Lahore 2021

With physical gatherings cancelled due to the pandemic, the Afkar-e-Taza ThinkFest hosted ThinkFest Online from February to April 2021, generously supported by Getz Pharma. The series opened with a captivating keynote by MIT Dean of Science, Professor Nergis Mavalvala, in conversation with Pervez Hoodbhoy on the discovery of gravitational waves, followed by a wide-ranging programme spanning architecture, literature, education, politics, and huama nrights. Highlights included another keynote by Nobel Peace Laureate Dr Shirin Ebadi in dialogue with Hina Jilani on women’s rights in the Muslim world, John Mearsheimer’s exchange with Ejaz Haider on the inevitability of a U.S.–China Cold War, and Ramachandra Guha’s reflections on cricket with Osman Samiuddin. Other notable launches featured Christopher de Bellaigue’s The Islamic Enlightenment, Diana Darke’s Stealing from the Saracens, and Abdul Basit’s memoir of diplomacy in India, alongside sessions on the Single National Curriculum, public health, and populist politics.

ThinkFest Online 2021 also featured Victoria Schofield on Benazir Bhutto, Saad S. Khan on Ruttie Jinnah, and Zahid Hussain on U.S.–Pakistan relations, as well as Professor Ian Talbot’s history of the UK High Commission in Pakistan with Dr Maleeha Lodhi and Dr Christian Turner. Professor Azra Raza launched The First Cell in conversation with Dr Aasim Yusuf, while Dr Ishrat Husain’s biography highlighted his decades of public service. Engaging academics, journalists, and policymakers from across the world, the series attracted over half a million views in its first weeks, demonstrating an immense appetite for informed discourse and reaffirming ThinkFest as a premier platform for intellectual engagement despite the pandemic.