The Dark Side of the Comics That Redefined Hinduism

Fifty years ago, a junior executive at the Times of India named Anant Pai watched Indian children on a TV quiz show fail to answer a basic question about the Hindu epic Ramayana. Concerned that young people in his country had lost touch with their cultural heritage, Pai acted. He eventually teamed up with the publisher India Book House to launch an educational comic series that presented kid-friendly Indian religious and historical stories. The comics, titled Amar Chitra Katha (also known as ACK, or Immortal Illustrated Stories), slowly became a massive hit. While schools and shopkeepers initially hesitated to stock the issues, ACK was a household name in India by the late 1970s. Today, the series has sold 100 million-plus copies of more than 400 comics in upwards of 20 languages, primarily English and Hindi.

Pai revolutionized children’s entertainment as much as he did religious education. was the to sell within India, and its success also heralded the development of a broader domestic comics industry. ’s were primarily Western-inspired remained beloved and novel for both its edutainment value and its role as the grandfather of an industry.