The death of #SushantSinghRajput has led a much needed discussion on nepotism and the dark underbelly of Bollywood. Perhaps it is time for an honest discussion on this issue in the context of publishing (although there has been some improvement in last 10 years). 1/n

It is very difficult for any "outsider", irrespective of talent, to get published. Yet, kids of well known writers/journalists, with clearly no talent, routinely get published. This is followed by gushing reviews in leading periodicals & invitations to literature festivals 2/n

Meanwhile, many of the country's top writers (like @amish) started out self-publishing.

And, then there is the murky world of "awards". This is handed by a tight clique to each others. 3/n

Then there is the relentless ideological policing. Even if you get past the "liberal" gatekeepers, the text will be censored at the editorial stage. Copy-editors will routinely replace the word "Hindu" with "Brahmanical" for instance. 4/n

If you think mainstream publishing is dodgy, wait till you wade into academic publishing. Here the gatekeeping is done with the zeal of Stalin. At least for social sciences & humanities, the term "peer reviewed" means ideologically purified. 5/n

Having said all of this, I have been fortunate to have mostly worked with some great editors & publishers. Just like in Bollywood, intellectually honest individuals do exist. However, I also have first hand experience of the murky side. 6/n