Manthan Samvaad 2026 was held in Hyderabad on Sunday, bringing together journalists, academics, lawyers, authors and filmmakers for discussions on freedom of speech, digitisation, history, politics and culture.
The event began with a session featuring journalist Karan Thapar in conversation with Navika Harshe. This was followed by a session titled ‘Digitisation for Ignorance’, featuring Apar Gupta, founder-director of the Internet Freedom Foundation.
Mr. Gupta argued that the government’s approach to digitisation needed to be examined in the context of its broader ideological project. Drawing parallels between the centralisation of digital systems and the consolidation of political and social power, he said the underlying approach appear to favour uniformity across institutions and public life.
The programme subsequently featured a session titled ‘Thinking Through Hate Speech: Between Freedom and Violence’, led by Supreme Court advocate Shahrukh Alam. She examined the relationship between free speech, hate speech and power, arguing that the two forms of speech serve fundamentally different purposes and should not be treated as belonging to the same category.
Ms. Alam said hate speech is driven by an attempt to assert or align oneself with power and is inherently exclusionary, seeking to push certain groups out of public discourse. Free speech, in contrast, is democratic and inclusive, creating space for more people to participate in public conversations.
Another session featured journalist Poonam Agarwal in conversation with Uma Sudhir. The programme also included a discussion titled ‘Why Study the Mughal Empire? Reflections on its Political Culture and Legacy’, led by Farhat Hussain, Professor of South Asian History at the University of Delhi. The session examined the political culture and historical legacy of the Mughal Empire.
Author and filmmaker Subroto Chattopadhyay presented a session titled ‘Bangladesh: Humiliation, Carnage, Liberation, Chaos: Chronicle of the 1971 War of Liberation’, focusing on the events and historical experiences associated with Bangladesh’s liberation war.
The event also featured ‘The AR Rahman Story’, a session led by M.R. Sharan and Swaroop Mamidipudi, exploring the life and work of the celebrated music composer.
Published - October 11, 2026 08:05 pm IST