Slowly but steadily, a decade-old business around the dead and universally despised dictator Adolf Hitler is emerging as a small-scale industry in India. Books and memorabilia on the German leader's life have found a steady market in some sections of Indian society where he is idolised and admired, mostly by the young. The numbers are small but seem to be growing. Latest reports say Bollywood is now planning to cash in. A film - Dear Friend Hitler - is due to be released by the end of the year, focusing on the dictator's relationship with his mistress Eva Braun. It's hard to narrow down what makes the dictator popular in India, but some young people say they are attracted by his "discipline and patriotism". Most of them are, however, quick to add that they do not approve of his racial prejudices and the Holocaust in which millions of Jews were killed. But the truth is that books, T-shirts, bags and key-rings with his photo or name on do sell in India. And his autobiography, Mein Kampf, sells the most. 'Bestseller' Jaico, the largest publisher and distributor of Mein Kampf in India, has sold more than a 100,000 copies in the last 10 years. Crossword, an India-wide chain of book stores, has sold more than 25,000 copies since 2000 and marketing head Sivaram Balakrishnan says: "It's been a consistent bestseller for us." And demand seems to be growing. Jaico's chief editor RH Sharma says: "There has been a steady rise of 10% to 15% in the book's sale." Until two years ago, a typical Mumbai (Bombay) bookstore sold 40-50 copies of Mein Kampf a year. Now the figure is more like several hundred copies annually. The more well-heeled the area, the higher the sales. For example, the Crossword outlet in Mumbai's affluent Bandra district sells, on average, three copies a day. The book has several editions and is available in vernacular Indian languages too. Mannyes Booksellers in the western city of Pune keeps at least four editions. There are at least seven publishers now competing with Jaico. Global sales figures for Mein Kampf are hard to come by, but the book sells well in other parts of the world too. In the US, it sold 26,000 copies last year 2009. In 2005 it sold 100,000 copies in Turkey in just a few months. The Arabic imprint is popular in the Palestinian territories. Mein Kampf is published by Random House in the UK but the company would not give sales figures to the BBC. 'Positive and negative' Nearly all the booksellers and publishers contacted in India say it is mainly young people who read Mein Kampf. It's not just the autobiography - books on the Nazi leader, T-shirts, bags, bandanas and key-rings are also in demand. A shop in Pune, called Teens, says it sells nearly 100 T-shirts a month with Hitler's image on them. Prayag Thakkar, a 19-year-old student in Gujarat state, is one of them: "I have idolised Hitler ever since I have had a sense of history. I admire his leadership qualities and his discipline." The Holocaust was bad, he says, but that is not his concern. "He mesmerised the whole nation with his leadership and iron discipline. India needs his discipline." Dimple Kumari, a research associate in Pune, has not read Mein Kampf but she would wear the Hitler T-shirt out of admiration for him. She calls him "a legend" and tries to put her admiration for him in perspective: "The killing of Jews was not good, but everybody has a positive and negative side." Shilpi Guha says she started reading the book but could not finish it and she wouldn't like to dwell on the dictator's negative side. In the past, a couple of right-wing Hindu leaders have also expressed their admiration for Hitler. But young Indians' fascination for him has been explained succinctly by academic Govind Kulkarni: "The youth look for a hero, a patriot, and Hitler was a committed patriot. He is seen as someone who can solve problems. The young people here are faced with a lot of problems." Mr Kulkarni says he believes the young are gullible and fail to see the sinister side of Hitler. "Young people have no sense of history. The book is thick and not easy to understand unless you know the history of Germany," he says. Amit Tripathi, a Mumbai-based scholar, read the book a long time ago but just out of curiosity. "I didn't find the book inspiring at all. It was interesting to read how he coped with his days of struggle, but his ideology of racial purity smacked of racism." source
The movie I'd watch, because the whole topic is of great interest to me - however I find tshirts in incredibly poor taste. I wonder what the split in interest is in terms of Muslims and Hindus - it would be interesting to find out.
I wore one when I was dirt poor - it was my only long sleeved shirt and it was Winter - my mother bought it not understanding who it was (it was arty and not as clear as most you see). That was awkward >.<;
Since your experience in life is just being a coward, scared of everything and putting your tail between your legs and running, I can understand why do you hate Che since he was everything that you wish to be, educated, brave and a soldier. I bet you wish you were 1% of a man that he was but that wish will never be true and you always be the little willy. Compare what Jean Paul Sartre one of the leading philosopher of 20 century says about him with worthless blog that you linked to: Sartre went to Cuba in the '60s to meet Fidel Castro and spoke with Ernesto "Che" Guevara. After Guevara's death, Sartre would declare him to be "not only an intellectual but also the most complete human being of our age"[15] and the "era's most perfect man."[16] Sartre would also compliment Che Guevara by professing that "he lived his words, spoke his own actions and his story and the story of the world ran parallel." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Paul_Sartre
Fans of Che are typically those who romanticize the shit that happened, actually. Why, do you get your rocks off to murder and the like, gworld?
