Mumbai: At a time when the country is ridden with violence, corruption and deceit, it would surprise many to know that Mahatma Gandhi's autobiography, which gives the message of truth, non-violence and peace, is one of the top-selling books, says a Gandhian.
"This is true since 257,000 copies were sold last year," says TRK Somaiya, programme co-ordinator, Bombay Sarvodaya Mandal, an organisation that promotes Gandhian principles.
"And to spread the message of peace of the Mahatma today, when his 141st birth anniversary will be celebrated across the country, more than 15,000 copies of Gandhi's My Experiments with Truth, an autobiography, will be sold by management students of the National Institute of Industrial Engineering at Mumbai's shopping malls, offices, schools and colleges," he said.
The demand for the book went up in 1984 after the release of Richard Attenborough's film Gandhi, at around the same time the Gandhi Book Centre started. Today, the Centre has 250 titles on Gandhi, in different languages. Though sales of these books went down for a while, Somaiya says they have recently increased. "It went up after the release of Bollywood film Lage Raho Munnabhai which dwelt with Gandhian ideals," he said.
Peace exam
Over 140,000 copies of the book, translated into 12 Indian languages and six foreign languages, were sold from April to September this year. About 350,000 copies will be sold by March 2011, he says with confidence.
This year, 110,000 students from Kerala and 55,000 students from Maharashtra voluntarily sat the Gandhi Peace Exam, based on Gandhi's autobiography.
The Sarvodaya Mandal has, over five years, distributed more than 2,500 copies of this book in various jails in Maharashtra. Munnabhai said the inmates first watch the film Gandhi. "A large number of prisoners express their desire to read Gandhiji's autobiography after seeing the film," he added.
