Yogi Adityanath Opens 5th Gomti Book Festival in Lucknow

"Don't waste time on social media, develop reading habit": CM Yogi inaugurates 5th Gomti Book Festival-2026

Lucknow, September 12

"When Yuvraj Malik ji first proposed organising a book festival in Lucknow, I was initially unsure about the outcome. At that time, Awanish Awasthi was serving as the Additional Chief Secretary; he suggested that we should encourage the initiative. I agreed, stating that I was in favour of it and that it ought to happen," CM Yogi said while speaking at the fifth Gomti Book Festival at Lucknow University.

The Chief Minister said the organisers had explained that publishers and authors would participate in the festival, while local youth would get an opportunity to interact with writers, listen to their experiences and understand their stories.

"Yuvraj ji elaborated on the details, explaining that various publishers and authors would participate, local youth would gain a platform, and there would be an exchange of ideas-offering an opportunity to hear authors express themselves and to understand their stories. We gave the go-ahead to start," he said.

CM Yogi said the book festival was in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of connecting India's ancient knowledge tradition with modern knowledge.

He said that when knowledge remained confined to a limited scope, Uttar Pradesh had faced an identity crisis and was labelled a "BIMARU" state. He said the efforts made over the last 10 years had shown positive results.

The Chief Minister also rejected the perception that today's youth are not interested in reading books, saying young people respond when books are made accessible to them.

"I completely rejected the idea that today's youth don't read books. We didn't even try to get books to them," he said.

Referring to earlier editions of the festival, CM Yogi said the response in Gorakhpur was stronger than in Lucknow, with more people attending and purchasing books.

He urged, "young people not to waste their time on social media and instead develop a habit of reading books beyond their academic courses."

CM Yogi advised students to purchase books that encourage creativity and good ideas and create their own "book bank" at home.

He also asked children to read Prime Minister Narendra Modi's book "Exam Warriors", saying it guides them during tough tests in life.

The Chief Minister recalled India's long tradition of knowledge and quoted the Sanskrit saying, "Aano Bhadra Kratavo Yantu Vishwatah", meaning that noble thoughts should come from all directions.

He said Uttar Pradesh had historically been a major centre of knowledge, referring to Naimisharanya, Kashi, the Prayagraj Kumbh and Sukh Teerth in Muzaffarnagar.

Highlighting the government's efforts to promote reading at the grassroots level, Yogi said 57,600 Gram Panchayats had been equipped with Gram Sachivalayas having conference rooms, digital libraries and books from the National Book Trust.

"Today the whole village goes to their Gram Sachivalaya and sits in the library," he said.

He said digital libraries and smart classes had also been established in schools under Operation Kayakalp.

The nine-day Gomti Book Festival, being held from September 12 to 20, has more than 200 stalls and participation from over 120 publishers from across the country.

CM Yogi said the festival would give students and young people an opportunity to explore books across genres, meet authors and attend literary sessions, book launches and discussions.

Emphasising that formal education alone was not enough to develop wisdom, he said young people needed to read beyond their academic courses to understand society, the country and the world.

The Chief Minister said the Uttar Pradesh government would provide full support to expand the book festival beyond Lucknow and encouraged visitors to explore the stalls and understand the variety of books available.

The Gomti Book Festival is being organised in collaboration with Lucknow University and the National Book Trust. It will feature literary sessions, author interactions, panel discussions, book launches, cultural performances and children's activities.

— ANI