The 58th annual Frankfurt Book Fair has begun and this year focuses on the literature of India and its market significance for European publishers.

Not surprisingly, the country of over 1 billion people promises the largest book fair to date. Hosting more than 7,000 exhibitors from 113 countries, fair organizers expect to surpass last year's 280,000 visitors during the four day event.

Indian literature has enjoyed relative success in the West since Salman Rushdie's "Midnight's Children" hit the shelves in 1981. Jhumpa Lahiri, Arundhati Roy and a host of other English language Indian writers have made it big in Europe and the US.

The fair wants to draw attention to authors writing in any of India's other 22 officially recognized languages, who remain a relatively untapped group for international markets. Part of opening the window to new authors is to challenge Europeans' often dated views of India, says fair director Juergen Boos. "It's not Hermann Hesse's India but rather the biggest democracy in the world."

Tuesday's gala was attended by German foreign minister Frank Walter Steinmeier and India's education minister Shri Arjun Singh, who used the occasion to champion the roll of arts in fostering international understanding and literacy.

"The most varied cultures and religions can live alongside each other in our societies if they stick to clear and simple rules," said Steinmeier. He said the EU should see India as a model.