<p>The fifth edition of the South Asian Sufi Festival began with customary fervour, but writers, poets and scholars from neighbouring Pakistan were absent.<br /><br />Festival organisers said their request to invite 18 Pakistani authors for the event scheduled between October 6 and 9 was turned down by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Ministry of Home Affairs.<br /><br />Even last year, permission was denied to Pakistani delegation for the South Asian Literature Festival. “The absence of Pakistani writers is a political matter,” author and Padma Shri winner Ajeet Cour said. “We have to get permission from the political division of the MEA. But authors are not given visas on time.”<br /><br />Earlier, Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee, granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi and trustee of Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Trust, inaugurated the 5th South Asian Sufi Fest at Jaipur’s Diggi Palace.</p>
<p>The fifth edition of the South Asian Sufi Festival began with customary fervour, but writers, poets and scholars from neighbouring Pakistan were absent.<br /><br />Festival organisers said their request to invite 18 Pakistani authors for the event scheduled between October 6 and 9 was turned down by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Ministry of Home Affairs.<br /><br />Even last year, permission was denied to Pakistani delegation for the South Asian Literature Festival. “The absence of Pakistani writers is a political matter,” author and Padma Shri winner Ajeet Cour said. “We have to get permission from the political division of the MEA. But authors are not given visas on time.”<br /><br />Earlier, Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee, granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi and trustee of Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Trust, inaugurated the 5th South Asian Sufi Fest at Jaipur’s Diggi Palace.</p>
