The second day of the 14th Lahore Literary Festival (LLF) witnessed robust literary and intellectual discourse as a significant session, held in collaboration with the Wimbledon Book Festival, examined the personal, moral and social impact of power and politics.
The session, titled ‘The Private Life of Power: How Politics Affects Friendships, Memory, and Moral Choice’, featured internationally acclaimed writer Kamila Shamsie, author of Best of Friends, in conversation with British High Commissioner to Pakistan Jane Marriott. The discussion offered a thoughtful exploration of how authority shapes human relationships, personal memory and ethical decision-making.
Speaking during the session, Kamila Shamsie said that reducing politics merely to policies or state power overlooked its deeper and more enduring consequences. She noted that proximity to power often reshaped how individuals interpreted their past actions, moral choices and personal values, adding that authority gradually influenced friendships and collective memory.
The discussion also highlighted how power compelled individuals to create new moral justifications for decisions that might once have seemed unacceptable, leading to distortions of truth and strain on human relationships. Participants stressed that the theme was not confined to criticism of politicians alone but served as a broader reflection for anyone involved in authority or decision-making at any level.
A large number of attendees participated in the session, showing keen interest during the question-and-answer segment. Many described the discussion as intellectually engaging and particularly relevant in the context of current global and regional political developments.
The session reflected the Lahore Literary Festival’s broader vision of presenting literature as a means of ethical inquiry, social awareness and serious intellectual engagement rather than mere creative expression.
Earlier on the second day, the festival opened with a sitar performance at the Alhamra Academy of Performing Arts. Sessions included “Urdu Literature at a New Turn,” featuring Aurangzeb Niazi, Rehman Faris, Naveen Roma and Sofia Baidar, and “The Metaphor of Cultural Isolation,” focusing on revolutionary Seraiki poetry, with Raft Abbas, Rifat Baloch and Rana Mehboob.
Other notable sessions included “Debating Identities,” featuring Robin Lane Fox, Kamila Shamsie, Irina Bokova, Saleema Ikram and Alice Russell, as well as “Immersive Writing: New Ways of Observation.” German scholar Andre Trschke delivered a lecture on India: Five Thousand Years of History, while Professor Mehboob Hussain, Dean Faculty of Humanities, Punjab University, also spoke on South Asian history.