The eleventh edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) is all set to begin from Thursday amid thick security cover, owing to the threats by the Rajput Karni Sena.
A team of senior policemen on Tuesday visited Diggi Palace, the venue for the festival and took stock of the situation.
Jaipur Police Commissioner Sanjay Agarwal has assured the organisers that the festival will take place smoothly.
"More than 500 security personnel will be present inside and outside the venue. We are assessing the threats to censor board chief Prasoon Joshi and screenplay writer Javed Akhtar to find out the kind of security needed for them" Agarwal said.
A few days ago, Shree Rajput Karni Sena had threatened that they will not let Prasoon Joshi enter the venue.
According to the organisers, Prasoon Joshi has not told them anything about not attending the festival. "We haven't heard from him or his office. As of now, he is coming to Jaipur and will attend the festival as per the previous schedule", Sonjoy Roy, an organiser of the JLF, told DH.
Joshi is a regular at the JLF and his sessions are always crowd-pullers. He will speak at a session titled 'Main Aur Woh' on January 28, the fourth day of the festival.
The festival witnesses huge footfall, with lakhs of people visiting every year.
Sir Tom Stoppard, British playwright and screenwriter of Shakespeare In Love; Michael Ondaatje, author of The English Patient; journalist Peter Bergen; travel writer Pico Iyer; and Anthony Horowitz, author of Magpie Murders, are some of the prominent authors attending the session.
Former Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai, Nobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus and Michael Rezendes, whose journalistic contributions were depicted in the Oscar-winning Spotlight, will also speak at the function.
Tributes for P G Wodehouse and the Beatles have also been planned.