Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated the New Delhi World Book Fair 2026

Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated the New Delhi World Book Fair (NDWBF) 2026.
On the occasion, Qatar's Minister of Culture Abdulrahman bin Hamad bin Jassim bin Al Thani, Spain's Minister of Culture Ernesto Urtasun Dominguez, Director General (Books) of the Ministry of Culture of Spain Ms. Maria Jose Galvez, Secretary of Higher Education Dr. Vinay Joshi, Chairman of the National Book Trust Mr. Malinder Sadhakar Marathe, Director of NBT Mr. Yuvraj Malik, esteemed guests from Qatar and Spain, and senior officials of the Ministry were present. During the ceremony, Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan released the book "The Saga of Kudopali: The Untold Story of 1857", which has been published in various languages including Bengali, Assamese, Punjabi, Malayalam, Urdu, and Marathi. A video based on the Saga of Kudopali was also shown to the audience on the occasion.
Addressing the ceremony, the Union Minister said that NDWBF 2026, which is the world's largest B2B book fair, is not only a confluence of ideas but also a grand celebration of India's strong and vibrant reading culture. He further said that the theme of the book fair "Indian Military History: Valour and Wisdom @75" and the participation of countries like Qatar and Spain have further enhanced the importance of this cultural and literary event.
Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan said that the book "The Saga of Kudopali: The Untold Story of 1857", which highlights the lesser-known chapters of the freedom struggle on the soil of Sambalpur, has been released in 9 Indian languages - Bengali, Assamese, Punjabi, Marathi, Malayalam, and Urdu - as well as an international language, Spanish. He informed that the book was earlier published in Hindi, English, and Odia and is now available in a total of 13 languages. He termed it a commendable effort to pay tribute to the legacy of Veer Surendra Sai and the sacrifices of the martyrs of Kudopali. According to him, this initiative also strengthens India's multilingual tradition and global dialogue.