The schedule of the third edition of the Afkar-e-Taza Think Fest is now official. As with previous years, dozens of scholars, thinkers and opinion makers from the world’s leading universities and think tanks are converging on Lahore for two days full of conversations, thinking and action.
The proceedings of the first day will be opened by Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood. The first plenary talk will then be given by Dr Christophe Jaffrelot from Paris who will speak on Forms of Authoritarianism. On Day 1, the other panels will include a talk on Self-Determination in Kashmir by Professor Dibyesh Anand from the United Kingdom (UK) and a talk on Lahore 1929 – the Centre of the Freedom Movement, by Dr Kama Maclean from Australia and Dr Chris Moffat from the UK. Local topics will be covered by a session on changes in the Punjab, from Kartarpur to South Punjab and a panel on cinema and popular culture led by Dr Ishtiaq Ahmed from Sweden. Senior Minister and Minister for Local Government Punjab Aleem Khan and Member of Provincial Assembly Jugnu Mohsin will also lead a panel on Democracy from the Grassroots.
Foreign affairs will strongly feature talks on United States-Pakistan relations with former foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar, Dr Moeed Yusuf and Ejaz Haider and a panel on Pakistan and India relations with former foreign minister Khurshid Kasuri, Dr Moeed Yusuf from the US Institute of Peace, Dr Happymon Jacob and Dr Dibyesh Anand from India. Retired UK diplomat Sir Tim Hitchens will further weigh in on Brexit and the future of the UK in the world with journalist Miranda Husain.
The second day of the ThinkFest will start with a riveting discussion on the Manto film controversy by acclaimed scholar Ayesha Jalal in conversation with Raza Rumi. The information minister will then participate in a panel on the media. A panel on the state of the economy in Punjab will feature Finance Minister Hashim Bakht and another high-powered panel on the economy will feature three former finance ministers Miftah Ismail, Hafeez Pasha and Salman Shah.
Professor Cemil Aydin will then launch his book The Idea of the Muslim World in conversation with Dr Tahir Kamran from the Government College University and Ziyad Faisal. Also launching her book on the Samadhi of Maharaja Ranjit Singh will be Dr Nadhra Khan from the Lahore University of Management Sciences with renowned Punjab scholar Jean-Marie Lafont from France. Dr Tariq Rahman will also launch his book on jihad in South Asia. Other talks will cover topics like Afghanistan, urban planning in Lahore, fog and the environment, nuclear non-proliferation issues and the #MeToo phenomenon. Acclaimed British-Jamaican author Kei Miller will also speak on The Lies Maps Tell.
The Afkar-e-Taza Think Fest will also feature three other special plenary speakers, where Professor Gauri Viswanathan from Columbia University will speak on the history of English Literature, Professor Akeel Bilgrami, also from Columbia, will discuss his latest work on secularism and identity and Sir Richard Evans, a distinguished scholar of European history, will speak on conspiracy and democracy.
Over a dozen book launches and over 40 panels will feature at this third edition. The ThinkFest starts at 1030am tomorrow (Saturday) at Alhamra on Mall Road and continues until 7pm on Sunday. It is open and free to the public.
Published in Daily Times, January 11th 2019.
