An assignment

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THE PROBLEMS AND PROSPERITY OF
PUBLISHING INDUSTRY OF BANGLADESH
Education is the basic investment of economic development and books are the basic tools of education.
Knowledge based society means reading society which depends on library. The books come to the library
and to the reader’s hand from a book publishing industry. A developed publishing industry depends upon
developed reading society; on the other hand, a developed reading society rises on the basis of a
developed publishing industry. So book publishing is the key to educational, social and economic
development and hence to caution hood.
The book publishing industry:
The publishing industry of a country that devotes its expertise and energy to the production of indigenous
books can have a far-reaching influence in every sphere of the national developmental activities. The
variety of books needed by the reading public is infinite and has to keep pace with changes in their needs
and taste, and as a result publishing is a competitive and high risk industry.
Teamwork is needed to produce a book and put it to reader’s hand. Each member of the team has a
necessary part to play and none of them can be eliminated. Five basic elements must exist if there is to be
a book publishing industry. These elements are-
1. The author who writes the manuscript.
2. The printer who turns the manuscript into an edition of book.
3. The publisher who publishes the book.
4. The bookseller who sells the book.
5. The reader who reads the book.
The author: The author is the creator or formulator of the ideas that is given to world through a book.
He is the arranger of the words, pictures, charts, tables etc. in which the ideas are to be present. The
author is the sole proprietor of the publication until permission is given to someone special. The author
signs a contract with the publisher to publish the books to have a specified payment depend on the
number of copies to be sold.
The printer: The printer is the manufacturer who receives the manuscript from the publishers and sends
the manufactured books back to the publisher. The printer has major contribution to make the successful
publication of particular books as well as to the strengthening and upgrading of book publishing industry.
The publisher: The publisher is in the central position in book publishing as the relationship between
writer and printer is maintained by the publisher. The publisher who is the organizer of the whole
undertakes and who usually serves as the basic taker of the business risk of book publishing. A creative
and imaginative publisher can be a great help to an author and reader as they can be benefited greatly
from the suggestion and visions of the creative publisher. The publisher has three main jobs to perform:
 Editorial
 Production
 Sales

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The book seller: The book seller receives the books directly or indirectly from the publisher, buys them
at a discount and sales them as a higher price. The book seller is the strongest economic supporter of the
publisher as well as the author.
The reader: The reader is the end element of book publishing industry. As “books are for reader and all
the publication activities like-writing, printing, publishing etc. are done and circulated for the readers. The
author always writes and publisher publishes books keeping in mind the need of the readers. So without
readers books have no demand. So where there is a developed reading society, there is a developed book
publishing industry.
H I S T O R Y O F P U B L I S H I N G I N D U S T R I E S I N B A N G L A D E S H :
It is conjectured that the first printing press in Bangladesh was in Rangpur during 1847, about 335
kilometers away from Dhaka. The first printed piece from this printing press was a weekly newspaper
named Rangapur Barttabaha (রঙ্গপুর বার্ত্তাবহ ) in August, 1847. In addition the first two Bengali weekly
newspapers were from Rangpur. Printing machine took more than sixty years to reach East Bengal or
Dhaka from Kolkata. Several newspapers are discussed below:
Dacca Press: The first English weekly newspaper, The Dacca News was printed and published from
Dhaka in 1856. So, it is assumed that after nine years of Rangpur press, the first printing machine of
Dhaka was established and the press was named 'Dacca Press'. The printed edition of The Dacca
News came out on 18 April 1856 from the Dacca Press. In the beginning, it was a one page edition
costing two annas per copy. It was initially a weekly paper coming out on every Saturday. When Dacca
News stops printing, another English newspaper The Bengal Times was published from Dacca press and
existed till the twentieth century.
