Guwahati: Overcoming the territory of a traditional literature festival across India, Pragjyotishpur Literature Festival 2024 in Assam showcased a series of panel discussions and special sessions with eminent authors to motivate the audience to look beyond the current narrative in search of roots.
The three-day LitFest (13, 14 and 15 December) at Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra in Guwahati, Assam also comprised different sessions on multilingual poetry recitation, regional literature aspiration, cultural programs with local flavours flourished on the bank of Brahmaputra, workshops on creative writing and environment protection to attract people with a variety of interests on literature, art-culture and traditions prevailed in the far eastern part of Bharat. The inaugural ceremony of the second edition of Pragjyotishpur LitFest opened up for thousands of literary enthusiasts with a real intellectual & interactive treat propagating the rich cultural heritage of the land.
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Delivering the keynote address in the inaugural function, India’s acclaimed journalist-editor Swaminathan Gurumurthy pointed out that Assam and other north-eastern States, which were otherwise ignored by the central government for decades, now become a major power for the country. The outspoken commentator stated that the region has made an unparalleled contribution in all fields of politics, technology, language and literature of Bharat. Speaking on ‘Development through Culture’, the economist elaborated on how India was misrepresented in global narratives.
He criticized the Western frameworks used to assess India’s development and progress. Moreover, India’s rich culture-tradition philosophy was once blamed for the country’s socio-economic stagnation, but now these very traditions are recognized as vital to comprehensive development in any country on Earth. He stressed that social capital formation, through education and awareness, is the key to creating a new identity for India.
Arguing that despite gaining independence 75 years ago, India was yet to cultivate independent thought, where the education policies were formulated prioritizing employment over fostering entrepreneurial innovation.
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Gurumurthy further reflected on the essence of literature and culture in shaping societal unity, while asserting that education, literature, and culture drive progress and form the backbone of civilization.
He explained that destruction arises from clashes over rights, but it is a duty that fosters growth. Talking about India, Gurumurthy proudly declared that the people here are guided by the law of nature and they act according to the wishes of nature, which is applicable to all aspects of education, literature and culture.
Literary culture propagates the responsibility towards the human society and the Indian civilization is based on this philosophy, he asserted.
Supreme Court advocate & prominent author-columnist J Sai Deepak made some intriguing observations to ignite the minds of the young audience on the occasion, where he claimed that the Constitution alone cannot bind India if the social fabric of democratic Indians by nature is ignored.
He explained that India’s civilization, built on diverse languages, traditions and culture has remained unified through a shared belief in unity, even amid its diversity.
The firebrand speaker asserted that a defining identity based on Indian civilization can keep everyone together rather than the definition of an Indian nation. The civilization embraces everyone’s identity, culture and traditions, he stated. Pointing over the ongoing atrocities faced by the religious minorities in Bangladesh, the young advocate argued that a shared language may not safeguard a nation altogether. He also stated that the civilization of India is enriched with at least 5,000 years of history, which may not be admitted by foreign historians.
Celebrated author and Jawaharlal Nehru University professor Anand Ranganathan, while painting a bleak picture of the functioning of the judiciary in India, stated that over five crore cases are still pending in various courts. A large number of posts for judges remain vacant in the courts and allegations against the justice system for playing inequity in observations and verdicts are a matter of concern and introspection. While describing the way forward for India towards a hundred years of independence, the visionary columnist highlighted various parameters to signify the development in the last few years.
While in 1947, Indian citizens enjoyed an average life expectancy of 32 years, now it has gone up to 76 years. The infant mortality rate at the time of independence was very high and now it has turned significantly low, stated the scientist turned political observer, adding that India is however still facing many challenges.
He raised a pertinent question, why there are children in India even today who do not see the school and why not every child gets vaccinated?
On the path to material development, India’s 14% of agricultural land was destroyed and still 35% of agricultural land is monsoon rain-dependent. Ranganathan lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his continuing efforts aiming for comprehensive development for 140 crore Indians.
As a welfare nation, India must pursue various policies for the benefit of its citizens, but often the politicians find a different way and launch schemes as freebies to get electoral benefits. Affirming that everything is possible when social health is protected, the immensely popular writer commented that literature cannot be disconnected from society.
Talking about revisiting Indian history, well-known historian Sanjeev Sanyal pointed out that many Indian heroes were not accommodated in the pages of history and hence a fresh look at historical narratives became necessary. He lamented that many brave and patriotic kings like Maharaja Prithu of the ancient Kamrup kingdom, who defeated notorious invader Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khalji, were ignored by the history, written during the colonial era. As often described when the British took over Bharat from Mughals (after defeating them), the economist-turned-political commentator asserted that they were not indigenous kings of India. Sanyal expressed his annoyance over the tyrannical British officers who engaged some historians to give legitimacy to their works (many of those were even against the interest of the Indian people). Lately, however, western historians have started admitting that Indian history was not written authentically.
He lamented that the proper history of over 5,000-year-old civilization was left out of the country’s education system, which needs a logical revisit.