Amritsar to host Military Literature Festival next year

Chandigarh, November 28

The next edition of the Military Literature Festival will be held in Amritsar early next year. This is the second time that such an event is being organised at the district level, the first being in Patiala in January.

Lt-Gen TS Shergill (retd), chairman, Military Literature Festival Association, said the event would be organised in early 2024 after taking into account the examination schedule of students and other factors.

During the Military Literature Festival in Chandigarh last year, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had said the state government would endeavour to organise such events at the district level so as to spread greater awareness about the role of the armed forces and motivate the youth.

Speaking about the forthcoming edition of the Military Literature Festival, to be inaugurated in Chandigarh by the Chief Minister on December 2, Shergill said the prominent speakers would include former Union Ministers Mani Shankar Aiyar and Manish Tewari, IFS Ajay Bisaria, veterans Lt Gen SL Narsimhan, Lt Gen Prakash Menon, Lt Gen KJ Singh and Lt Gen JS Cheema, Tibetologist Claude Arpi and historians Prof Indu Banga and Dr Karamjit Malhotra.

The event will also focus on Punjab and Punjabiyat, including military history. The strategic vision of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his addition through conquest to the Indian nation of the territories of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir, Baltistan and Ladakh would also feature among the discussions.

Shergill said there’s potentially destabilising and polarising conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East and their global impact, along with contemporary regional issues, would be discussed by experts.

Focus on Punjab

The event will also focus on Punjab and Punjabiyat, including military history. The strategic vision of Maharaja Ranjit Singh will also be discussed.