The third edition of the Afkar-e-Taza ThinkFest is all set to take place at the Alhamra Arts Council on The Mall from January 12-13.

Announcing the festival, ThinkFest Lahore Chairman Najam Sethi said, “We have brought the world’s leading thinkers to Pakistan once again. Over three dozen top academics will be in the city for two days of great conversations, dialogue and discussion.”

Confirmed speakers include Christophe Jaffrelot from Sciences-Po Paris, Gauri Visvanathan and Akeel Bilgrami from Columbia University, President of Wolfson College Cambridge Sir Richard Evans and Ayesha Jalal from Tufts University.

Commenting on the speaker list, ThinkFest founder Dr Yaqoob Khan Bangash said, “We have a completely new set of people this year since we do not want to repeat speakers unless they have a new book out. We also try to limit speakers to one panel, with only a few on another one, so as to ensure high quality.”

Among the speakers of the 2019 ThinkFest, there are not only highbrow academics talking about serious themes, but a number of popular books are also being launched.

John Zubrzycki will launch his book on Indian Magic, while Dr Rosie Llewellyn-Jones will take us to the court of the last ruler of Oudh, Wajid Ali Shah in her “The Last King in India”. Professor Miles Allen from York University will launch his recently published book on Queen Victoria as Empress of India.

The Afkar-e-Taza ThinkFest will also feature a number of local scholars and opinion makers. For example, Dr Tariq Rahman will launch his book on “Interpretations of Jihad in South Asia” and Dr Samina Yasmin will talk about her book “Jihad and Dawah”.

Dr Nadhra Khan from LUMS will also launch her book on the Samadhi of Maharaj Ranjit Singh.

The third edition of the Afkar-e-Taza ThinkFest will cover a wide range of subjects, from history to politics, Islam to art, magic to psychology, gender to international relations—there will be an interesting panel for people from all walks of life.

The festival will begin at 10:30 am on January 12 and continue till 7 pm on January 13, 2019. It is free and open to the public and no registration is required.