2019
lAHORE
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.
Speakers

Ayesha Jalal

Richard Evans

Neeti Nair

Aqil Shah

Christine Corton

Cemil Aydin

Hina Rabbani Khar

Jean-Marie Lafont

Shalini Sharma

Saral Suhain

Kei Miller

Rosie Llewellyn-Jones

Usman Qasmi

Fauzia Viqar

Rupert Stone

Jean-Marie Lafont

Ishtiaq Ahmed

Nadhra Khan

Musadik Malik

Waheed Arshad

Osama Siddique

Samina Yasmeen

Hashim Jawan Bakht

Shaista Aziz

Rabia Akhtar

Maria Sultan

Saeed Shafqat

Mosharraf Zaidi

Khola Cheema

Akeel Bilgrami

Christophe Jaffrelot

Happymon Jacob

Najam Sethi

Noor Aisha

Kama Maclean

John Zubrzycki

Feisal Hussain Naqvi

Ahmad Riaz

Rosie Llewellyn-Jones

Khalid Zaheer

Salman Abid

Shaista Sonu Sirajjudin

Mamadou Diouf

Afiya S. Zia

Susan Loughhead

Aalene Mahum Aneeq

Iqbal Chawla

Sughra Sadaf

Tooba Syed

Sadia Tasleem

Tahir Kamran

Musharraf ali Farooqi

Miranda Hussain

Jamshed Kazi

Aisha Sarwari

Khalid Banuri

Nadeem F. Paracha

Tariq Banuri

Sajida Vandal

Kamran Lashari

Gauri Viswanathan

Nermeen Sheikh

Miles Taylor

Dibyesh Anand

Janaki Bakhle

Samina Yasmeen

Raza Ahmed Rumi

Ramani Durvasula

Hussain Mohi-ud-Din

Arkady Ostrovsky

Owen Bennett-Jones

Jugnu Mohsin

Ejaz Haider

Tariq Rahman

Tariq Rahman

Afrasiab Khattak

Ahmad Rafay Alam

Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri

Murad Khan Mumtaz

S. Akbar Zaidi

Aziz Ahmad Khan

Sir Tim

Faisal Bari

Salman Akram Raja

Marvia Malik

Saad Rasool

Théo Clément

Arkady Ostrovsky

Athar Abbas

Mujtaba Paracha
Venue
Alhamra Art Center, 68 Mall Rd, Garhi Shahu, Lahore, Punjab 54000
Get in Touch
Afkar-e-Taza ThinkFest provides you with an opportunity to engage with leading scholars from around the world in a fact-based and critical discussion which is grounded and vigorous. Please feel free to get in touch if you have any queries.