LAHORE/CHANDIGARH – Chief Minister of Indian Punjab Bhagwant Mann confirmed in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha that he received an invitation to attend an international Punjabi conference in Lahore next month. His remarks gets attention because the proposed cultural visit comes against the backdrop of strained India-Pakistan relations and continuing restrictions on official travel.
Mann told the Assembly on Friday that the organisers invited him to the event scheduled to begin on November 27 and had offered to host him during his stay. While expressing doubts about whether the Indian central government would permit the trip, he made clear that he was interested in attending.
CM reportedly drew comparison with the difficulties he had faced getting approval for visits to France and Japan, questioning how he could expect permission to travel to Pakistan when clearance for other destinations had also proved challenging.
Speaking in his sarcastic style, Mann discussed cultural connections between Pakistani and Indian Punjab. He mentioned that celebrated poets and other personalities from India were expected to attend the gathering and expressed his own desire to be part of it.
Pakistani Punjabi poet Baba Bashir Hussain Najmi, popularly known as Baba Najmi, has been named in media reports as the person who extended the invitation.
Mann suggested that he would like the entire Punjab Assembly, including members of the ruling party and the opposition, to travel together to Kartarpur Sahib. Nankana Sahib was also mentioned in some reports of the discussion.
The invitation concerns 4th International Punjabi Conference, scheduled for November 27–29, 2026, at the Punjab Institute of Language, Art and Culture (PILAC) in Lahore. Organised by the Punjabi Parchar Organisation in collaboration with Punjabi Lehar and PILAC, the event is expected to attract thousands of participants from Pakistani Punjab and more than 50 international delegates representing approximately nine countries, according to reports.
The programme is expected to cover Punjabi language and literature, cultural preservation, agriculture and environmental issues. Discussions, cultural performances and award ceremonies will form part of the three-day gathering.
The event is distinct from other conferences held under the World Punjabi Conference or World Punjabi Congress banner, including the 34th World Punjabi Conference organised under Fakhar Zaman in January 2025.
For organisers and participants, Mann’s possible attendance could add considerable political visibility to a gathering primarily focused on language, literature and shared heritage.
Indian central government’s hardline stance dent ties between Islamabad and New Delhi and it got at lowest since May 2025 confrontation, with security concerns, airspace restrictions, water-related disputes and border tensions continuing to complicate engagement.
Cultural exchanges have occasionally continued despite political hostility, and writers and poets have participated in cross-border events in previous years. But a visit by a sitting Indian chief minister would be considerably more consequential than the participation of an individual literary delegate.
Fourth International Punjabi Conference to be held in November
News Desk
The writer is a staff member.