Jaipur, Jan. 16 -- Chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma and deputy chief ministers Diya Kumari and Prem Chand Bairwa inaugurated the 19th Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) on Thursday, January 15, 2026. The festival will conclude on Sunday. "Every year, this festival sets Rajasthan and its culture at the global platform. Rajasthan is always considered as a sacred land of literature, art, and culture. We welcome everyone from across the world in this festival which is taking place at the heart of this sacred land," said CM Sharma after launching the event. Sharma highlighted the festival's core idea of celebrating literature from various languages and regions worldwide. "Literature helps spreading knowledge to the people. The discussions of various writers and thinkers in this festival for the next five days will enlighten everyone. JLF is the best example that there is no barrier of language and region," he said. He described the festival as a "magical combination of tradition and modernity". "Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi always believed that the development and tradition must always go hand-in-hand. It is the only way to build a nation. While JLF is taking place at a city where the folks yet recalls their history in oral form, this festival will host a range of speakers who will talk about science, technology, and many other topics. This is a true combination of tradition and modernity," he said. Former chief justice of India DY Chandrachud, Nobel prize-winning economist Esther Duflo, and former West Bengal governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi feature among the key speakers at this year's JLF. The 19th edition showcases over 350 speakers across six venues. It curates an expansive programme that traverses fiction, poetry, history, art, science, maths, medicine, mental health, climate action, business, geopolitics and conflict, gender and translations, cinema, race, identity and more, weaving in the enduring power of storytelling. The speakers include at least four Nobel winners, several Booker prize winners, Magsaysay winners, and Sahitya Akademi winners. JLF director Namita Gokhale described the festival as a celebration of diverse languages and people. Addressing the inaugural ceremony, she said, "We live in a multilingual society with 22 national languages and several more regional languages and dialects. JLF will celebrate all of them with a wide range of authors."...