Kattra Press: A Bangladeshi writer and historian, Muntasir Mamun in his book Unish Shatake Dhakar
Mudran o Prakashana(1848–1900), mentions that he finds 'The First Report of the East Bengal
Missionary Society containing forty pages was printed at the Kattra Press, 1849' which was written on its
title page. Muntasir Mamun wants to mean Chhoto Kattra where the Baptist Missionaries resided and set
up their offices. So this report published in 1849 by Baptist Missionaries is the first printed piece. Two
more Bengali books named Prahelika (প্রহহলিকা ) and Prarthana Anukram (প্রার্তনা অনুক্রম ) were from
kattra. Kattra Press survived for four years. Then it was bought in order to publish Dacca News.
Title Page of the First Report from Kattra Press

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Bangala Jantra: The establishment of Bangala Jantra in 1860 was a watershed in the printing history of
Dhaka. Its proprietor was a Bengali. This changed things for the better because after this, Bengali books
and newspapers were being published at a frequent rate. Following this, more machines were brought to
Dhaka.
Image of Bangala Jantra
The Printing Press became an important tool of exchanging thoughts or opinions. The Brahmo
Movement in Bengal played a vital role in the printing history. The Brahmos published Dacca
Prakash (ঢাকা প্রকাশ ).
The first Bengali monthly periodical Kabita Kusumabali (কলবতা কুসুমাবিী ) of East Bengal or Dacca was
published from Bangala Jantra in 1860. But the publication of the said periodical stopped in 1860. In that
very year a monthly named Nababyabohar Sanghita (নববযবহার সংলহতা ) edited by lawyer Ramchandra
Bhowmick was published from Bangala Jantra. Deenabandhu Mitra's Neel Darpan also came out from
Bangala Jantra in 1860.
Other Printing Machines: In 1862, another machine named ‘Nutan Jantra’ was brought to Dhaka.
'Shulav Jantra' was set up in 1863. In 1869, Girish Chandra Roy put up a machine named 'Girish Jantra' in
Dhaka. In 1878-79, 'Sayedi Jantra was set up. 'Azizia Press' (আলিলিযা প্রপ্রস) was perhaps established in
1882 in Mogoltuli. Exactly, what kinds of printing machines were used in Dacca (Dhaka) cannot be
definitely said.
L O C A T I O N : The various press of Dhaka were not centred or located in a particular place. Most of
them were located in the areas between Banglabazar to Begumbazar. Apart from these, some were located
in Mogoltuli or Armanitola. As books were usually sold from Patuatuli and Baburbazar, most of the
machines were set up in these areas. The many press of Dhaka became a centre of socio economic
exchange. Book-shops or libraries were not there then. All kinds of people like authors, publishers,
editors, printers, compositors, workers, retailers and their friends - in short, all who were associated with
the books, always gathered around the many press from Banglabazar to Begumbazar.

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PROBLEMS OF PUBL I SHING INDUSTRY IN
BANGLADESH:
Publishing in Bangladesh has always had shaky financial foundations. On independence, Bangladesh did
not inherit any developed publishing infrastructure. There was however a good number of printing
presses, although they were not particularly geared to printing of books. In terms of development and
growth of the publishing industry, Bangladesh has had to face all the difficulties and constraints typical in
any developing country. Some major problems of publishing industries in Bangladesh are discussed
below:
1. Printing facilities: Printing facilities available are not geared to meet professional publishing
standards. In developed countries, every publishing has a designer. But in developing countries
like ours, the profession of book or book like materials designer is unknown and this
responsibility is left entirely on the printers who have to maintain the relation with the author in
the field of copy editing and proof reading. So lack of proper printing facilities is a great
problem in publishing.
2. Deprival of author’s royalty: Though author is the creator of the ideas and arranger of
pictures, words, tables etc. of a book, he is deprived from their royalty and for this reason in our
country, authorship is a poorly paid profession which is a problem for proper publication in the
industries. So, copyright law can protect author’s right and can encourage them in their works
which is very much important for the development of book publishing industry.
