Dibrugarh: The third edition of the Dibrugarh University International Literature Festival (DUILF) 2026 concluded on Saturday with a grand closing ceremony, celebrating four days of vibrant literary exchange, cross-cultural dialogue, and intellectual engagement. The festival reaffirmed Northeast India’s growing presence on the global literary map.
The ceremony was attended by eminent dignitaries, including Assam’s Education Minister Ranoj Pegu, Vice-Chancellor Jiten Hazarika, IAS officer B. Kalyan Chakraborty, internationally renowned author and translator Ann Morgan, Egyptian writer Sherif Bakr, and author Murzban Fali Shroff. The guests were felicitated by Registrar Paramananda Sonowal, marking the formal conclusion of the four-day celebration.
Vice-Chancellor Jiten Hazarika expressed gratitude to the distinguished guests, speakers, organisers, and participants, highlighting the collective efforts of the organising team, FOCAL, and students. “Our students are the engine of this festival,” he remarked, acknowledging their dedication. He also announced that the fourth edition of the festival will be held from February 16 to 19, 2027, anticipating an even more impactful celebration.
B. Kalyan Chakraborty reflected on the literary legacy of eminent Assamese writers and the cultural richness embedded in regional narratives. He praised the meticulous work of rapporteurs and volunteers, noting that the festival hosted over 12,000 students across 68 sessions, and expressed eagerness to participate in the next edition.
Ann Morgan, a participant in all three editions, conveyed her honour in being part of the festival, thanking FOCAL and Dibrugarh University for their dedication. Sherif Bakr, visiting India for the first time, lauded the warm hospitality and the value of cross-cultural literary dialogue. Murzban Fali Shroff spoke about the creative and emotional journey of authors, referencing his recent book Muses over Mumbai, and emphasised that a book’s journey extends far beyond its printed form.
Education Minister Ranoj Pegu highlighted the transformative power of reading, noting how engagement with literature shapes critical and creative thinking. Echoing the festival’s ethos, he reaffirmed the guiding philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam — “The World is One”, celebrating literature as a unifying force transcending borders and cultures. The ceremony concluded with a vote of thanks delivered by Registrar Paramananda Sonowal.
Over the four days, the festival brought together more than 150 authors, scholars, artists, and cultural practitioners from over 25 countries across 60 sessions, engaging over 12,000 participants. Discussions spanned literature, identity, translation, publishing, geopolitics, music, memory, culture, and contemporary socio-political realities, fostering meaningful cross-disciplinary dialogue.
A session titled “Identity and Belonging: A Literary Reflection on Self and Society” featured Ann Morgan in conversation with Giseia Casimiro, Mai Khaled, Shubnum Khan, Reem Kais Kubba, and Leila Al Mutawa. Participants explored identity as layered and politically shaped, with Reem Kais Kubba describing it as “an onion shell” shaped by culture, language, memory, and personal experience.
A session on children’s literature, led by Guru T. Ladakhi alongside Sopan Joshi, Huthuka Sumi, Chitra Viraraghavan, and Karabi Deka Hazarika, underscored that “children’s literature is not small literature,” highlighting its emotional depth and the responsibility of writers to meaningfully engage young readers.
In “Developing Business Sense in Children”, Sudhakar Rao explained entrepreneurial thinking through storytelling, making core business principles accessible to young minds using the framework of “Four deals, four strategies.”
A panel on translation, “Translation is Our Right and We’ll Have It”, featuring Lakhipriya Gogoi, Banani Chakravarty, Nipam Kumar Saikia, and Sibananda Kakoti, emphasised the cultural sensitivity of translation, noting that it involves transferring emotional depth and nuance rather than literal word-for-word replacement.
The panel “Writing & The Market”, with Ravinder Singh Bahr, Sherif Bakr, Murzban F. Shroff, Abdullah Khan, and Debabhusan Borah, examined the evolving publishing landscape, addressing market monopolisation, genre dominance, the flow of translations into English, and the balance between creativity and commerce. Speakers highlighted the enduring relevance of physical books and the increasing prominence of Northeast, Dalit, and Queer voices in mainstream publishing.
Participants also engaged with diverse literary traditions, from Basque Bertsolaritza improvisations to Assamese poetry exchanges, fostering meaningful connections between global oral arts and regional narratives, and further reinforcing the festival’s role in promoting cross-cultural literary engagement.