Nepal, Oct. 24 -- This question has struck me at different moments of literary, academic and political discussions for nearly half a century. The answer to this question is not as simple as may be expected for various reasons. Whatever may be the answer, this question evokes a few subjects of cultural, literary, educational, cross-cultural and economic importance. I would stress the cultural and literary aspects of this question. The history of English book reading coincides with the opening of Nepal to the cross-cultural and literary consciousness that took its rise in the 1960s in the Western world, and through the medium of the English language spread to other parts of the world.

Some countries translated the books into their language...