Over the last six years, Pondicherry has hosted India’s most prominent rising right-wing voices at the Pondy Lit Fest. This year, the festival returns for its seventh edition to the balmy beach town on Tamil Nadu’s Coromandel coast.
Scheduled for September 20, 21, and 22, the three-day event will feature thought-provoking conversations, lectures, book discussions, and presentations on a wide range of topics, with a special emphasis on science and technology, defense, and security. Known for its distinctive "India-first" approach, this year’s festival centers around the theme Bharat Shakti (Bharat in the New Age), an ode to nationalist philosopher Sri Aurobindo, whose seat of sadhana was in Pondicherry.
“We aim to empower with knowledge on spiritual, religious, and cultural subjects that showcase Bharat Shakti while critically evaluating what holds India back. Our lectures, conversations, book talks, and presentations focus on science and technology, defense, and security,” said the festival’s organizers.
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The link: https://t.co/BRyWyVqS0I
R.N. Ravi, Governor of Tamil Nadu, will be the Chief Guest, inaugurating the festival on September 20, 2024, at 4:30 PM. On the final day, September 22, 2024, India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will deliver the keynote address at 02:30 PM.
Over the years, the Pondy Lit Fest has gained a reputation as a unique platform for right-wing voices, in contrast to India’s literary festival circuit, which generally favors left-leaning and liberal discourse.
“We are often asked why we don’t feature the left. The left has plenty of lit fests of its own; they dominate academia and the media. The non-left is given little to no representation,” said the organizers.
From its inception, the Pondy Lit Fest has chosen not to hold debates, a decision that has helped the festival maintain its distinctive character and contributed to the exclusion of leftist voices from the platform.
“Pondy Lit Fest is not about debates. We're not a template where we think knowledge is furthered only by debate. The debates go around in circles forever re-discussing debunked narratives or theories. We believe in taking knowledge forward. And unlike the impression it wants to give, the left is extremely controlling of narratives. The non left is way more tolerant of differences. Our case is proven by the fact that we had to face a massive cancel culture when we started out,” the organizers added.
The festival has also been known for respecting the dissenting voices within the right-wing.
"Our main aim and purpose are to concentrate on what are India's strengths and how to overcome weaknesses in the domains of knowledge and educating the mind. We do not receive any patronage from any political party, The entire effort is ours end-to-end," adds the organizers.
is honoured to invite the Hon'ble Governor of TN, Shri R N Ravi, to grace us as the Chief Guest at our 7th edition. We are excited to welcome him to deliver the Chief Guest Address at the Event, with deep reverence for his leadership & vision pic.twitter.com/I2RROBU3nR
— Pondy Lit Fest (@PondyLitFest)This year’s edition will feature a diverse panel of speakers, including authors, scientists, and defense experts. Some of the notable speakers include:
Aabhas Maldahiyar, Architect/Urban Designer, Amateur Historian, Fellow FIHCR
Prof. Aloke Kumar, Scientist, IISc, Science Communicator
Ami Gantra, Author
Prof. Anand Ranganathan, Scientist SCMM, Author, Political Commentator
Aravindan Neelakandan, Contributing Editor, Swarajya
Deep Halder, Journalist and Author
Harsha Vardhini, Co-Founder at Vizzhy and Hanooman (SML)
Jataayu, Tamil Scholar, Exponent of Hindu Thought
Kanchan Gupta, Senior Journalist, Public Affairs Commentator
Prof. Kausik Gangopadhyay, Economist, Professor, IIM Kozhikode, Author
Nandini Sengupta, Journalist and Author
Bal Sahitya Academy Puraskar Awardee
Pradeep Bhandari, National Spokesperson, BJP
Dr. S.K. Manjul, Additional Director General, Archaeological Survey of India
Lt. Gen. S. L. Narasimhan, Avid China Watcher, Defense Expert
Lt. Gen. Sanjay Kulkarni, Siachen Pioneer, Former DG Infantry
Prof. Shailja Singh, Scientist, Special Center for Molecular Medicine (SCMM), JNU
Prof. Shamika Ravi, Economist, Member of the Economic Advisory Committee to the Prime Minister
Shiv Aroor, Journalist and Author, Defense & Internal Security Expert
Dr. Uday Kulkarni, Surgeon Commander, Indian Navy, Historian
Dr. Vikram Sampath, Historian, Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Founder of the Foundation for Historical & Cultural Research
Adv. Vishnu Jain, Lawyer, Supreme Court of India
The event will also feature several book launches, including A Dharmic Social History of India by Aravindan Neelakandan, Babur the Chessboard King by Aabhas K. Maldahiyar, Raghoba: The Assassination of Narayana Rao Peshwa by Uday S. Kulkarni, The Majoritarian Myth by Kausik Gangopadhyay, and Waiting for Shiva: Unearthing the Truth of Kashi’s Gyan Vapi by Vikram Sampath.
The venue for the festival is the Sri Aurobindo Society in Puducherry.