3. Lack of literacy: Bangladesh is a poor country with over growth of population where most of
the people are illiterate because of poverty. So, Absence of a sufficiently large base of effective
literacy is a problem as the illiterate cannot feel that books are important for gaining
knowledge. As a result, they don’t feel the necessity of purchasing book though book has a
strong purchasing power. So, it effects on publishing industries.
4. Economical problem: The economics of publishing industries are related to such divergent
factors as the rate of literacy, level of income, the reading habit of the population, the
government's policy towards publishing sectors, libraries and the educational system etc. Ours
is a developing country where monthly income of most of the people is very low which creates
a shortage of capital for investment in publishing books and book like materials in publishing
industries.
5. Lack of mass education: Non-existence of a mass educational system which would make
use of simply printed books, which is a problem and this problem, also makes people unaware
in recognition of book publishing as an essential enterprise.
6. Lack of professional skills: Dearth of professional’s skill in publishing, particularly skills in
editing, translation and writing is a problem for proper publishing. So, training should be

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arranged to make the professionals skilled in their works properly. For example, in The
National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB), the book publishers have none of the
professional skills of editing or manuscript handling and produce books from camera-ready
copies supplied by the NCTB.
7. High price: High price of printing paper that is suitable for books and other material also a
problem for publishing industries in our country. Besides, publicity in newspapers and
magazines is also expensive.
8. Bank’s refusal: Commercial banks' refusal to accept books as adequate collateral or
securities and hence non-availability of long-term loans on easy terms.
9. Lack of publisher’s knowledge: Lack of clear knowledge of the publishers to estimate the
print run of a book accurately is a problem for proper profit of the publishing industries.
10. Lack of government efforts: There is a lack of efforts by the government to make the book
producing community and the readers aware of the copyright and laws against piracy.
11. Problems of corruption: Purchasing of books by the government and all other institutions
under a "Tender System" encourages corruption and eats up the margins of the booksellers.
12. Seasonal priority in districts and thanas: In district towns and thanas, the book trade is a
seasonal business flourishing only during the school season. But it this trade should not be
based on a particular season rather it should be organized frequently.
13. Lack of internal or external regulation: There is no internal or external regulation to
conduct the book trade on sound and healthy lines - no agreement exists among publisher,
booksellers, distributors, (suppliers) and librarians concerning discount which would prevent
the kind of competition that often reduce profits to the bone.
14. No proper representation of National Education Policy: there is no representation of
the publishing industry in the formulation of National Education Policy.
15. Lack of modern technologies: Recent technological developments in the publishing
field of industries are needed.
16. Absence of a distribution and promotion network: Absence of a distribution and
promotion network is a hindrance towards the prosperity of publishing industries.
From the foregoing discussions it is evident that publishing industries in Bangladesh had not
progressed along the desired professional lines, but such had been the case in all developing
countries. The book industry itself has a complex structure and requires a multi-disciplinary approach
at both the government and private levels, to bring about the necessary development.

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PROSPERITY OF PUBL I SHING INDUSTRY IN
BANGLADESH:
Recently Government policy has proceeded to provide the necessary infrastructural support and
encouragement to the publishing industry in the private sector. A lot needs to be done before the industry
is able to prepare itself to face the circumstances of the 21st century. However, the publishing industries
of Bangladesh are slowly running towards prosperity which is very optimistic fact for Bangladesh. Some
facts of prosperity of publishing industries in Bangladesh are discussed below:
1. Conducting courses: Conducting postgraduate academic courses in book publishing which
makes the publisher worthy and benefited to do their work properly which is a good way to
prosperity.
2. Training programs: Organizing short-term specialized training programs for the printer and
publisher for proper maintenance of prospering the publishing industries.
3. Consultancy service: Providing consultancy services for business prospering the publishing
industries.
4. Conducting research and survey: Conducting research and survey on technical, business and
cultural aspects of publishing books or book like materials.
5. Organizing various aspects: Organizing seminars, symposium, workshop, special lectures, on
various aspects of book publishing which is very important initiative for publishing industries.
