With ‘nation first’ theme, DU kicks off its first literary fest

New Delhi: The first-ever Delhi University Literature Festival kicked off on Thursday at North Campus with the theme ‘Nation First: Unity in Diversity'. The three-day event is open to public.The opening day featured sessions such as ‘Rashtra Pratham' and discussions on ‘Global Relevance of Vedic Knowledge Today' and ‘India and the Global Reset', with speakers including BJP functionaries Vijay Chauthaiwale and Ram Madhav. Actor and poet Piyush Mishra also participated.In the ‘Nation First' session, moderated by vice-chancellor Yogesh Singh, Chauthaiwale said India had delayed building closer ties with Israel, noting that no Prime Minister had visited the country before Narendra Modi. He said Israel had made significant advances in agriculture and technology and India could collaborate with it more meaningfully.Responding to a student's question on whether India would be made a "Hindu rashtra", Chauthaiwale said, "India is already a Hindu rashtra as per the Sangh; we don't need to make anything new." He also emphasised the need to place "nation first" above individual interests.Speaking at the ‘India and the Global Reset' session, Madhav described the current global order as "chaotic" and "highly divided". Referring to tariff imposed by US president Donald Trump's administration and the US' capturing of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, he said global institutions like United Nations had become "powerless and ineffective". "Despite the pressures shaping the world order today, India stands strong in protecting its interests," he said, adding that the country had emerged as a voice of the Global South.Over the next two days, the festival will host sessions such as ‘Not Out of Syllabus' and the campus edition of ‘DU ki Adalat'. Actor Pankaj Tripathi and filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri are scheduled to speak at the festival.