The year 2023 has turned out to be an interesting one for India. Putting the uncertainties of the pandemic behind us, we have emerged as an important power on the move. Often, we have spoken about becoming “atma-nirbhar”, and assuming the role of a “vishwaguru”. Perhaps for the first time though, in practical terms, we have achieved high levels of something our republic has always strived towards - strategic autonomy.
From the country’s leading scientists to some of the most influential socio-political voices, from serving soldiers at the highest rungs of the Indian military to experts who study crucial periods and personalities, PLF 2023 will take you on a vibrant thought-provoking journey. It will include lectures, presentations, interviews, panel-discussions, and interactions between a high-quality audience and some of India’s foremost thinkers. It will focus on sub-themes like Sri Aurobindo’s vision for a robust India, the visions that many other great personalities had for India, the role of Nari Shakti in a rising India, technology, science, military, economics, foreign policy; and how all these verticals come together to make India strategically autonomous.
The Pondy Lit Fest started in 2018, with the idea of having a festival that celebrates Indian culture, Indian history, and India’s advances in various fields. Prior to this, literature festivals in India were synonymous with the country’s anglicized elite discussing how backward India was. From the first edition itself, PLF received widespread traction. Today, it is one of the leading platforms in the country, and India’s foremost thinkers across many fields grace it. From the world of politics, it has been graced by the likes of Himanta Biswa Sarma, Arif Mohammad Khan, Baijayant Panda and K Annamalai. From the field of journalism, it has been graced by the likes of Swapan Dasgupta, Rahul Shivshankar, Tavleen Singh and Shiv Aroor. From showbiz, the likes of Vivek Agnihotri, Prasoon Joshi, Malini Awasthi and Kalki Koechlin have graced the platform. Economists like Bibek Debroy, Sanjeev Sanyal, V Anantha Nageswaran and Shamika Ravi have also been a part of PLF. Historians like Meenakshi Jain and Vikram Sampath, lawyers like J Sai Deepak, defense experts like Abhijit Iyer Mitra, and scientists like Anand Ranganathan, have been regulars at the PLF. So far, more than a hundred well-known and highly respected personalities have graced the platform, many of them on more than one occasion. Our partners through the years have included Times Now, Republic TV, BluOne Inc, Koo, the Motwani-Jadeja Foundation, Total, Swarajya Magazine, Organiser, the Government of Puducherry, and many others. Gradually, the Pondy Lit Fest is moving towards becoming India’s foremost festival of thinkers.
Senior Fellow at the Institute of Peace & Conflict Studies
Senior Journalist
Political Commentator
Author
Associate Prof. IISc Bangalore
Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Author and Columnist
Former Test and Fighter Pilot IAF, Director General, Centre for Air Power Studies
Author
Vice President, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, India
Journalist And Author
Faculty Member, Sri Aurobindo International Center of Education
Field Archaeologist
PhD research scholar at MSU Baroda
Vedic speaker, writer, researcher
Vice President Observer Research Foundation
Author
Scientist and Author
Former Chairperson, National Commission for Women
Historian
Personal Finance Writer, Author, Speaker
Journalist and Author
Physician, Entrepreneur, Writer
Writer and Teacher
Editor, Organiser Weekly
Economist, Author of Asia Reborn
Progressive Conservative Journalist
Author - A Hindu in Oxford
Author
Director, Center for Human Sciences, Rishihood University
Founder and Chief Editor, The Dharma Dispatch, Author
Journalist and Author
Professor, Special Center for Molecular Medicine
Jawaharlal Nehru University
BJP National Spokesperson
Journalist and Author
Author
Former DIrector, Maritime Warfare Center
Officer In-Charge Naval History Project
Former Member of Parliament
Author
National President BJP Yuva Morcha, Member of Parliament
Author
Historian
Fellow, Royal Historical Society
Lawyer (Advocate on Record)
Supreme Court of India
Social Media
Pondy Lit Fest