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Oxford University Press (OUP) said in September 2017 that it was starting an Indian-language publishing programme so that academic and nonfiction books would reach readers who wanted them in Indian languages but had little access to them. The phrase “after over 100 years” in the question refers to timing. OUP’s India operation dates to 1912, and the dedicated programme launched in 2017, more than a century later. It was not OUP’s first Indian-language book.
The access argument OUP made
In a 2017 interview with Scroll.in, Sugata Ghosh, then director of OUP’s Global Academic Publishing, described a gap between demand and supply. OUP wanted to reach people who aspired to read titles in Indian languages but had limited access to them. He linked the move to changes in India and to growing demand for knowledge resources in Indian languages. The most direct statement of the motive is his:
“We also hope that these books will find wide readership outside of academia, since these are titles that many readers aspire to reading in Indian languages, but hardly have access to.”
This is the publisher’s own explanation. No independent market research is cited to confirm that the demand exists in the size implied.
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Why Hindi and Bengali came first
Ghosh said Hindi and Bengali had wide-ranging readers, writers and speakers, and that they were the most accessible starting point given OUP’s resources. The interview did not fix a number of further languages. OUP’s stated plan was to establish the first two lists before deciding whether to expand. Anyone looking for a target list of additional languages will not find one in the 2017 material.
What the programme covers
The programme was built around academic and nonfiction books. It combined new work with translations, including OUP backlist and frontlist titles and selected nonfiction from other publishers. Ghosh was explicit about a boundary: the programme would not publish original fiction or fiction translations.
| Element | What OUP stated in 2017 | Status today |
|---|---|---|
| Languages | Hindi and Bengali first; no fixed number of later languages | OUP’s Indian Languages Publishing Program catalogue shows Bengali and Hindi sections (accessed 8 October 2026). No later languages were verified. |
| Content | Academic and nonfiction, original and translated | Not verified title by title in the catalogue reviewed |
| Excluded | Original fiction and fiction translation under this programme | Stated boundary from the 2017 interview; no later change reported |
| Formats | Print and digital | Format availability for individual titles not verified |
| Distribution | Major bookstores and e-commerce sites | Current retailer availability not verified |
Why “over 100 years” needs a qualifier
The headline’s time frame works only if it is read as the age of OUP’s India presence at the point the dedicated programme launched. The record shows the following:
- 1912: OUP India’s current About Us page says it published its first local book that year. The page describes 112 years of experience in India; that figure reflects the page’s publication date and may not have been updated.
- 1912 in Bombay: Oxford Academic’s history of the press (Volume III, 1896 to 1970, published 14 November 2013) records that the first branch office opened in Bombay that year and that the Indian list included works in a variety of Indian languages.
- 1970 to 2004: Oxford Academic’s Volume IV (published 1 June 2017) also describes local-language publishing in India.
So the 2017 launch is a new, dedicated programme and an expansion of existing activity. It is not the start of OUP’s Indian-language publishing.
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The constraints OUP named
Ghosh described regional-language publishing as price-sensitive. He said book length can make translation expensive, which can put pressure on quality and design. OUP’s stated position was that it would keep translation, peer review, editorial, design and production standards while looking for ways to keep books affordable.
That is a commitment, not a measured outcome. The 2017 interview gives no price figures and no evidence on actual quality or price results.
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OUP forecast about 10 titles in the first year and 10 to 15 additions each year after that. These were plans stated at launch. They are not verified output.
| Period | Stated forecast (2017) | Verified output |
|---|---|---|
| First year | About 10 titles | Not stated |
| Each later year | 10 to 15 additional titles | Not stated |
The catalogue page confirms that the programme is still listed on OUP India’s site. It does not establish how many titles exist today or how many were published in any year.
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The competitive context in 2017
Ghosh’s interview also mentioned Penguin Random House’s tie-up with Manjul India and Amazon’s plans as contemporaneous competition. Those remarks describe the market as it looked in 2017. They are not a current competitor analysis. If you compare OUP with other publishers today, the useful axes are the ones the interview itself raised: language range, translated versus original nonfiction, backlist versus new acquisitions, print and digital access, price and production quality, distribution, and intended readership.
What is and is not established
- Established: OUP’s stated access rationale, the Hindi and Bengali starting point, the academic and nonfiction scope, the fiction exclusion, and the existence of Hindi and Bengali sections in its current catalogue.
- Not established: whether the launch targets were met, which languages were added after Hindi and Bengali, current annual output, stock levels, or independent demand and sales figures.
If you want to buy one of these books
- Open OUP India’s Indian Languages Publishing Program catalogue and select the Hindi or Bengali section.
- Confirm the title, language, edition and format (print or digital) before you add it to a cart.
- Check the live listing on the retailer’s page for stock and the current price, because the 2017 interview gave no price figures and no retailer availability has been verified.
Taken together, the 2017 record describes a deliberate, narrow expansion built on an access argument, with its output and affordability claims still to be tested by what is actually published.
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