and don’t accept any donations from the government or from private organisations and individuals. This is why we have decided not to accept the prize money of ₹1 crore.”

Tiwari said Gita Press had a close association with Mahatma Gandhi. “We have a Lila Chitra Mandir (gallery) depicting stories of lord Ram, lord Krishna and lord Shiva and a picture of Mahatma Gandhi has been placed there,” he said.

“Gita Press works for the uplift of society. Any controversy has no meaning as Gita Press works in the interest of society,” said professor SK Dwivedi, former head of department, political science, Lucknow University.

The publisher recently landed in a controversy after senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh slammed the Union government for its decision to confer the Gandhi Peace Prize 2021 on Gita Press and called the move a ‘travesty’.

Also Read: ‘Like awarding Godse’: Jairam Ramesh on Centre’s decision to confer Gandhi Peace Prize on Gita Press

Ramesh took to Twitter to criticise the decision and said that giving the Gandhi Peace Prize 2021 to Gita Press is like ‘awarding Savarkar and Godse’.

The Congress leader also shared the cover page of ‘Gita Press and the Making of Hindu India’ written by Akshaya Mukul and argued how the author ‘unearths the stormy relations it had with the Mahatma and the running battles it carried on with him on his political, religious & social agenda’.

“There is a very fine biography from 2015 of this organisation by Akshaya Mukul in which he unearths the stormy relations it had with the Mahatma and the running battles it carried on with him on his political, religious and social agenda. The decision is really a travesty and is like awarding Savarkar and Godse,” Ramesh wrote on Twitter.

The Union ministry said that after due deliberations, a jury, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, unanimously decided to honour Gita Press, Gorakhpur, with the 2021 award, in recognition of its outstanding contribution towards social, economic and political transformation through non-violent and other Gandhian methods.

Instituted by the government in 1995, the Gandhi Peace Prize is an annual award as a tribute to the ideals espoused by Mahatma Gandhi. The award is open to all persons regardless of nationality, race, language, caste, creed or gender.