The flourishing culture of Pakistan’s literary festivals
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Good things can happen anytime and anywhere, but they must have human agency, a vision and energy behind them. In tough economic times, unending political crises and widespread despondency, the tradition of literary festivals offer a rare opportunity to a culturally starved urban population in Pakistan. There were times when Pakistan’s urban life was vibrant, colorful, and dynamic. Authors, poets, literati, and political activists used to gather in cafes and teahouses regularly, participate in literary events and engage in dialogue and discussions in the 60’s and 70’s. That was an age of hope, ideological ferment, controversies, and social activism contributing to cultural pluralism and intellectual diversity.
As Pakistan went under military rule in 1977, dissent and open discussion, the two defining features of Pakistan’s post-independence political culture began to wither away. A reign of repression forced free thinkers to stay silent or leave the country. Those who resisted were put in prisons and humiliated, including famous poets, artists, and cultural icons. It has taken almost a quarter of a century to slowly revive these lost traditions, but with generations wasted, it is not the same society and cultural landscape: it’s a very different country, where terrorism, extremism, corruption, and political conflicts have become the norm. Most of the traditional values have changed from celebrating a cultural mosaic and openness to intolerance, greed, ill-gotten wealth and privilege.
In a way, Pakistan is going back to its historical ethos and cultural pluralism laced with creative, artistic expression and free debate.
Rasul Bakhsh Rais
It was a bold and radical idea by Ameena Saiyid, the then Executive Director of the Oxford University Press, Karachi and late Asif Farrukhi, a writer and translator to establish the Karachi Literature Festival (KLF) in 2010. It had the blessings of the OUP, a global academic publisher and financial support of the British Council along with many other sponsors. The KLF with fourteen editions and spin-offs, like the Islamabad Literature Festival, Children and Teachers’ Literature Festival, has become an institution itself, attracting creative writers, thought-leaders, social activists, artists, and scholars of all discipline from within the region and across the globe. Its mission remains creating intellectual space to promote diversity and pluralism and to celebrate Pakistan’s rich cultural and literary streams. Having participated in many of these as a speaker, discussant, and panelist, I always found the three-day events packed with old and young men and women from every social and economic background. It truly gave inclusivity to each edition of the KLF and many others that have sprung up in several cities of the country.
Lahore, the ‘cultural heart’ of Pakistan with a rich and long intellectual and social history couldn’t remain behind. A private business group launched Lahore Literature Festival two years later in 2012. The city established two more, the Think Festival, and lately, the Pakistan Literature Festival. Karachi, being the capital of Sindh province, has added to its intellectual tradition, the Sindh Literature Festival. Multan and Faisalabad are two other cities in the Punjab heartland that now boast literature festivals annually. It is quite amazing to see how these festivals have contributed to recapturing the intellectual space in Pakistan that had been lost to authoritarian rule. We continue to witness increasing public interest and broader participation in all events from debate on contemporary social and political issues to mushaira (poetry reading) and performing arts events.
The literature festivals are not just about literature in the cultural and social context of Pakistan, they are about all forms of creativity from fiction and non-fiction books to theatre, dances, short films, and more importantly, for providing a forum to celebrated Pakistani and foreign writers and intellectuals to present their works. The gatherings have a galaxy of diplomats stationed in Pakistan, renowned scholars, big names in arts and music and representatives from political parties to deliberate on national issues. All major festivals attempt to make sure that regional cultural and intellectual streams are represented.
What is more impressive about contemporary culture of literature festivals is that celebration of artistic expression or intellectual engagement is not only among the elite or older generations. It is more inclusive and public than in earlier decades and attracts college and university-going youth that throng the sessions. Some of the modern and progressive high schools in town facilitate younger ones to attend events of their interest. Exposing younger generations to cultural diversity and pluralism and offering them an opportunity to engage with great minds of the time contributes to the pursuit of learning and embracing new ideas across national frontiers. The open dialogue, social harmony, debate and discussion on critical national issues, and free expression have helped society reclaim free intellectual space. The spirit and enthusiasm of the youth is infectious, inspiring hope that society is getting to the brighter side of the tunnel. In a way, Pakistan is going back to its historical ethos and cultural pluralism laced with creative, artistic expression and free debate.
— Rasul Bakhsh Rais is Professor of Political Science in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, LUMS, Lahore. His latest book is “Islam, Ethnicity and Power Politics: Constructing Pakistan’s National Identity” (Oxford University Press, 2017).
Twitter: @RasulRais
