Indian National Congress MP from Kerala Shashi Tharoor claimed (archived link) in his tweet that India’s first and only village book is in Kerala.
In the first step of our research, we did a keyword search and found several articles. These articles refute Mr Tharoor’s claim.
According to a Times of India article dated 25 June 2018, the first village book in India was started in Bhilar, Maharashtra. The article further states that before its launch, two years ago, Bhilar was selected to be turned into a village book. On May 7, 2017, the village received formal recognition as ‘Pustakanche Gao’ or ‘Village of Books.’
The idea behind turning this village into a village book was developed by the state Marathi Vikas Sanstha and education minister Vinod Tawde. More than 75 artists were appointed by the Maharashtra government to create reading hotspots by painting at designated locations in the village. Additionally, 25 locations were selected to be transformed into reading hotspots, divided into categories like poetry, history, biographies, festival specials, biographies, literature and many more.
Apart from this, we also searched the same keyword on YouTube. The Mint report states the same. The description on the Mint’s video states, “Modelled on Hay-on-Wye, the famous ‘town of books’ in Wales, India’s ‘village of books’ is set to come up in Bhilar in Maharashtra.”
Conclusion: The claim that the first village book in India is being launched in Kerala is false as it was first launched in Bhilar, Maharashtra in the year 2017.
| Claim | The first village book in India is being launched in Kerala |
| Claimed by | Shashi Tharoor |
| Fact Check | False |
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