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Bangladesh books are helping Indian students appear at Indian Civil Service and West Bengal Civil Service examinations.
The sale of the books on international affairs and general intelligence question (I.Q.) is on the rise in the Indian market, especially in West Bengal.
"We are selling a handsome amount of books in West Bengal…and demands for our books are on the rise," said Tareque Hasan, the owner of Miller's Publishers, a well-known publisher of Bangladesh Civil Service preparatory books.
Seeing Miller's business, some publishers have been on the lookout to explore the huge Indian market and some of them have succeeded. Gyankosh is selling a Bangla computer guidebook and Emdadia Library is selling its books on Islam, mainly in Kolkata and its vicinity.
Hasan said Indian graduates are found serious about ICS and WBCS exams and they take preparations in coaching centres for at least a year to appear at the competitive examinations.
"I am teaching at a Kolkata preparatory centre to promote my books," Hasan said and added that an Indian student pays as much as Rs 22,000 for a 12-month coaching.
He said Muslims of West Bengal prefer reading Bangladeshi Islamic books because, "many Indians believe those books are better."
Hasan sells 20,000 books on general knowledge in India prior to an exam. "If there are two such exams a year, I would sell 40,000 books," he said.
Millers has reached agreements with different Indian publishers to have reprinting rights of some Indian reference books in Bangladesh and sell them.
A large number of medical colleges, engineering and business administration universities in Bangladesh active their students to read Indian books as referencers.
"I have signed three 'deeds' with Indian publishers to allow me to re-print and sell their books in Bangladesh," Hasan said and added that some books on business statistics, business mathematics, anatomy, physiology and business communication are hot cakes for Bangladeshi students.
He said English grammar books written by Wren and Martin and PC Das are also selling very well in Bangladesh. "I am selling 50 to 60 thousand English grammar books a year", he said.
Other than preparatory books, analytical and paperbacks are selling more in West Bengal.
During the recent Kolkata book fair, Bangladesh publishers sold novels of Humayun Ahmed, poetry books of Nirmalendu Goon and Reza Uddin Stalin and many other critical essays on literature, said individuals who attended the Kolkata Book fair.
"Reza Uddin Stalin is happy to see the sales of his poetry book," said Suhita Sultana, sister of Reza Uddin Stalin.
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