The three-day Military Literature Festival- 2019 will begin on December 13 at the Lake Club in Chandigarh with the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to inaugurate the event.
The closing ceremony of the event will be presided by Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and honour the descendants and units of Victoria Cross winners of the Burma Campaign of the Second World War.
The event to be held from December 13 to 15 will present an international-level forum to foster and preserve exchange of knowledge related to military literature and associated works, besides acquainting the youth with glorious military heritage, Chief Minister’s Senior Advisor Lt Gen (retd.) T.S. Shergill told the media.
Last year, over 50,000 visitors witnessed the literature fest registering a 500 per cent in attendance in the fest which has a brand presence in the region. The fest encompasses all aspects of defence literary works, arts, crafts, music and displays to encourage youngsters to take up the defence forces as their career.
General Shergill said the Chief Minister would head a gathering of media experts, intellectuals and defence strategists, including Mark Tully, Ravish Kumar, former Army Chief General V.P. Malik, former Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa, Nandini Sundar, besides Oliver Everett, Kishwar Desai, Vivek Katju and Irfan Habib.
He further added that the Balakot strikes, Revocation of Article 370 and Taliban resurgence make up an engaging starting point for triggering deliberations enough to bring the stage alive.
This time a dedicated army information corner would be set up for facilitating aspiring youth about various army examinations and entry procedures. More than 10 books of noted defence and literary authors would also be released on the occasion, he added.