Manthan Samvaad 2026 discusses free speech, digitisation, history and culture

Manthan Samvaad 2026 was held in Hyderabad on Sunday, bringing together journalists, academics, lawyers, authors and filmmakers for discussions on freedom of speech, digitisation, history, politics and culture.

The event began with a session featuring journalist Karan Thapar in conversation with Navika Harshe. This was followed by a session titled ‘Digitisation for Ignorance’, featuring Apar Gupta, founder-director of the Internet Freedom Foundation.

Mr. Gupta argued that the government’s approach to digitisation needed to be examined in the context of its broader ideological project. Drawing parallels between the centralisation of digital systems and the consolidation of political and social power, he said the underlying approach appear to favour uniformity across institutions and public life.