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
Ayesha Jalal
Richard Evans
Richard Evans
Neeti Nair
Neeti Nair
Aqil Shah
Aqil Shah
Christine Corton
Christine Corton
Cemil Aydin
Cemil Aydin
Hina Rabbani Khar
Hina Rabbani Khar
Jean-Marie Lafont
Jean-Marie Lafont
Shalini Sharma
Shalini Sharma
Saral Suhain
Saral Suhain
Kei Miller
Kei Miller
Rosie Llewellyn-Jones
Rosie Llewellyn-Jones
Usman Qasmi
Usman Qasmi
Fauzia Viqar
Fauzia Viqar
Rupert Stone
Rupert Stone
Jean-Marie Lafont
Jean-Marie Lafont
Ishtiaq Ahmed
Ishtiaq Ahmed
Nadhra Khan
Nadhra Khan
Musadik Malik
Musadik Malik
Waheed Arshad
Waheed Arshad
Osama Siddique
Osama Siddique
Samina Yasmeen
Samina Yasmeen
Hashim Jawan Bakht
Hashim Jawan Bakht
Shaista Aziz
Shaista Aziz
Rabia Akhtar
Rabia Akhtar
Maria Sultan
Maria Sultan
Saeed Shafqat
Saeed Shafqat
Mosharraf Zaidi
Mosharraf Zaidi
Khola Cheema
Khola Cheema
Akeel Bilgrami
Akeel Bilgrami
Christophe Jaffrelot
Christophe Jaffrelot
Happymon Jacob
Happymon Jacob
Najam Sethi
Najam Sethi
Noor Aisha
Noor Aisha
Kama Maclean
Kama Maclean
John Zubrzycki
John Zubrzycki
Feisal Hussain Naqvi
Feisal Hussain Naqvi
Ahmad Riaz
Ahmad Riaz
Rosie Llewellyn-Jones
Rosie Llewellyn-Jones
Khalid Zaheer
Khalid Zaheer
Salman Abid
Salman Abid
Shaista Sonu Sirajjudin
Shaista Sonu Sirajjudin
Mamadou Diouf
Mamadou Diouf
Afiya S. Zia
Afiya S. Zia
Susan Loughhead
Susan Loughhead
Aalene Mahum Aneeq
Aalene Mahum Aneeq
Iqbal Chawla
Iqbal Chawla
Sughra Sadaf
Sughra Sadaf
Tooba Syed
Tooba Syed
Sadia Tasleem
Sadia Tasleem
Tahir Kamran
Tahir Kamran
Musharraf ali Farooqi
Musharraf ali Farooqi
Miranda Hussain
Miranda Hussain
Jamshed Kazi
Jamshed Kazi
Aisha Sarwari
Aisha Sarwari
Khalid Banuri
Khalid Banuri
Nadeem F. Paracha
Nadeem F. Paracha
Tariq Banuri
Tariq Banuri
Sajida Vandal
Sajida Vandal
Kamran Lashari
Kamran Lashari
Gauri Viswanathan
Gauri Viswanathan
Nermeen Sheikh
Nermeen Sheikh
Miles Taylor
Miles Taylor
Dibyesh Anand
Dibyesh Anand
Janaki Bakhle
Janaki Bakhle
Samina Yasmeen
Samina Yasmeen
Raza Ahmed Rumi
Raza Ahmed Rumi
Ramani Durvasula
Ramani Durvasula
Hussain Mohi-ud-Din
Hussain Mohi-ud-Din
Arkady Ostrovsky
Arkady Ostrovsky
Owen Bennett-Jones
Owen Bennett-Jones
Jugnu Mohsin
Jugnu Mohsin
Ejaz Haider
Ejaz Haider
Tariq Rahman
Tariq Rahman
Tariq Rahman
Tariq Rahman
Afrasiab Khattak
Afrasiab Khattak
Ahmad Rafay Alam
Ahmad Rafay Alam
Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri
Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri
Murad Khan Mumtaz
Murad Khan Mumtaz
S. Akbar Zaidi
S. Akbar Zaidi
Aziz Ahmad Khan
Aziz Ahmad Khan
Sir Tim
Sir Tim
Faisal Bari
Faisal Bari
Salman Akram Raja
Salman Akram Raja
Marvia Malik
Marvia Malik
Saad Rasool
Saad Rasool
Théo Clément
Théo Clément
Arkady Ostrovsky
Arkady Ostrovsky
Athar Abbas
Athar Abbas
Mujtaba Paracha
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.