Mangaluru : The second edition of Mangaluru Lit Fest, organised by Mangaluru Literary Foundation, will be held at the TMA Pai Convention Hall here on Friday and Saturday.
Based on the theme “The Idea of Bharat – Today and Tomorrow”, the event will feature sessions by 65 speakers, which will be held simultaneously on the “Chhavadi”, “Two sides” and “Manthan” platforms.
Among the speakers participating include Union Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Anurag Thakur who is likely to feature in the session “Money Matters”. Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan would feature in a discussion on “Islam in India – the road ahead”. Editor-in-Chief of ANI Smita Prakash and journalist Barkha Dutt would feature in a discussion on “Is the media leaning”.
The former Regional Director (North), Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), K.K. Muhammed, who was part of the ASI team that excavated the Ramjanmabhoomi site, would participate in a discussion on “Excavating Truth”.
MP Tejasvi Surya and Professor from Jawaharlal Nehru University’s Special Centre for Molecular Medicine Anand Ranganathan would take part in a discussion on “JNU: what is right in the left?”. BJP National General Secretary B.L. Santosh would feature in a discussion on “New India: Demography-Dividend or Danger”.
The others who would participate include film-maker Madhur Bhandarkar, Kannada Development Authority chairman T.S. Nagabharana, actors Prakash Belawadi and Malavika Avinash, MP Rajeev Chandrashekar, writers Vasudendra and Sahana Vijay, Editor-in-Chief of Goa Chronicle Savio Rodrigues, Additional Chief Secretary from Rajasthan Sanjay Dixit, Strategic Affairs expert Gen. (retd.) G.D. Bakshi and researcher Raghotham Sundarrajan.
The former BJP MLC Ganesh Karnik, one of the organisers of the event, told reporters here on the Monday that the event will be inaugurated by writer Chandrashekar Kambar. Writer M. Chidananda Murthy will be conferred a lifetime achievement award, he added.