PUBLISHING BOOKS
15th edition to stand apart with curated sessions
JLF 2022 celebrates India ’ s 75th year of Independence
Scheduled from 5 – 14 March 2022 , the Jaipur Literature Festival ( JLF ) will have an array of themes , India 75 being one of its highlights . As India completes its 75th year of Independence , the 15th edition of the Festival looks at various facets of India ’ s journey so far with a diverse set of sessions .
The rich program will feature , among others , a session that explores the narratives and counter-narratives of the electoral process and democratic systems . The panel will be graced by former chief election commissioner of India and the author of Every Vote Counts Navin B Chawla ; National spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janta Party and the author of Makers of Modern Dalit History Guru Prakash Paswan ; jurist and retired judge of the Supreme Court of India Justice Madan B Lokur . The esteemed panel will be in conversation with academic and author Mukulika Banerjee discussing the political and electoral process , the paradoxes of democracy , and its triumphs and discontents .
The evolution of modern India is a unique offering to the historical , socio-political , and psychological study of nationhood . Writer and journalist Saket Suman ’ s enlightening book , The Psychology of a Patriot , presents a thoughtprovoking chronicle of India . Writer , poet , and academic Makarand R Paranjape ’ s upcoming books include JNU : Nationalism and India ’ s Uncivil War . Gurmehar Kaur ’ s most recent work , The Young and the Restless : Youth and Politics in India , explores the electoral and ideological involvement of the youth in the Indian democracy as it presents a dexterous generational evaluation of political identity . Academic and author Badri Narayan ' s Republic of Hindutva : How the Sangh Is Reshaping Indian Democracy examines the evolving structures and systems of belief that comprise the
RSS . In conversation with author , academic , and social anthropologist Mukulika Banerjee , they will discuss the coming-of-age of an entire nation focusing on its foundations and future . Mukulika Banerjee ‘ s new monograph Cultivating Democracy : Politics and Citizenship in Agrarian India is a study of the relationship between political democracy and active citizenship in rural India , particularly West Bengal . At another session , Banerjee will be in conversation with writer , journalist , and translator Namita Waikar . Together , they will explore the democratic values and notions of agriculture that shape the country ’ s political landscape ( s ).
One of India ’ s most loved Prime Ministers , a wise statesman , and benevolent father figure Atal Bihari Vajpayee ’ s political legacy embodies the vast and kaleidoscopic history of India , post-Independence . Senior journalist Sagarika Ghose , author of the political biography Indira : India ’ s Most Powerful Prime Minister , presents a deeply researched and revealing personal portrait of Vajpayee in her new book Atal Bihari Vajpayee . Author , social scientist , and journalist Nalin Mehta ’ s latest book The New BJP : Modi and the Making of the World ’ s Largest Political Party examines how the political party reshaped the Indian polity with its own brand of social engineering , powered by new caste coalitions , a focus on marginalized social groups and the making of a women-voter base . They will be in conversation with journalist Mandira Nayar discussing Vajpayee , the man , and his legacy .
Commemorating the 1971 war between India and Pakistan , Operation X , written by former Indian Navy Officer Captain MNR Samant and author Sandeep Unnithan , is the untold story behind one of the world ’ s largest covert naval wars . Naval Commando Operations ( X ) was the Directorate of the Naval Intelligence ’ s code for a series of complicated guerrilla operations directed against the maritime jugular of the Pakistan Army in erstwhile East Pakistan . Collaboratively they will explore the inner world of this conflict and its many intricacies with naval historian Commodore Srikant B Kesnur .
The legendary and emblematic names in Hindi literature - Ramdhari Singh Dinkar and Subhadra Kumari Chauhan evoke idealism and inspiration in equal measure . Dinkar ’ s nationalist poetry , written before India ’ s Independence , was a prelude to the dawn of a new sensibility whereas Chauhan ' s iconic poem , Jhansi ki Rani remains fresh in the hearts , minds , and lips of successive generations . Writer , poet , and musicologist Yatindra Mishra and scholar , writer , academic , and historian , Tripurdaman Singh will speak of the lives and legacy of the two poets , their deep commitment and rooted patriotism , and the impact they continue to have on the identity and understanding of Hindi literature . n
10
Indian Printer & Publisher | 1 March 2022