6. Increasing publishing: Increase the publishing newsletters, journals, books, occasional papers
on various aspects of book publishing day by day which is a sign of prosperity of publishing
industries of our country.
7. Creating a permanent resource center: Creating a modernized resource centre and a
database on important areas of book publishing is a great step towards the proper prosperity.
8. Promoting Translation Studies: Promoting Translation Studies and also providing interface
between various stakeholders in the field for the prosperous business in publishing industries.
9. Creating a data repository: Creating a data repository of translators and other related matters
for proper protection of publishing materials of the publishing industries.
10. Promoting reading habits: Promoting reading habits especially amongst children, students
and youth by publishing more and more books.
11. Preservation: Enhancing awareness on preservation of books without which prosperity of a
publishing industry will decrease.
12. Quest for the Book trade tools: In order to assess the prosperity of publishing in terms of
quality we need to understand that it is difficult to give any graphic descriptions where quality of
content is concerned. One important measure would have been a survey of book reviews
published in journals, newspapers, literary magazines and so on. The National Book Centre,
which oversees the Book Development activities, has maintained an informal record of general
titles being published. The National Library and Archives under the Ministry of Cultural Affairs,
publishes periodic bibliographies on the basis of the Legal Depository copies received by them
from the publishers. The first Books in Print published by the National Book Centre in
Bangladesh, prepared from the current catalogues of the publishers of the country were released
in January 1997.

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13. The Culture of Book Fairs: There is, however, a unique institution which has developed in
Bangladesh to promote books, generally referred to as the book fair culture. This feature is most
prominent during the dry winter months. Book exhibitions form an integral part of any national or
religious festivals. Some book fairs are:
 Boishakhi Mela (Bangla New Year) and Ekushe Boi Mela (Language Martyrs Day held
on 21 February) is important landmark of this book fair culture. Newspapers run special
columns reporting the daily progress of these fairs.
 The Dhaka Fair is a recent addition and each year important new features are added to
the Dhaka Book Fair.
So these fairs are indirectly playing very important role in the prosperity of publishing
industries as they make the readers interested in reading books
14. Increasing reading interest of the readers: The huge amount of publication of books give
the reader’s facilities in choosing books of their own choice which make them interested in
reading books. Some initiatives are:
 A very significant prosperity has been the growth of readership of popular fiction. About
half a dozen writers of popular fiction were able to capture these markets.
 Traditionally, poetry books would have been the centre-piece of book exhibitions, but
during the past decade it is believed that books on the Liberation War of Bangladesh and
politics have also attracted many readers.
 Publishing in the private sector has grown rapidly over the last ten years. It is estimated
that about 35-40 publishing companies producing general and trade books release
between 10-15 new titles each year. A large number, between 100 to 150, of medium and
smaller publishers annually publish 5-10 books each.
 The National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) publish primary level books for
the Ministry of Education. The NCTB works closely with the Publishers and Booksellers
Association. The bulk of the secondary level books are also produced for the NCTB by
members of the Association who are called publishers but are actually printing
contractors.
 There are now about 20-30 large companies who produce textbooks for the secondary,
higher secondary and tertiary levels. Books for the second stream of primary, and
secondary schools in the private sector are also produced by this group. The school and
college teachers' associations are active participants in the textbook business. The NCTB
approves the books but the teachers have the option to prescribe from the approved list.
Approximately 500-700 new titles have been published each year by the authors
themselves including poetry, fiction, college textbooks and some professional books.
Publishing in this category continues to grow.
15. NGO Publishing: A significant prosperity in the last decade has been the growth of NGO
publishing. This new publishing sector may threaten the business of the private sector in the
future. Initially some NGOs running educational programs- i.e. primary and secondary education,
adult education, and non-formal education - sought books from the private sector. The private
sector, due to lack of capital and uncertain market, were loath to venture into a new and unknown
area of publishing for neo-literates and NGO schools. NGOs running education programs found
easy money from external donors imported tax-free sophisticated printing plants, paper and
colour scanners, hired high-salaried editors and illustrators, and went on to produce attractive

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books. The books are sold at a subsidized price to their own schools and educational programs.
