Literary Festivals vs Leisure Reading: The Myth of a Reading Nation

India’s book fest culture doesn’t prove mass leisure reading, access, caste and class barriers show pleasure reading remains a privilege of a small elite, not the norm.

on Feb 26, 2026

Literary Festivals vs Leisure Reading: The Myth of a Reading Nation

An article from the Guardian has sparked conversation about whether reading for enjoyment is genuinely happening in India, considering all of the literary festivals being hosted across the country. Some media outlets in India (like Outlook) have defended the argument that India has a robust festival culture as evidence of a high volume of readers involved with reading; however, according to an article appearing on Newslaundry.com, this view overlooks a number of the broader systemic issues that affect reading as a leisure activity. Simply because many people go to book fairs doesn’t mean that they read for leisure; in fact, education and/or accessing books as an economic means of support is what many Indians use reading for, and both the ability to read as well as reading as a leisure activity are limited across different caste classifications, classes, and geographic regions in India (as well as by time spent reading). According to the author, people who read for pleasure primarily do so due to socio-economic privileges, and that more inclusive opportunities/ways to access than are currently available are needed to allow all people to be able to read for joy and thus satisfy their desire to read for pleasure as well.