Md.Shamim Ahmad
In the age of information technology where numerous lucrative career opportunities are available for job seekers, a career in book publishing is hardly talked about or chosen by many. But there is good news. India is likely to become a hub for international book publishers in the coming years. Many foreign publishers have set up shops here and multi-national publishers, like Oxford University Press and Macmillan India Limited, which have been in India for over 150 years, are now expanding their bases.
If any country is going to require books on a massive scale over the next few decades, it is India. The expected increasing use of Internet and Web publishing, electronic publishing, CD, and TV for educational purposes will lead, in fact, to an increase in the demand for books, and not to a decline. Today, the Indian publishing industry is ranked third in the world after the USA and the UK and India can be counted among the first seven publishing nations. India has a big literary market with over millions of the adult population who read all sorts of books
The role of a book as an effective medium of education and communication remains unrivalled despite the rapid advances made by the electronic media. In addition to a business, the book publishing industry is an important instrument of social change and development. Book is a remarkable invention for society and a valuable gift to posterity. Your favorite book is also a unique source of recreation and mental therapy. No single invention in the last five centuries can match the impact of a printing press on the course of human development. The printing technology gave wings to the words, and books preserved and transmitted values and wisdom of a community beyond time and space. Books have already demonstrated their vital contribution to individual fulfillment, social growth, and international understanding..
It is interesting to note that, contrary to other industries, the book publishing industry welcomes persons form varied education, skills, experience, and background. Whoever you are, and whatever your background and interest are, the publishing industry has a place for you. Besides, editorial, production and graphics, sales and marketing, the book industry needs people form HR, finance and accounts, and management background.
Publishing is an apprentice industry. It means that much of what a publishing professional needs to know, will be learned on the job. Publishing is about business, design, editorial, marketing, sales, and technology. Publishing is a career that makes you proud. In this environment, you can learn, grow, succeed, and enjoy throughout your career. It is a place where real people, from all walks of life, can contribute their intelligence, ideas, and experience.
There are various training institutes for book publishing courses, besides National Book Trust, Shankar Academy of Arts and Book Publishing, to name a few, in India. Those who are interested to pursue their career in book publishing can also join the Department of Vocational Course at the Delhi University or Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi.
Mr. Shamim Ahmad is a communications manger and hony. editor of Bakhabar (mdshamim.ahmad@yahoo.co.in)
Rabeya H.
Various types of scams have erupted with the advent of Internet. But the most common and easy scam is the “advance fee fraud”. In this scam the sender of the email preys on the innocent readers by doing a confidence trick in which the target audience is persuaded to advance relatively small sums of money in the hope of realizing much larger gains. This scam usually begins with an e-mail, sent to many target recipients making an offer that will ultimately result in a large payoff for the intended victim. The stories behind the offers vary, but the standard plot is that a person or a government entity is in possession of a large amount of money or gold. This person, for myriad reasons, either cannot access the wealth directly or is no longer in need of it. The scammer (or scamster in US) may narrate the tale of a totally fictional character or may pose as some well-known name by impersonation, which could include the wife of a deposed African or Indonesian leader, a wealthy person - terminally ill, or a wealthy foreigner who had deposited money in the bank just before dying in a plane crash (leaving no will or known next of kin etc.). Sometimes, it could be a disgruntled worker or a corrupt government official who has embezzled funds, and is desperately looking for a partner to stash away the funds. The sums involved are usually in the range of millions of dollars, and the collaborator is promised a large share, often 50% or more, if he/she can assist the scammer in retrieving the money from the place where it is placed or hidden and help dispense with it according to the scammer’s wish. The proposed deal is often presented as a "harmless" white-collar crime, in order to dissuade participants from later contacting the authorities. Whilst most recipients do not respond to these emails, scammers are able to gain some victims through sheer volume of messages, especially from amongst the credulous lot.
There are two aspects on why one should save oneself from these scammers. First is the immediate loss of your money, if you respond to these scammers and proceed with these fictitious deals. The cyber criminals try to con the responders by asking for a small fund-clearance fee via “Western Union” or “Money Gram” for the deal to happen quickly. But soon this becomes a never ending process and the scammers keep asking for more and more on one ground or another and the victim keeps paying, initially in the hope of the promised treasure, and subsequently to try to save the moneys that he has already paid. The perpetrators rely on the fact that, by the time the victim realizes his folly, he would have sent huge sums from his own savings to the scammer via an untraceable and/or irreversible means such as “Western Union”.
For a Muslim, there is a built-in safeguard against this, in his religion, if he follows his religion truly. One of the most important commandments of Allah and his Messenger is, not to look for the third party fund. A Muslim shouldn’t be lured by any illegal money and any participation in fraud is Haraam as per Hadeeth and Sunnah. Thus getting into a deal with such scammer will not only affect the life here, but also spoil life hereafter.
Ms Rabeya is a freelance writer at Cardiff, UK.