beenasarwar

Commemorating Labour History Month  Social anthropologist Shankar Ramaswami’s ‘Souls in the Kalyug’ is a rich, multi-layered text that provides a window into workers’ lives in India, including some hopeful strands within the destructive churnings of global capitalism.  Sapan BookshelfSouls in the Kalyug: The Politics and Cosmologies of Migrant Workers in Contemporary India By Shankar…

Police heavy-handedness, delayed permissions, and restrictive conditions cast a shadow over an annual women’s rights demonstration in Karachi this year. But women’s involvement and spaces of resistance will keep growing, say analysts. “Nobody can stop it”. By Abdullah Zahid / Sapan News KARACHI: For the organisers of the annual women’s rights demonstration known as Aurat (Women) March, it had…

As the conflict in the Middle East hits Southasia through surging oil prices and fractured supply chains, an initiative aims to bring together Israeli and Palestinian peace activists, alongside European policymakers, journalists and international law experts, to explore what meaningful European engagement in a political solution might look like. Commentary By Pavithra Perera WJA/ Sapan…

 A migrant from Pakistan sees striking parallels between the 1947 Partition of British India and the current political schism in the United States. Is America repeating the same “divide and rule” history that fractured the subcontinent? Commentary By Ali Azad / Sapan News The Partition of British India in 1947, which created India and Pakistan, is often remembered as a singular, closed chapter…

How ‘The Silver Songbirds of Bengaluru,’ a senior citizens’ choir led by a top-ranking retired diplomat, is crossing borders and boundaries, and building bridges, community, and solidarity with music By Ammu Joseph / Sapan News “Collaborations like these don’t make grand claims about peace, they quietly build it. When you sing together, you listen differently, you notice each other, you…

A ground report from the heart of India’s central forests, where indigenous women have liberated thousands of acres of ancestral land. By Amit Sengupta/ Sapan News She was young, dark, wearing a cotton sari. Phooleshwari lazily walked with me uphill in the undulating, muddy lane, surrounded by a sunshine-yellow landscape of mustard flowers.  It was the winter of 2022. We were in Bom, a…

From the rebellion of ‘Dum Maro Dum’ to the soulful ghazals of ‘Umrao Jaan’, Asha Bhosle’s music remains a bridge of diplomacy that transcends geopolitics. By Madiha Arsalan Haneef / Sapan News The passing of Asha Bhosle at age 92 across the border in India feels like the silencing of a shared cultural heartbeat. In the drawing rooms of Islamabad and the bustling tea stalls of Lahore, the news…

Marking half a decade of cross-border solidarity, the Southasia Peace Action Network’s recent anniversary event highlighted the region’s enduring resilience, the urgent challenges faced by Gen Z, and a renewed push for hope in Southasia. By Bilal Arif /  Sapan News – London The Southasian region borders are more than just geographical markers; they are deep fractures that dictate who we can…

Lessons from the 1950s Democratic Students Federation movement remain relevant beyond Pakistan for the revived progressive consciousness of a new generation. By Abdullah Zahid / Sapan News KARACHI: A recent screening in Boston of journalist and filmmaker Beena Sarwar’s documentary Aur Niklenge Ushhaq ke Qaaflay (There Will Be More Caravans of Passion) brought the 1950s Democratic Students…

Ghost Peppers use their music as a platform for dialogue, blending cultural narratives and rhythms to explore unity, friendship, and the power of cross-border understanding – particularly between Pakistan and India By Siraj Khan / Sapan News What happens when a Bengali-origin English professor and Partition scholar at a university in Florida starts to collaborate with fellow English professors…

The conflict between Iran, Israel and the United States spans decades, rooted in revolution, nuclear tensions, and regional rivalry. Evolving through proxy wars, sanctions and recurring military escalations. By MJ Vijayan / Sapan News The war on Iran did not begin in a vacuum. It began in Gaza. For nearly two years the world has watched Israel devastate Palestine, daily, with unprecedented…

The recent bulldozing of the Gaza War Cemetery has disturbed the final resting place of thousands of soldiers, including those from the British Indian Army. While Australia has expressed outrage, the silence from Southasian governments raises urgent questions about how we value our shared historical memory. By Inderjeet Parmar / Sapan News The Gaza War Cemetery in al-Tuffah, eastern Gaza City,…

As Donald Trump starts a global tariff war, economists argue Southasia has an overlooked shield: deeper regional trade, and without it, the region risks remaining dependent on Western concessions and vulnerable to external pressure. By Rohinee Singh / Sapan News At a time when U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening tariffs across the world, experts say that if Southasian countries, India,…

A Pakistani-Sri Lankan collaboration secured two major awards at the Second Jalgaon International Film Festival in India, highlighting the shared struggles and creative spirit of the region. By Pragyan Srivastava / Sapan News LUCKNOW, India:  Underscoring the enduring power of storytelling to transcend national boundaries, a documentary filmed at a remote village in Sri Lanka and the capital…

On International Women’s Day, a reminder to focus on people, not politics. Placing gender equality and women’s empowerment at the heart of peace and development efforts between India and Pakistan offers a radically different way to rethink Indo-Pak relations. By Dr. Feroza Sanjana / Sapan News The foreign policy discourse on India-Pakistan relations is centered around traditional security…