Sapan News Network

A human rights lawyer from Pakistan living in a small seaside city Southend-on-Sea in England reflects on his experience organising a month-long event to honour the contributions of Southasians, from their post-World War II migration to their impact on the UK’s identity, economy, and cultural landscape.

Southasian writers and directors are making inroads into the film industry beyond Bollywood with the help of organisations like Tasveer, who seek to bring to light social justice issues within the Southasian community.

Anura Kumar Dissanayake’s recent election as #SriLanka’s president signals a momentous political shift in the island nation.

The police shoot-at-sight orders in Bangladesh that killed hundreds, mostly young people, reminded me of 20-year-old student Arif Sayed Faisal’s killing in the Boston area. Too many Black and brown people, including Southasians, have died at the hands of police in my adopted country. There is a need for change in how law enforcement interacts with the public.

Off-Kendrik started over 16 years ago, “committed to building a broad platform for South Asian theatre groups and the next generation of South Asian Americans through theatre and storytelling”.

Looking back to look ahead… The past clearly shows that every player has used militants as a means to an end, so no country should believe that they have a high ground from which they can’t descend. It is time for the diplomats – not military folks – to return to Afghanistan. Isolating the Taliban doesn’t hurt the Taliban nearly as much as it does the 40 million Afghans of Afghanistan and the larger region.

As the island nation’s 16-million registered voters head to the polls on September 21, اa look at how the nail-biter election will unfold, and the role its neighbours and global partners like China will play.

Screened at several venues in Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the USA, the film is now crossing more borders, its universal relevance highlighted with a series of ‘Global Community Screenings’ in a dozen countries around the world, with major cities like London, Hyderabad, Delhi, and Vancouver among them. Those interested in joining may submit an online form. Catch details in this story!

As America commemorated #LaborDay, a trio of Gandhian ‘peace walkers’ from India and Japan continued their four-month-long journey that started in New York, going on to Miami, Dallas, Seattle, and Los Angeles by the end October, before heading across the Atlantic to the UK.

On the annual International Day of the Disappeared, a look at how the Baloch community in Pakistan is being pushed to the wall but also ignored by the state, their marches, sit-ins, and demonstrations do get some attention, but little seems to change.