NEW DELHI: Union Tourism and Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat emphasized India’s cultural richness and diversity at the Sahityotsav 41st edition. The festival showcases India’s literary heritage, features lectures from renowned writers, and includes panel discussions on varied literary forms. The event also celebrates notable playwrights and the LGBTQ community’s contributions.
The 41st edition of the Sahitya Akademi’s Sahityotsav, a festival celebrating India’s rich literary heritage, was inaugurated by Union Tourism and Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Friday. The minister highlighted the nation’s diverse cultural tapestry, which threads through its many languages, dialects, cuisines, and identities.
India’s cultural diversity is reflected through its many languages, dialects, cuisines and identities, and one of the important fibers in that thread that unites the diverse cultures is the rich literary heritage, Union Tourism and Culture Minister Shekhawat said.
The minister was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the 41st edition of the Sahitya Akademi’s Sahityotsav: Festival of Letters. “We are not only proud of our rich cultural traditions but also our diversity. India is a country full of diversity. India’s many different languages, dialects, food practices, clothing, identities and its cultural diversity is also visible on its literary canvas. Of the many fibres in the thread that unites all of India’s diversities, literature is indeed a valued one,” Shekhawat said.
Throughout the six-day festival, a range of activities including lectures, panel discussions, and cultural performances will take place. Eminent writers and poets like Mamang Dai, Sanjoy Hazarika, and Akhil Katyal will offer insights into India’s varied literary scene. The event underscores how literature has historically united India’s diverse cultures.
The festival will also observe the birth centenaries of Hindi playwright Mohan Rakesh and Malayalam playwright Omcherry NN Pillai. Other highlights include discussions on writings from the northeast, tribal communities, and the LGBTQ community, emphasizing the inclusive nature of India’s literary tradition.
Shekhawat added that India’s literature had continuously played the role of bringing the country’s many cultures together. “We can think of many literary works from our Vaidik literature, Puranas, epics and other timeless works, all have tried to remove the distance between India’s diverse cultures. India’s literature goes far beyond religious texts or fiction, it is a prominent marker of our historicity, ideologies and identities,” Shekhawat said. The minister added that Indian literature had for thousands of years provided continuity to its cultural transformation.
“India’s litterateurs have created works as medium of giving direction to life,” he said.
The annual literature festival will include lectures and sessions by eminent writers and poets, including Mamang Dai, Sanjoy Hazarika, Nilima Singh, Mini Krishnan, Sujata Shiven, Rakhshanda Jalil, Nandita Das, Akhil Katyal, Paul Zacharia, Volga, Arjun Deo Charan, Waman Kendre, AJ Thomas, Manisha Kulshreshtha, Yatindra Mishra, and MK Raina.
On Saturday, the academy will felicitate 23 winners of the Sahitya Akademi Award at a ceremony that will be addressed by noted English playwright Mahesh Dattani. This year’s Samvatsar Lecture will be delivered by English writer Upamanyu Chatterjee on the topic of “Some Things to Talk About” on Sunday. Sahitya Akademi Award winners Gagan Gill (Hindi), K Jayakumar (Malayalam), Sameer Tanti (Assamese), AR Venkatachalapathy (Tamil) and Dileep Jhaveri (Gujarati) will interact with other eminent writers and scholars, including Anjum Sharma, P Krishnanunni, Dinkar Kumar, DI Aravindan and Kamal Vora, respectively.
During the national seminar, discussions on different forms of Indian literature, including ancient Indian literature, translations, drama, Dharma literature, women’s writing, poetry, Bhakti literature and Dalit writing, will be held. Some of the writers and thinkers to attend the national seminar include Chittaranjan Tripathy, Sayantan Dasgupta, C Rajendran, Indrani Sanyal, Seema Sharma, Malashri Lal, Jay Saha, Sudha Seshayyan, and TS Krishnan.
The weeklong festival will also put a spotlight on writings from the northeast, tribal regions and the LGBTQ community through panel discussions, writers’ and poets’ meets, and book readings.
Children’s writers, young writers, short story writers and writers of women literature will be part of separate panel discussions and meets.
Recognized as Asia’s largest literature festival, the event will see participation from 700 writers representing over 50 languages across 100 sessions. With a theme centered on Indian Literary Traditions, the festival will host a National Seminar featuring eminent thinkers and authors. Various literary and cultural activities, including young, women, Dalit, North-East, tribal, and LGBTQ writers’ participation, will make it India’s most inclusive literary festival since 1985. The festival will also feature children’s storytelling programs, author readings, discussions, and cultural performances by renowned artists.

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