Antonio Gramsci, an Italian philosopher and theoretician,
coined the popular term “hegemony”.
Hegemony simply means the dominance/ governance of one social group over
the others. This literary term can been used and perceived in many different
ways. According to me, hegemony prevails in all aspects of our life whether it
is gender or politics.
This dogma when applied to the present scenario holds more
than a little value. The Indian publishing industry too is very hegemonic in
nature i.e. divided into two noticeable groups– the influential or the
governing and not-so-influential one. Books published by publishing houses such
as Penguin Books, Random House, Rupa Publications, Harper Collins, Leadstart Publishing
House, Westland Publishers among several others are always creating or making
news. We are all huge Penguin fans and keep track of its new releases, special
days, etc. But do we give any thought to the independent publishing houses
prevailing in India? We are barely aware of their presence as well as their
work. Several small publishing houses are doing brilliant groundbreaking work,
but their achievements and success is deeply buried and crushed within this
power play.
They [independent/ small-time publishing houses] seem to be nothing more than lifeboats adrift in a sea of bestsellers – providing a lifeline for unknown talents, for subjects that have been neglected or rediscovered and for a whole lot of other crazy stuff.
The above quote fits perfectly. For palpable reasons the
small time publishing houses do not have such resources and capital to create
as much publicity and awareness as their counterparts. They sure do face a lot
of problems marketing their books, getting more readerships, etc., but how
often do we give them a chance? Publishing houses such as Zubaan Books, Blaft
Publications, Indus Source, Queer Ink Publishers among several others are
making history with their cutting-edge fiction and non-fiction books. But how
many of you guys have heard about them, and about the kind of books they
publish? The finest thing about these publishing houses is their passion. The
innate desire to discover the buried treasures in Indian literature is what
keeps them determined. These indie publishing houses are more absorbed in
creating and bringing out the forbidden/ untouched content. They are not consumerist
by nature; it is more of quality books than quantity– providing the readers
with diversity and multiplicity in terms of story.
Isn’t this anything but a power play?
We reside in a capitalist society where we are so engulfed by
the big shots that we rarely glance or give others a chance. There is indeed a
dire need to break-free from this hegemonic rule and look at everyone equally.
There is no doubt in the fact that Penguin Books, and several other big
publishers provide us with exciting and enthralling stories, but we need to
unearth new forms of literature, look beyond the ordinary and these independent
publishing houses are doing just that.
