Publishers, writers upset as ‘book post’ is discontinued

Earlier this month, India Post suspended subsidised delivery of books and magazines

Publishers and authors in Bengaluru are worried about higher postal rates for delivery of books. 

India Post discontinued the book packet service, popularly known as ‘book post’, under which the postal department delivered books and magazines at subsidised rates.

The development comes in the wake of the Post Office Act of 2023 replacing the Indian Post Office Act of 1898. New rates are in force since December 18.

Dhananjaya N of Jeerunde Pustaka and Beetle Book Shop uses social media to reach customers directly, and is now coming to terms with higher postal rates.

Sending a book weighing less than 500 gm used to cost Rs 27 including GST. To send it via registered parcel now costs Rs 47, he says.

“An additional cost is packaging. Book post was sent without a cover, or in an unfastened envelope. It has gone up from Rs 27 to Rs 50, which is about double,” he says. 

“It’s sad,” says writer and publisher Vasudhendra. It is the government’s duty to encourage reading for the progress of common citizens, he avers.

Guruprasad D N of Aakruthi Books says, “Since Nehru’s time, the book packet service has encouraged reading. It was convenient. But now, the government, without any consultation, has removed the service.” He believes the decision will hasten the death of reading.

“Now, India Post is like any other courier service,” says Vasudhendra, author of several bestselling books in Kannada, and proprietor of publishing house Chanda Pustaka. 

Impacts rural areas

Private couriers can step in, but only India Post covers all the pincodes in the country, observes Dhananjaya. 

Vasudhendra agrees. “There aren’t many bookstores in the rural areas.” Things were looking up in recent years, though. With information about books being posted on social media, readers living in remote areas were placing orders online. “We were sending books using this service and getting payment through UPI. It was a smooth process,” he says. 

Kuntady Nithesh of Ruthumana, which publishes mostly non-fiction books, believes the decision will stifle dissent. “Books published by independent publishers are not available at all book stores across India. One reason is their themes — many owners hesitate to keep certain books in their stores.”

Price sensitive 

Guruprasad says that the Kannada book market is highly price sensitive. “If a 100-page book, for example, is priced at more than Rs 120, people question the price. Publishers try their best to sell at least 1,000 copies before they can publish another book,” he says. 

Vasudhendra believes the withdrawal of ‘book post’ mainly impacts regional language book publishers who banked on the service extensively. “English language books are more expensive and this extra charge will perhaps not matter,” he says. Nithesh says that the “government shouldn’t be seeking profits in every service”.

An association of Kannada publishers plans to write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi against the decision, according to Vasudhendra.

“First they increased the GST on printing services and paper. It cannot be reclaimed because books are not subject to GST. Now, this,” he says.

Indirect attack 

“This is an attack on intellectual freedom and rational thinking,” says
G N Mohan, senior journalist, author and proprietor of Bahuroopi. In his opinion, the government views books as an “enemy because it stimulates rationality”. “Publishers are already facing the brunt of high GST imposed on printing,” he says. 

Guruprasad also looks at the decision as an attempt by the Modi government to undermine intellectual activities. “If the central government has no ill intent, it must bring back the service,” he says.