The private sector continues to remain unconcerned and may have missed the opportunity to get
into the business. As the situations stands today, at least four large NGOs publishing educational
textbooks are in business of catering to book requirements of not only their own schools but also
other schools run by smaller NGOs who have taken up such educational programs. Additionally,
such books have found a good market in private schools throughout the country which effect a lot
in the prosperity of publishing industries.
16. Academic and Scholarly Books: The concern for the democratic institutions, the question of
national identity, good governance and economic emancipation, are some of the key issues in recent
history of Bangladesh which are the subjects of academic debates, research and scholarship in
Bangladesh. Such books are published by a handful of private and public sector publishers.
Another area of academic publishing is education and development issues. Bangladesh has come to be
a centre of development initiatives with the largest aid package recipient in the third world. Through
the publication of books on this subject Bangladesh is able to share its experience of dealing with aid,
trade, environment, disaster management, appropriate technology, and the well-known Bangladeshi
micro credit models - the Grameen Bank and other experiences.
The impact of scholarly books in Bangladesh today may not be very significant, but Bangladesh has a
great tradition of scholarly pursuits and writings. About 200 scholarly books are published in
Bangladesh annually. Significantly some Bangladeshi publishers have established international
linkages and developed co-publication arrangements. A Dhaka publisher has launched a few Asian
editions in collaboration with a leading multinational publisher. If achievements in this area can be
advanced and sustained, Bangladesh publishing will not be unprepared for the 21st century. So these
are so important steps for Bangladesh in the prosperity of publishing industries.
17. Modernization: There has been a tremendous prosperity in the technology for book production in
Bangladesh. Such as-
 All grades of quality papers are allowed to be imported into Bangladesh as are printing inks
and other requisites.
 The latest, most efficient versions of DTP and multimedia computers and processors are
available in the country for making 'camera-ready' copy for both Bengali and English books.
 The technology for colour scanning and high-quality printing is now well established.
 The skills to operate such equipment and produce excellent results have been demonstrated in
the production of a number of coffee table editions on various topics by publishers in
Bangladesh.
 Fortunately, in Bangladesh the first democratic government responded to the demands of the
publishing sector and in August 1992 the Ministry of Cultural Affairs formed a broad-based
National Committee to formulate the National Book Policy. The Committee's
recommendations for a Book Policy we reapproved by the Parliamentary Committee and
subsequently by the Cabinet in early 1995. The Government has since formed an
Implementation Committee to implement the National Book Policy. The author of this paper
was a member of the Core Committee of the National Committee for Book Policy and has
prepared an English version of the National Book Policy of Bangladesh which is given in the
Appendix to this paper.

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18. Stopping piracy: Piracy of books in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh is a major impediment to book
marketing in the SAARC region. The question of copyright and protection of intellectual property
needs to be considered in this context which is already under process. This is a great step against
piracy which causes hindrance in the prosperity of publishing industries especially in our country.
19. The South Asian Context: Besides being a tool for education and human resource development,
books are now an international product and a cultural commodity. They are both a vehicle for
development and a record of progress. In order to ensure appropriate prosperity, effective
dissemination and distribution of books would call for new partnerships. Also, with a view to putting
the right book in to the hands of the students and general readers, most of the impediments of price,
size, quality, adaptation and availability can be resolved by careful joint ventures and broad-based
distribution arrangements inter-regionally.
There is also the matter of promoting indigenous publishing which shall have to be given priority. Co-operation
at the regional level for books which have a common market, such as books in the following
languages: English, Bengali, Urdu, Tamil, etc. would strengthen the industry.
In every country textbooks are among the most political commodities. A knowledge system is a
powerful combination of forces which dominates in many ways the development and dissemination of
new ideas, the links between resources, expertise, the size of the academic system and infrastructure.
