Tributes to be paid to martyrs ahead of military literature fest

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 6

As a prelude to the fourth edition of the Military Literature Festival (MLF), a wreath-laying ceremony to pay homage to martyrs is scheduled to be held at the Chandigarh War Memorial on December 7, which also coincides with the Armed Forces Flag Day.

Governor of Punjab and Chandigarh Administrator VP Singh Badnore will pay floral tributes at the memorial. General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, Lt Gen RP Singh and three former service chiefs residing in the tricity, Gen VP Malik, Admiral Sunil Lanba and Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa are among serving and retired officers expected to attend the event.

The dates fixed for the main event are December 18, 19 and 20. This year the festival is being held virtually because of the restrictions in place due to the Covid-19 pandemic and many interactive events, including virtual exhibitions and a curtain raiser on the 1971 Indo-Pak war, will be conducted online and streamed live on the Internet.

A wide array of contemporary, historic, literary and technical issues related to national security and the armed forces will feature in the MLF, with experts in the domain as well as serving and retired defence officers, propounding their views.

Expectedly, the seven-month long continuing stand-off between India and China as well as the collusive threat on the northern and western borders will feature prominently in the themes for panel discussions along with contemporary geo-strategic issues.

The Military Literature Festival is an annual affair conducted by the Punjab Government and the Western Command to honour and commemorate the legendary bravery and sacrifices of the Indian soldiers and also to bring on to a common platform experts to deliberate on contemporary military, security and geopolitical issues.