Let’s begin with a very basic question first. What is Children’s literature? It is a body of texts such as poems, books, short stories and more that have been created especially for the ages zero to twelve. After that, the literature that is produced is called Young Adult. One of the trademarks of identifying children’s literature is its colourfulness. But unfortunately, it suffers from the myopic lens of cliches such as innocence, fantasy, or utter romanticisation. As a grown-up, you must have heard this phrase ‘childhood is the happiest time of mankind’. This kind of perception can create an understanding that children’s literature is easy and simple, which is not the case at all. Children’s literature is of equal importance to any other genre. Children are very malleable, hence the stories we tell them have the potential to become the benchmarks of their adult lives. 

In this article, we will look at children’s literature and its development in India through a bird’s-eye view. Children’s literature in India has had various eras from independence up until now. At the beginning, there was the oral tradition of listening to stories by grandparents. This culture has receded exceedingly in the present times, and various social changes are to blame. However, these oral stories have been translated into books, with many titles offering them in a written format. The range of these stories is personal or derived from mythical retellings. Retelling is a major chunk of children’s literature in India. Common are the stories where fantasy is mixed with moral lessons of hard work, truth or kindness and more. Writing children’s literature was a way to ingrain these desired ethical qualities. This is also one of the reasons why you see moral lessons pointed out at the end of stories. 

Beyond this, there were the classics such as Panchtantra, which is a collection of stories and has retained it’s charm till today. Then there was Chanda Mama, an Indian monthly magazine founded by Mr Nagi Reddy and Mr Chakrapani in 1947. It’s first edition had 6,000 copies in Tamil and Telugu languages and sold out instantly. It was such a success that there was a time when the magazine was published in twelve languages. Further to this, in the capital of the country, the iconic Champak was launched in 1969 by the Delhi Press group. It started out as a Hindi magazine and is now published in over eight languages. It still continues to have a sizable readership today as well.

The establishment of the Children’s Book Trust 

The Children’s Book Trust was established in 1957 by Keshav Shankar Pillai, popularly known as Shankar. He was a revered political cartoonist of the country, contributing dedicatedly to children’s literature with this non – profit institution. The establishment of the Children’s Book Trust was a formal step in solidifying and taking children’s literature seriously. They have laid the foundation of the children’s book publishing arena. Some of their famous titles include – The Donkey, Two of a Kind, and The Magic Shawl. Moreover, they also conduct creative workshops and competitions for children.

The domino effect of this change worked in such a manner that publishing houses dedicated solely to children started coming up or they started launching children’s editions. For instance, Penguin’s children’s edition is called Puffin. Today, the country houses numerous publishing houses, and to go further into depth on this, you may refer to this article – https://himalayanwritingretreat.com/childrens-book-publishers-in-india/

Second half of Children’s literature in India

In the past decade or so, a new story has been emerging. India’s culture has undergone a significant amount of changes, and it reflects the way children interact with literature now. Children’s literature has witnessed a change with stories of inclusivity being favoured more. In extension to that, the focus has increased on real lives, real emotions and voices that feel relatable. Furthermore, the emphasis on moral values has decreased, and issues of bullying, gender, identity and mental health are being discussed. There are a myriad of reasons that can be attributed to this change. With independent publishing houses choosing what stories they want to tell, children themselves becoming authors, structured feedback being put into place and the accessibility to writers, there is but one thing to acknowledge here: this change shows growth.  

For example, Devika Cariapa is a children’s book writer and has published most of her titles with Tulika Books. I would like to point out the titles of the book to expand on this visible change. Her titles include – India Through People: 25 Game Changers, Uncle Nehru, Please Send an Elephant! and India Through Archaeology: Excavating History. Her writing style is non – fiction and talks about historical events that have changed the course of our nation. This is the kind of literature that is in demand now. 

Festivals for children’s literature

Another milestone for children’s literature in India was the emergence of festivals celebrating this genre. Literature festivals have become the breeding ground for communities, making books alive and keeping that conversation going. These festivals offer workshops, quizzes and storytelling sessions to facilitate the imagination of children. The first one and the most popular in our list is the Bookaroo festival. It is India’s first Children’s literature festival and was established in 2008. It was founded by Jo Williams, Swati Roy and Venkatesh M Swamy. 

Others followed, such as the Neev Literature festival, which was established in 2017 and happens in Bangalore annually. They have also constituted a Neev Book Award in 2018 to identify and nurture children’s literature in India. In Mumbai, there’s a one day festival called Peek – a – boo aimed at kids aged four to fourteen years old.  In Bhubaneshwar, the National Children’s Literary Festival is hosted by KiiT International School and has featured renowned authors such as Ruskin Bond.

The challenges faced by children’s literature in India

The most pervasive challenge is the omnipresence of screens in today’s day and age. From smartphones, iPads, tablets, to gaming, children have shifted towards digital spaces for entertainment and educational purposes. It has a direct impact on imagination, the patience that is required to read books and the decreasing attention spans. It gives rise to a bigger question: If the readers themselves disappear, then who will produce the books? 

The habit of reading is not just to inculcate values or improve language. Reading goes far beyond that; it is a practice that becomes your solace, a mirror that helps you in introspection and understanding the complexities of your own human emotions. Through stories, children learn to imagine worlds beyond their immediate surroundings and develop empathy for lives and experiences different from their own. With artificial intelligence on the rise, and the blue light becoming our constant, it poses a threat to the innocence we celebrated. 

Moreover, children’s books reveal a gap between the urban and the rural child. While many strides have been made to showcase the multilingualness of the country and the diversity it has to offer, books are very uneven in the way readers meet the protagonists. The dominant narrative that comes out is a metropolitan city with emphasis on urban imagery and an upper – caste kid, which is something that needs to change.  

Conclusion

Children’s literature in India has had a long, arduous journey to reach where it is today. The field is more dynamic than ever, and inclines towards stories closer to home rather than the Western foundation that their previous generations have grown up with. This is a wonderful time for Indian writers who write for children to blossom and give stories that have been waiting so patiently to be told. 

This shift also denotes how children are active stakeholders in their own consumption patterns and have autonomy in choosing what they would like to read.