India, Feb. 16 -- In 1975, at the Marathi Sahitya Sammelan in Karad, held amid then prime minister Indira Gandhi's Emergency, noted cultural anthropologist and writer Durga Bhagwat who chaired the event, said that politicians had no place on the dais at literary meets. It prompted Congressman Yashwantrao Chavan, a minister in Gandhi's cabinet, to quietly step down from the stage and take a seat in the front row despite being the head of the reception committee. It was a defining moment as it underscored the literary meet's commitment to keep politics at bay.

Five decades later, the narrative is rewritten. Despite its intent of being a congregation for authors, poets and literary enthusiasts-especially in the backdrop of Marathi recently ...