The Mark Of A Civilized Nation
Man's quest to know the unknown is endless. From the dawn of the human civilization, it is this zest that has persuaded him to tread through the various alleys of wisdom. The relentless effort to know the indefinite and to reach the zenith through the realization of the absolute, compelled them to record and compile the treatises leading to the birth of the novel notion of 'book'. Reading of books has enabled the future generations to know the exploits, noble achievements of their predecessors and to be with the impetus for an enlightened posterior.

With the advent of the 19th century following the footsteps of the Renaissance the radical changes became evident in the mainland of Europe, trailed by others proved to be responsible for the stimulation of books. The clash of contending ideals with the mission of radicalizing the society found its way through championing the cause of dissemination of knowledge through the books. Thus the commendable achievement and intensifying significance of books prove it to be a new method of collection adding the elegance of the aristocratic society. In addition, the rising consciousness of universal education and the subsequent elevating interest in the aspects of literature, the sole mode of entertainment in those days, happened to be another reason for its exponential rise.

Through this growth books have come to be regarded as sacred and an essential activity as almost to worship the Almighty in everyday life. It has a unique concept of keeping the avid reader purposefully and meaningfully engaged. Book reading is regarded, in addition, passion so as to keep mind under control and also an ideal device to know the latest within a very short span of time. It tends to enlarge the world view and a gradual growth of consciousness equipping one through acceptance of all kinds of diverse ideas, originating from civilizations and people at large. It is also known that the dogmatic and indoctrinated bigots prefer not be readers of books. As a matter of fact, they are contemptuous about books and for them the books happen to be blasphemous. This notion has been witnessed through different regimes that have proved to be perditions to the human civilization. More than that any literature criticizing the governmental point of view e regarded as acts of treason. Who can ever forget that several works of William Shakespeare were banned in the Soviet Union in the Stalinist regime! In 1933, at least 10,000 copies of "All Quiet on the Western Front", the First World War classic of Erich Maria Remaraque were burnt by the Nazis being depicted as 'defeatist'. It is known, 'a government's power lies in people's ignorance' and to prevent the populace from being exceedingly enlightened similar acts on behalf of the State Power through curbing books and literature are still being undertaken to restrain the prospects of universal education, throughout the length and breadth of the globe.




Posted by subhasis on Saturday Jul 14  reply


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