'Flies Off Shelves': Lucknow Publisher On Pocket-Size Red-And-Black Constitution Used In Oppn Protest

This edition of Constitution is published by Lucknow-based Eastern Book Company (EBC), which claims to have sold about 5,000 copies of the book in the last three months. 

The inaugural session of the 18th Lok Sabha on Monday was marked by an Opposition protest against what they described as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “attack” on the Constitution. At the demonstration, many Opposition leaders were seen carrying a sleek copy of the Constitution — a leather-bound coat-pocket edition with a red and black cover, which had the words 'Constitution of India' embossed in gold.

The same book was carried by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to rallies for the Lok Sabha election, as he sought to claim that the BJP-led NDA was seeking a 400-plus majority in order to "tamper with the Constitution".

This edition of the Constitution, which has become a symbol of the Opposition's onslaught on the Modi government, is published by Lucknow-based Eastern Book Company (EBC), which claims to have sold about 5,000 copies of the book in the last three months, according to The Times Of India. 

EBC is the sole publisher of the book, which was first printed in 2009 and has had 16 editions since. The book seems to be flying off the shelf, with EBC publisher Sumeet Malik telling TOI that the coat-pocket version “is selling out as soon as they receive fresh stock”.

The book is 624 pages long, printed on Bible paper — thin and durable paper used for books with a large amount of content, like dictionaries. It contains a chapter on the making of the Indian Constitution by Prof Ranbir Singh, former vice-chancellor of National Law University, Delhi.

The TOI report states that the book’s foreword was written by former attorney general K.K. Venugopal and reads, "Every Indian, whether he be a lawyer, judge or not, should have a copy of this little book, small in size but huge in its human dimensions. I believe that this elegant book should be in the pockets of every Indian, enabling him to derive inspiration from the greatness of the ideas contained in the Constitution of India, which we, the people of India, have given unto ourselves." 

EBC has acquired the intellectual property rights to the book, and it cannot be copied by anyone. Malik told TOI that even PM Modi had presented a copy of this edition to Ram Nath Kovind when he was appointed President.

“Supreme Court judges often carry the coat-pocket version when they travel abroad in an official capacity. It's available in many libraries across the world as well," Malik told TOI.