Chandigarh-Lt Gen TS Shergill, PVSM announced the 9th Military Literature Festival, Chandigarh to be held at the Lake Club from 7th to 9th November 2025 under the aegis of the Military Literature Festival Association in partnership with Punjab Govt, Chandigarh Administration and the Army’s Western Command.
The main event will be preceded on Sunday, 26th October by the Wreathlaying Ceremony at the Chandigarh War Memorial by HE Shri Gulab Chand Kataria, Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Chandigarh. This will be followed shortly after by the Bravehearts Mobike Ride dedicated to the heroes of the 1965 Indo-Pak War.
The thumping roar of over 600 Royal Enfields and other motorcycles starting up is a phenomenal sound and then to see them streaming out from near the Heritage High Court building complex is a scintillating sight.
The iconic Bravehearts Ride which has become a special feature of the Military Literature Festival activities is being conducted on 26th October 2025 marking the start of the Military Literature Festival for this year. Veteran bikers alongside other riders from across the Northern Region and The Tricity will be participating in this Ride. The Ride is an awesome spectacle and virtually brings The City Beautiful to a standstill with its superlative display of controlled and disciplined motorcycle riding that perhaps has not been seen before.
The special feature in this year’s ride is that the Honourable Governor and UT Administrator Shri Gulab Chand Kataria would be flagging off the ride.
A total of approximately 665 bike riders will be participating in this event with 23 individual Riding Groups, a notable feature being that for the first time three All-Women Biking Groups are taking part in this ride. They will showcase skills of disciplined and safe road driving. The Ride will have veterans from the Three Defence Services and many young bike enthusiasts from across Punjab and Haryana steering spectacular looking Enfields, Triumphs, BMW’s and Harley machines.
The event encourages participation from all age groups across North India, especially women riders. Adorning attractive MLF badges and Blue Yellow jackets the riders will show solidarity with the Defence Forces and pay homage to the Heroes of the Indo – Pak War 1965. The ride will go through Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula and end up at the Raina Stadium in the Chandimandir Military Station Area where they will be graciously hosted by The Western Command.
The Ride symbolises a wonderful synergy of like-minded people from across different walks of life who voluntarily come together for a common cause and pay singular homage to the fallen heroes and pay respects to their spirit of sacrifice. The Ride is led and organised by Col Raminder Brar, a veteran biking enthusiast and his efforts to encourage greater bonhomie and bonding of the Younger Generation of biking enthusiasts towards the Military Literature Festival and share and experience the Ethos and Culture of the Services has always set an excellent benchmark to follow.
The participation by three, All-Women Biking Groups this year is a moment of pride for us and speaks volumes of the Ride culture that has been established. All the participating Riders acknowledge the exceptional manner in which this Ride is organized and they salute the spirit of the Ride and what it stands for.
Once again the popular Clarion Call theatre will entertain and educate the viewing public. The crowd pulling venue is all set to screen war movies portraying bravery, courage and sacrifice by the Army, Navy and Air Force. Two value additions this time include one on the 1965 Indo-Pak War and the new concept of non-contact warfare based on long distance air and missile attacks in the context of Operation Sindoor, the Israeli attacks on Gaza and Iran. The state of art movie theatre is named after 1965 Paran Vir Chakra awardee Lt Col AB Tarapore of the Poona Horse.
General Shergill said that the inter-related themes for this year’s Festival are Heartland, Rimland and India and Multi-Domain Warfare of which there will be numerous panel discussions. The military historical theme is the 1965 Indo-Pak War whose 60th anniversary we commemorated earlier this year. Festival events at the Lake Club, Chandigarh will include an interaction with a military delegation from the United Kingdom who will talk about the shared heritage between the Indian and British Armies. Of special interest would be Sikh scholar Amardeep Singh’s exposition. HE Shri Gulab Chand Kataria, Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Chandigarh would inaugurate the Festival on the 7th and Sardar Bhagwant Singh Mann, Honourable Chief Minister would preside over the closing ceremony on the 9th. General Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Defence Staff would deliver the keynote address on the 9th.
In addition, veterans would deliver motivational lectures in the Samvad section. There would be a display of military weapons and equipment. The Army would organise dog and horse shows at the venue on all days. A new feature this year is the outreach to universities and through them to youth and students. An MLF team has organised a seminar on the 1965 War at Panjab University, Chandigarh and will be doing so at Punjabi University, Patiala shortly.
Lastly our everlasting thanks to our partners the Punjab Govt, Chandigarh Administration and the Army’s Western Command. We couldn’t have done what we have over the last 9 years without them,
Finally, a heartfelt debt of gratitude to our volunteers. Without them we couldn’t have achieved anything.