Trading in intellect

With India and Pakistan attempting to improve relations on several fronts, buses and trains have been moving with increased frequency across the border; don't be surprised if we soon have truckloads of books being waved through.

Pakistan's Vanguard Books is exporting some of its choicest titles to India, through a distribution agreement it has signed with India's Foundation Books. Najam Sethi, chief executive, Vanguard Books, explains that changes in Pakistan's trade policy have facilitated freer exchange of books.

"Earlier, we could export books only against an advance payment," says Sethi, who doubles as editor of The Friday Times, "but six months ago the trade regime was liberalised, so we are grabbing the opportunity with both hands."

This means that a range of books on the politics and economics of Pakistan will soon be available in the Indian market. Vanguard's just-published titles include Dollars, Debts and Deficits by Ishrat Husein, the governor of the State Bank of Pakistan and Pakistan's Search for Identity by former judge Javed Iqbal.

"Vanguard has a high-quality list of titles," says Manas Saikia, chief executive, Foundation Books. "We believe it is important that these be made available, not just to Indian academics but also to general readers who may be interested in the Pakistani viewpoint on various issues."

Established in 1978, Vanguard has a turnover of $1 million each in its publishing and imports divisions. The company has acquired a reputation over the years for publishing controversial books by leading historians, economists, feminists and human rights activists.

But the editor-publisher also wants to ensure that the traffic continues to move both ways. "We are keen to buy rights from Indian publishers to print books in Pakistan," he says, adding that talks have been initiated with publishing companies like Harper-Collins and Penguin.

However, he points out that the market for English publications "" especially fiction "" is very small in Pakistan and that even translations don't sell too well. "Unlike India, we don't have a real English-speaking middle-class," says Sethi.

Besides, he says, the book industry is not as big there as it is here. "At a book fair in Pakistan you'll have maybe 30 stalls and 2,000 people, while in India it will be around 2,000 stalls and 200,000 visitors."