‘Most popular books penned by CM will now find their place in school libraries across state’

Kolkata: Now books penned by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will find their place in the school libraries across the state. The Commissioner of School Education recently sent a list of books that should be kept in the libraries stating that the schools will have to purchase 515 books among which 19 books are written by Banerjee.

“145 books written by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee have been published till date. Among them, the most popular ones will find their place in the school libraries,” said a senior official of the School Education department. The books of Banerjee that should be kept in the school libraries include ‘Upalabdhi’, ‘Pallabi’, ‘Ma’, ‘Pather Sathi’, ‘Chalo Jai’, ‘Manobik’, ‘Kathanjali’ and ‘Crocodile Island’ to name a few.

In the 2024-25 financial year, each government-aided/ sponsored school has received a library grant of Rs 1 lakh. 5 sets of books have been recommended for different districts with a valuation of 1 lakh for each set. A total amount of Rs 20 crore has been sanctioned for 2026 at the rate of Rs 1 lakh per school.

A headmaster of a South Kolkata school informed that books written by Swami Vivekananda, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, William Shakespeare figure in this list of books. It has been stated that on behalf of the publishing trade, Publishers and Book Sellers Guild will facilitate and coordinate between the District Inspector of Schools and publishers for providing books to the concerned schools.