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Sitharaman Praises Bhyrappa, Urges Open Intellectual Debate
Nirmala Sitharaman gave a speech about the writer SL Bhyrappa.
She said public discussions should be like an open stage.
People with different ideas should be allowed to speak and debate.
She compared this debate to the churning of the ocean in an old Hindu story, where truth comes from opposing forces working against each other.
Sitharaman praised Bhyrappa for writing about history, faith and India’s civilisational memory.
She said he became popular with readers even though some institutions and critics did not celebrate him enough.
She discussed several of his important books, including Parva and Aavarana.
The event also gave awards for historical writing and illustration.
Nirmala Sitharaman delivered the Dr SL Bhyrappa Memorial Lecture on 5 September at New Delhi’s India Habitat Centre.
She called for thinkers from differing ideological positions to debate openly and described the process as an intellectual “Samudra Manthan.”
Sitharaman praised Bhyrappa’s engagement with history, faith and civilisational memory, as well as his restrained, unsentimental writing.
She highlighted Bhyrappa’s literary peaks, including works such as Vamshavriksha, Gruhabhanga, Daatu, Parva and Aavarana.
The Foundation for Indian Historical and Cultural Research presented inaugural prizes for history, historical fiction and illustration.
- Who
- Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman spoke about novelist and thinker SL Bhyrappa; Rajalakshmi Aggarwal and historian Vikram Sampath also attended.
- What
- Sitharaman delivered the Dr SL Bhyrappa Memorial Lecture and called for open debate among competing intellectual viewpoints.
- Where
- India Habitat Centre in New Delhi.
- When
- The lecture took place on 5 September; the article also states that Bhyrappa died in September 2025 at age 94.
- Why
- Sitharaman was honoring Bhyrappa’s literary legacy and advocating a more pluralistic intellectual and cultural discourse.
Key facts
- Speaker
- Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Finance Minister
- Event
- Dr SL Bhyrappa Memorial Lecture
- Venue
- India Habitat Centre, New Delhi
- Host
- Foundation for Indian Historical and Cultural Research
- Bhyrappa’s major works cited
- Vamshavriksha, Gruhabhanga, Daatu, Parva and Aavarana
- Awards mentioned
- RC Majumdar Prize, SL Bhyrappa Prize and Anant Pai Prize
- Bhyrappa’s age at death
- 94, according to the article
Quotes
Nirmala Sitharaman
Union Finance Minister and speaker at the Dr SL Bhyrappa Memorial Lecture
“For the first time, we have put an idea into practice, honouring a historian for uncompromising scholarship, a novelist for the courage to tell difficult truths and an author-illustrator duo for making that history come alive for our children.”
theprint.in
“There must be room on the left side of the stage, and on the right side, and above all, at the centre, there should be a place. Thinkers must be able to enter from both sides. They are the actors. They will be in the centre to play and talk.”
theprint.in
Sources
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