Indian publishing turns the page on translations, as demand rises

Publishers point to growing appetite for varied voices, backed by private and public funding for translated works

On Sunday, the first edition of the Bank of Baroda Rashtrabhasha Samman awarded a Hindi translation of the Urdu novel, Allah Miyan Ka Karkhana, and its author (Mohsin Khan) and translator (Saeed Ahmad). Recognition of translated works is not new in the country. But Indian publishing is now seeing a surge in translations, thanks to a growing appetite for varied voices and backed by private as well as public funding.
 
Manasi Subramaniam, editor in chief, Penguin Press, attributes the growing interest in translations to “the rising global appetite for diverse voices and perspectives” and to the work of “brave