Chaos At New Delhi World Book Fair As Visitors Climb Onto Shelves For ‘Free' Novels – ‘Entry Fee Should Be Rs 1,000’

Book lovers have long been drawn to fairs and literary events, where hundreds of books are showcased and readers can discover new titles. This year, the New Delhi World Book Fair (NDWBF) 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, held from January 10 to 18, became the centre of attention, but not for the books. Instead, videos from the event went viral, showing that the crowd turned the exciting event into chaos.

People were seen pushing and even climbing to steal popular titles, all while ignoring the calmness and sophistication expected at such events. One man was captured standing above others by stretching to grab books from a shelf, while others raised their hands trying to snatch copies, which has now raised concerns about civic sense.

Crowds Push And Climb

For Free Books

Everyone in the video looked young and educated, yet they behaved roughly by pushing and snatching books to get their favourite ones for free. Those who couldn’t reach or climb were seen asking others to grab books for them.

The video posted on X (Formerly Twitter) came with the caption, “What is wrong with us? Last day of the book fair in Delhi and look at the scenes. Moral fu****g collapse.”

What is wrong with us?

Last day of the book fair in Delhi and look at the scenes. Moral fucking collapse.#delhi #WorldBookFair pic.twitter.com/sFKEiCbl10

— Sidharth Shukla (@sidhshuk) January 19, 2026

Viral Video Sparks Criticism

Reacting to the post, a user wrote, “Publisher friends tell me there have been so many cases of groping in busy stalls. On the last day, a university student was caught stealing books worth 15,000 rupees. Many college girls (60-70 from one publisher’s stall alone) have been caught stealing books.”

Another shared, “Peak Irony, Book lovers, who are supposed to be the most literate species, are stealing books.”

“These aren’t book readers; this is just a freeloading Olympics. These books are medals, these louts will resell,” a comment read.

An Internet user suggested, “Next time put 1000 rupees entry ticket please.”

An individual stated, “Delhi organised the World Book Fair. Book readers are considered intellectual. They say we maintain decorum and civic sense. It was the last day of the book fair. Delhi bros started stealing books. No fellow book reader stopped them”

Another mentioned, “Go through a walk around CP and ask these young people from Delhi.”

One more added, “Most or in fact, all of them jumping here would have enough money to buy books. However, as a nation, we suffer from a scarcity mindset. We want to grab anything that comes for free and grab as much as we can. Irrespective of whether we use it or not. School should teach this before PCMBSS.”

An individual even poked fun at book lovers in Delhi by showing how such events are supposed to be. They shared pictures from the Patna Book Fair in Bihar, where people behaved in a disciplined way, calmly checking and buying books like polite readers.

Mock Biharis for civic sense.

Free Entry Led To Record Attendance

The chaos happened at the 53rd NDWBF because it was the first time the event had free entry. According to NDTV, the fair saw a 20 per cent rise in visitors compared to previous years and attracted over 2 million book lovers.