When The State Took A Poet To The People, The Telegraph

In some Western countries, copyright to an author’s work lapses seventy-five years after his or her death. In India, the time period is slightly shorter; sixty years. Thus, until 2001 the copyright in Rabindranath Tagore’s writings vested with Santiniketan; till 2008, it was Navajivan Press which controlled access to Mahatma Gandhi’s oeuvre. The copyright in Jawaharlal Nehru’s writings will be with Sonia Gandhi until May 2024.

The most remarkable exception to this rule occurred in the state o...