The third edition of the Chinar Book Festival in Kashmir attracted over 57,000 to 100,000 visitors across nine days, highlighting the region's growing literary and cultural scene.

Organized by the National Book Trust (NBT) at Dal Lake, the event featured prominent authors, thinkers, and personalities like astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and filmmaker Imtiaz Ali.NBT director Yuvraj Malik emphasized that Kashmir's youth and reading culture defy negative stereotypes, with 70% of attendees being young women.The festival showcased Urdu literature's popularity and underscored the region's potential as a literary hub.Malik noted that security concerns were overstated, and the event's success proved the Valley's appetite for books and ideas.

The festival also highlighted generational shifts in Kashmiri society and promoted classics like the Mahabharata as timeless guides to leadership and conflict resolution.