The Next Wave on Sunday and upcoming events; Sapan’ers making a mark, 'Democracy in Debt' screenings, Sapan News features and more
In this edition: Upcoming events including 'The Next Wave' discussion on social movements across Southasia, 'Democracy in Debt' screenings in Washington DC and Japan; Sapan’ers making a mark, and more
Greetings, Sapan family!
We are thrilled to share the latest updates from the Southasia Peace Action Network and Sapan News and the impactful work of Sapaners worldwide.
Sapan resumes its last-Sunday-of-month virtual events with The Next Wave, Oct. 27, 11:00 am ET, exploring democracy, governance, and human rights. It is also a call to action, a chance to understand and contribute to the ongoing social movements in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, and India, with relevance elsewhere.
‘Documentary in Debt’ screenings continue!
The second phase of Global Community Screenings for the Pulitzer Center-supported documentary ‘Democracy in Debt: Sri Lanka Beyond the Headlines’ included a showing at the South Asia Journalists Association's SAJA@30 event in New York. Sapaner Sree Srinivasan co-founded SAJA 30 years ago,
If you are in Washington, D.C. on October 29, join the screening organised by Sapaner Zaineb Majoka of Bol Cafe! There’s also a screening in Japan on the same day, organised by Fukunaga Masaaki, assistant director of the Center for South Asian Studies (CSAS) at Gifu, Japan. To participate, fill in the form at this link.
Sapan’ers making a mark
Our community continues to shine across various fields. Some highlights:
Scholar Dr. Rajmohan Gandhi, one of the early endorsers of the Sapan Founding Charter, has launched a new platform, We Are One Humanity that aims to take forward ideals of democracy and equality, particularly involving Southasia-connected residents and citizens of the U.S. and Canada. The board includes Sapan co-founder Kalpana Sharma in Mumbai. We look forward to collaborating with this initiative for friendship and normalization in Southasia.
Sapan News partner Central Desi’s journalism fellowship n New Jersey, spearheaded by journalist Ambreen Ali, provides a $3,000 stipend to fellows. Keep an eye out for the next one if you / someone you know in NJ is passionate about storytelling in the Southasian community.
Upcoming events
Prof. Akbar Ahmed, Ibne-Khaldun Chair, American University, Washington, DC) will be the keynote speaker at the Annual Sir Syed Day Dinner in New Jersey, Saturday, October 26, 6:00 p.m, followed by a performance by Imran Aziz Mian Qawwal, son of the late legendary Aziz Mian, at Zara’s Restaurant, Lawrence Township, NJ. Details here.
Prof. Ahmed, a Pakistan origin scholar, shares his thoughts why tthe world needs Gandhian values today, published on the occasion of the Mahatma’s birth anniversary in Sapan News.
Renowned Pakistani artist and curator Salima Hashmi, Sapan founder member and advisor, is among those showcasing her work at the Lahore Biennale, continuing her legacy of blending art with powerful political narratives. Her presence is also evident at the Karachi Biennale, Pakistan’s largest contemporary art exhibition.
Salima Hashmi will also address the Mansoora Hasan Retrospective being inaugurated on November 1, 4:00 pm at Fred Schnider Gallery in Arlington, Virginia, along with Indian sculptor, industrial designer and architect Tarik Currimbhoy. The exhibition runs November 1-3. Watch Sapaner Dr Azra Raza’s thoughtprovoking tribute to the late artist earlier this year - don’t miss her lovely Maya Angelou story.
An oncologist by profession, Dr Azra Raza will give a series of talks in Lahore, November 17-25, 2024, along with her Columbia University colleague Dr. Stavroula Kousteni — at Fatima Jinnah Medical University, Nov. 19 (Tuesday), a public lecture on the Lutfullah Archive Project at LUMS, Nov. 21 (Thursday), and ‘Between Hope and Despair: The Significance of Art in Pathology,’ Nov. 22 (Friday).
The Society of Pakistan English Language Teachers (SPELT), co-founded by Sapan founder member Prof. Zakia Sarwar, holds its 40th annual International Conference, November 16-17, 2024, spearheaded by Mohsin Tejani who has co-run writing workshops for the Sapan community, with Lee Krishnan in Mumbai. Read Naazir Mahmud’s informative writeup about it.
Recent events
Photos from SAJA@30 by the eminent photographer Jay Mandal in New York City, October 11-12, 2024, are online here.
The 19th edition of the Tasveer Film Festival, the world’s first and only Oscar-qualifying South Asian film festival, made history once again, this time by launching the Tasveer Film Festival Market (TFFM), the first in North America dedicated to Southasian filmmakers. Read Sapan News contributing editor Regina Johnson’s report about it. The Virtual Festival continues till 31 Oct.
Photos via Beena Sarwar Several members of the South Asia Women in Media Network (SAWM), a Sapan partner, were involved in the 2024 Laadli South Asia Media Awards in Mumbai on 11 October, including Sapan News advisory council members Namrata Sharma from Kathmandu and Dilrukshi Handunnetti from Sri Lanka.
South Asia Women in Media (SAWM) members from the Sapan network: Journalists Dilrukshi Handunnetti, Bachi Karkaria, and Shimla Ahmed with Aanya Wpulasena (right), Laadli winner from Sri Lanka at the awards ceremony in Mumbai. Photo via Shimla Ahmed, Maldives Dilrukshi Handunnetti’s article along with a piece by the writer Andrew Fidel Fernando also features in a Sapan News Network Dossier piece: A change of guard in Sri Lanka amidst economic crisis and political reform.
‘Satire and Ridicule,’ depicting the fall of Sheikh Hasina and the July Revolution in Bangladesh, a book of cartoons edited by Sapan News advisor and photographer Dr Shahidul Alam and published by Drik Picture Library, a Sapan partner, and the Bangladesh Cartoonist Association, was launched on Oct. 17.
Understanding the ‘hood
Human rights activist, writer, educator, and media critic Dr. Partha Banerjee’s brief history of Bangladesh explores the background and roots of the crisis.
Labour rights activist Namrata Raju, in collaboration with The Migration Story, has initiated a series of brief video explainers, ‘L is for Labour.’
Sapan News Network features our global community
Multicultural unity in the UK counters the violence which makes headlines - human rights lawyer Shahid Nadeem from Pakistan reflects on his experience organizing a month-long event in Southend-on-Sea, celebrating Southasians’ contributions to the UK.
Why has the Pakistani film ‘The Legend of Maula Jatt’ been stopped from release in Indian theatres? - By actor Imran Zahid in New Delhi, who filed a Right to Information petition on the ‘ban’ on Pakistani films in India.
Sapan News advisor Sanjoy Hazarika’s three-part report on the Myanmar-Mizoram border is condenses in this Dossier piece for Sapan News: Rebel power and regional struggles: A cross-over crisis from Myanmar to Mizoram.
SAPAN STORIES: Dr Geet Chainani on the Sapan YouTube channel
Connecting Across Borders: Dr Geet Chainani on Sindhi heritage and cross-b border community work.
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Thanks and solidarity,
The Sapan News Desk
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Newsletter compiled by Pragyan Srivastava, an Indian journalist and former Fulbright-Nehru Master’s scholar at Rutgers University, working with Sapan News as Associate Editor.
*Note: We write Southasia as one word “seeking to restore some of the historical unity of our common living space, without wishing any violence on the existing nation-states” Himal Southasian.
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