This means that ideas and knowledge products are to a significant degree centralized within the
countries, therefore, in this context, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
countries (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Pakistan, Nepal, Maldives and Afghanistan) willing
to cooperate in textbook production shall have to consider de-politicizing the content of the textbooks.
These issues need to be deliberated upon by the regional partners. The library network in the member
states would be a topic of consideration in any partnership deliberations because libraries are a major
client for books. They need to be enriched with books on art, culture and history of the South Asian
countries. There is a wide variation in the book production level within the SAARC countries - ranging
from 23 titles (Maldives) to 55,000 titles (India) per year. There exists some infrastructure of the book
industry at various stages of development in each of the member states. However, the bulk of the
demand for books remains unfulfilled in all member countries, resulting in undue reliance on imported
books. This, consequently, retarding the growth of indigenous authorship and publishing.
20. Organizing “education for all” program: Some SAARC countries have taken up the program of
“Education for all" by the year 2000. Hence whatever the stage of development in the countries of the
region, availability of books constitutes a basic and vital component of educational expansion. Also the
thirst for knowledge and the need for more and better books at reasonable prices and their widest
possible distribution to inaccessible places within the countries of the region calls for regional co-operation
in the area of book production and distribution. This co-operation must be essentially based
on the premise that there are advantages to be derived from coming together in order to benefit from
collective strength, while retaining individuality. The signing of the South Asian Preferential Trade
(SAPTA) by the SAARC countries has opened up new horizons for intra-regional trade and Article 3 of
SAPTA encourages such cooperation among potential trading partners.

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21. The Case of Copyright in South Asia: As in all developing countries, copyright here is seen as a
barrier to free flow of knowledge and information! Piracy and copyright violations are a major
impediment to the development of a strong indigenous book industry. The 'privacy culture' prevails. A
glaring example is the vernacular press in this region. Translations of works of foreign authors take up
large spaces in newspapers to keep the readers informed of the most current works of the creative
minds of the world, without any reference to the owners of copyright. The other embarrassing example
is the large scale piracy in Bangladesh of the educational books prescribed in English medium private
schools preparing students for British universities 'O' and 'A' levels certificate examinations. Some of
the government agencies of this region have embarked upon translations and reprinting of important
reference and textbooks for students' education without even referring to the authors or publishers of
the books. In order to protect the interests of the authors, the interest of the state to protect creators of
library and artistic works and to develop its own national cultural heritage, development of national
copyright laws in conformity with the international copyright treaties must become a priority in
countries where copyright protection is minimal. Recognition of copyright would be incomplete if
limited to national frontiers. This is so since every country, through the creative activity of its
nationals, has something to offer to humanity.
22. The Asian Context: Singapore and Hong Kong have been long-term partners in book trade with
Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Major American and British publishers have regional publishing
outlets or offices in Singapore and Hong Kong, which have traditionally met the needs for imported
books in the South Asian region. Indian publishers have already set up important links with the book
trade in Australia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Myanmar. Some of the Indian book
distributors are already trading South Asian books in these markets. It will not be long before
Bangladesh and Pakistan will be finding markets in East Asia for their books. As indigenous books
develop in the South Asian region over the next two decades, inter-regional trade is bound to grow on
sound footing. The advance in technology and the expansion of the Internet and multimedia have
brought forth new possibilities in collaboration in the Asia Pacific region. These new systems can
only help us develop our creativity and innovativeness in marshalling our strengths to take advantage
of the fundamental shift in the publishing industry that is taking place throughout the world. This is
because economic gaps have widened and books published in the North have become unaffordable in
the South.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, we may say that publishing in Bangladesh has been a constant struggle to overcome the
constraints. With the implementation of the National Book Policy and strengthening of the institutions
responsible to provide infrastructural support, the publishing industry is destined to become viable.
Moreover, if Bangladesh publishers are able to advance and sustain their existing achievements, there
should be no difficulty for the industry to step safely into the next century.