What has the revolution led to? “It is kind of the same regime with a different face today. The revolution still continues in a variety of different forms,” were the opening words from Egyptian author Ahdaf Soueif (right) at a Kolkata Literary Meet session titled Evolution of a Revolution, partnered by the British Council, with South African journalist Azad Essa (left) on the panel. The session was moderated by Samantak Das (centre).

“A revolution in itself doesn’t mean an emergence of democracy,” said Essa, the young author of The Moslems are Coming.

“The Israel-Palestine issue needs to be resolved and it has been misrepresented as an issue about Jews. The issue is never ethnicity or religion, but purely political,” observed Soueif.

The bottomline that struck a chord with the audience: If the state starts misusing its power and fails to hold up the true values of a democracy, it is time that it is changed. (Picture: Anindya Shankar Ray)