An Empire of Books: The Naval Kishore Press and the Diffusion of the Printed Word in Colonial India

by Ulrike Stark

The history of the book and the commercialization of print in the nineteenth century remain largely uncharted areas in South Asia. This major monograph on the legendary Naval Kishore Press of Lucknow (est. 1858)—then the foremost publishing house in the subcontinent—represents something of a breakthrough. It analyses an Indian publisher’s engagement in the field of cultural production with a detail and rigour hitherto unknown.

Describing early centres and pioneers of print in North India, the author traces the coming of the book in Hindi and Urdu. The career of Munshi Naval Kishore (1836–95) is viewed as exemplifying the publisher’s rise to prominence in the colonial public sphere. Ulrike Stark examines the publishing house in its roles as commercial enterprise and intellectual centre. Against a backdrop of cultural, social, and economic developments, she analyses the production of scholarly and popular books in religion, medicine, historiography, and literature, identifying the contributions of individual scholars, literati, and translators associated with the press.

The business relationship between publisher and colonial government receives special attention as an example of the transactional character of the colonial encounter. Aspects of patronage, competition, and contested agency in textbook production are foregrounded.

Concluding with an analysis of patterns of Hindi and Urdu publishing, the book portrays the Naval Kishore Press as an intellectual microcosm reflecting a still vibrant composite culture.

This book is invaluable for anyone interested in print culture, intellectual networks, and the cultural history of modern India.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

606 pages

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stark's work helps to make the landscape of late 19th century North Indian publishing much less stark. This is a long awaited work on the most important publisher in 19th century India and his publishing house. She includes a great amount of helpful information on Newal Kishore's publishing history, the way in which he commercialized print and how he helped to shape new forms of knowledge production while preserving older literary, cultural and religious traditions. This is a great resource for anyone working on the history of the book in South Asia, late 19th century literary history, Hindi-Urdu walas, and historians of modern South Asia. While the book contains a plethora of information I think that Stark could have made better use of the material. For example, apart from showing the reader how Newal Kishore combated linguistic and religious secretarianism by publishing religious works from both Hindu and Islamic traditions she offers very few theoretical or historical insights. With the material she painstakingly collected I think she could have gone further in her analysis, venturing to make some larger historical and theoretical claims. That said it is still a great work of scholarship and is a must have for all scholars working on modern South Asia.