Which murder are you talking about Iraq, Afghanistan, Argentina,.................? I am sure since your mom once bought you a Che t-shirt then you know more about the subject than Sartre.
1) My mother buying some shirt that looked arty and that she wasn't aware was actually his face until I pointed it out actually has little to do with anything serious; I simply commented that I recall it reading this thread, and how awkward I felt wearing it until I could afford a new long sleeved shirt. (As stated, I was poor then.) 2) When did I imply I knew more than Sartre? Stating that Che is a murderer who has been romanticized is fact - is there a part of that wish to dispute or are you simply looking for an argument without any actual disagreement?
You are the one who is claiming he was a murderer, so tell us why or do you think every soldier is a murderer. I repeat Sartre opinon of him: Sartre went to Cuba in the '60s to meet Fidel Castro and spoke with Ernesto "Che" Guevara. After Guevara's death, Sartre would declare him to be "not only an intellectual but also the most complete human being of our age"[15] and the "era's most perfect man."[16] Sartre would also compliment Che Guevara by professing that "he lived his words, spoke his own actions and his story and the story of the world ran parallel." Do you think Sartre would write the above words if he was murderer?
.... Wait, so you don't actually believe that he was a murderer? It's all one big conspiracy that never actually happened? And why exactly do you hold Sartre in such high regard? We ARE talking about the same Sartre, right? The man who stated "Hell is other people"?
Lets talk on topic guys. I am an Indian and I am no fan of the Nazi despot. I think one of the reasons some young Indians idolize Hitler is they know little about the holocaust. In school curriculum, whatever WWII history is taught focuses mainly on the events affecting India and its freedom struggle. In any case people have the option to drop history as a subject after 10th grade...and most opt out of it in favor of more employable subjects like commerce and sciences. Of course the war is surely mentioned along with details about who was on which side and how it began and ended. But the holocaust just gets a passing reference. Actually the problem with the Indian education system at school level is its heavily based on learning a single textbook per subject which is approved by an educational body, but is often too brief for people to develop any real interest or understanding. Kids aren't encouraged to research from different sources. Exams at the end of the year are the main criteria to pass the subject whichencourages rote learning without understanding. Although I am a product of the same curricula I had a keen interest in history and therefore I'm well read on most of the important events in the past
I have to agree with you sar420. I work with a lot of Indians, and I work with them by my own choice, but there are some serious problems with the Indian educational system. The folks I work with are great, but that's more in spite of the Indian educational system than because of it. The requirements of business today are for independent individuals who are capable of determining what needs to be done and how it can be done -- and then getting it done. There is way too much respect for authority in Indian schools. Rote memorization is not useful today, and I'm not even sure it was useful in the past. India needs to learn from George S. Patton, who said “Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.â€
LOL. Little willy is now a philosopher and that is on top of being a x-box general. You are claiming he was murderer then try to discuss it or as I said previously do you think that all soldiers are murderers? What are you asking, do you believe hell is a hot place under the ground when Satan tortures the sinful?
Agree on all the points Will. A massive overhaul of the system is needed. I hope that happens soon so that the students that come out think independently and objectively. And like in education, the Indian entrepreneurs have helped India's economy grow at a good pace during the past decade..in spite of the government and not because of it. George S Patton is spot on by the way. Cheers for the quote.
Couldn't agree with you more, I still remember learning WWII in 9th grade and hell there was nothing about Hitler's deeds, I believe 99% of Indians even the learned ones won't have any idea about holocaust, Jews, Israel, history of middle east etc. So it's more about curiosity and ignorance than anything else that people read Mein Kampf or wear that t shirt with Nazi print, about that movie "controversy sells"
Che was far from being a soldier. His victims were tied up for him before he shot them. For anyone who is truly interested: http://reason.com/blog/2008/12/11/killer-chic-hollywoods-sick-lo http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=2054 http://www.capitalismmagazine.com/world/cuba/4450-Che-Guevara-Assassin-and-Bumbler.html http://www.therealcuba.com/MurderedbyChe.htm http://97.74.65.51/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=26996 http://www.collegiatetimes.com/stories/10820/column-che-guevara-exposing-myths-about-a-murderer http://smartgirlnation.com/2009/05/is-that-a-murderer-on-your-t-shirt-the-truth-about-che-guevara/