An unexpected rebellion unfolds in a corner of the SOAS Library through an innovative exhibit that invites visitors to witness women’s voices, long pushed to the margins, through poetry, art, and archival memory.

We’re at 71% of our goal — $17,906 raised! Thank you to our amazing 75 supporters. Your generosity keeps us moving toward our $25K goal! Help us keep pushing: donate if you can & share with your network. Your support makes all the difference. Donate here: givebutter.com/c/Sapan-News

We’re at 71% of our goal — $17,906 raised! Thank you to our amazing 75 supporters. Your generosity keeps us moving toward our $25K goal! Help us keep pushing: donate if you can & share with your network. Your support makes all the difference!

Hope travels quietly — in the words of those who listen deeply and tell stories with honesty. This #GivingTuesday, your support keeps those stories moving, carrying Southasia’s journey toward peace a little further. Support us here: givebutter.com/c/Sapan-News

You can help sustain journalism rooted in empathy, nuance, and dialogue. Thanks to #NewsMatch2025, every dollar you give from Nov 1–Dec 31 is doubled or tripled — up to $35K. Back journalism that brings Southasia and its diaspora together. Please donate here: givebutter.com/c/RDR4tG

As the holiday season kicks off, we’re feeling especially grateful for you. 🧡 If Sapan News has informed or connected you to Southasia this year, please consider supporting our work. Through #NewsMatch2025, your gift is doubled or even tripled. Give a little thanks: givebutter.com/c/RDR4tG

A senior Indian journalist pays tribute to his Pakistani ‘older brother’ known as ‘General Shanti’ (peace), Major General Mahmud Ali Durrani, who passed away recently.

#Nepal’s progress depends on transforming not just its cities but also its rural areas, ensuring equal access to opportunities for all communities to thrive together – or risk watching its newest revolution dissolve into the familiar rhythm of the old order.

A Lahore-based educator and a Mumbai-based journalist on the power of sports to bring people together, as evident by the accolades from Pakistan after the Indian women’s cricket team’s momentous 50-over Women’s World Cup victory.

What does nostalgia look like? For Sayali Goyal, it’s a cracked wall, a rusting fan, a steel tumbler balanced on an earthen pot. Her new photo book is a journey through the India that lives in our memory – unposed, unfiltered, and achingly familiar.

Meeting with #MiraNair and #MahmoodMamdani in New Delhi when #ZohranMamdani was a teenager provides an insight into the humanism, empathy and politics that mark New York City’s new mayor, a story that has gripped imaginations across Southasia and beyond.

It’s on! Every donation to @SapanNews until Dec 31 will be matched or tripled. Your $50 = $150 for peace journalism. Donate → sapan-news-network.fundjournalism.org/donate/ #NewsMatch2025

New York City mayoral candidate Queens Assembly member #ZohranMamdani has emerged as an unexpected force challenging political norms and energizing a disillusioned electorate.

The personal journey of a Paris-based beauty-products entrepreneur from Karachi with a decades-long career in cosmetics who organised a series of events on soil health in Pakistan.

Reflections on a book launched in London earlier this year, about one of Pakistan’s foremost architects based in Lahore who filtered out noise and chaos to hear voices of tradition and culture.

Many didn’t see this star until his passing. But the story of Assam’s beloved singer Zubeen Garg stands as a reminder that the courage to speak, sing, and stand for justice is still the most powerful form of resistance. He was the real deal.

“We are one humanity, one struggle. And I’m proud to say that everything has been put together by the young people.”

The food scraps we dump into landfills that belch methane into the air can be turned into “black gold” – compost that feeds our soil, reduces chemical fertilizer use, and helps fight climate change. Here’s how.

A major new study under publication shows how access to English in Southasia influences intergenerational mobility, labour markets, and social outcomes.

Protectionist tariffs, market access disputes, and revoked trade privileges are straining long-term economic and strategic ties between two major world powers.

There is virtually no location in India or Pakistan where a nuclear strike would not trigger catastrophic consequences for Southasia. Their nuclear arsenal and rivalry underscores the constant threat of escalation and reminds us why global disarmament is urgent.

When I think back to Wagah, what stays with me is not the barbed wire, but the wind – the same wind moving across the border without asking permission. I think of rivers that carry stories of children whose laughter sounds the same in Lahore, Delhi, Dhaka, and Kathmandu.

At a time when border tensions, cross-border terrorism, and frozen diplomatic channels define India-Pakistan relations, resuming cricket ties may seem counterintuitive. Yet it is precisely in such climates that unconventional tools for engagement become vital.

A first-hand account and explainer of what unfolded in Nepal over the past week, after mass protests by the youth demanding reform and government accountability culminated in police killings, arson – and regime change. Time now to pause, reflect, and build back as the air starts to clear.

A long running Southasian ‘mela’ in Norway challenges what is considered ‘normal’ on the Scandinavian festival circuit.

How a child in a multi-ethnic home in Dubai grows up in harmony, with a giggle that sounds the same in any language, bridging Pakistan and India – love transcending borders, symbolising something neither side of the border has quite mastered — peace.

Nearly 200 youth from Afghanistan to Sri Lanka answered a cross-border challenge, laying out bold visions for education corridors, ecological cooperation, climate action, and a revitalised SAARC.

As Indians and Pakistanis across the world celebrate their independence from British rule, an Indian-origin writer in Norway explores Southasian identity and how new immigrants and the second-generation navigate complex intersections of belonging, solidarity, and challenges.

With the anniversary of the 1947 Partition coming up, an Indian-origin Bengali writer reflects on a public performance by California-based writer Sehba Sarwar from Karachi, who weaves together the past and present, geographies, cultures, and hopes for a better future.

A Nepali student interviews a Sri Lankan IT professional and adventurer who has made it his mission to climb Southasian mountains. His motivation: To inspire unity and spread a message of peace and collaboration throughout the region.

Visionary filmmaker of eight Hindi movies, Guru Dutt (1925 – 1964) whose socially conscious work explored various human experiences left a cultural impact that continues to inspire generations.

An Indian origin London-based author, textile artist, and anthropologist finds food for thought in the shared histories and culture by a Pakistani-origin traveler’s memoir tracing his journey through India.

Twenty three years after being launched, a groundbreaking nonprofit organisation dedicated to uplifting Southasian stories now has a new home on the West Coast of America.

A television trilogy on addressing mob violence had gained huge popularity in neighbouring India. Now, worsening ties have disrupted that cross-border resonance.

Marking #WomeninDiplomacyDay, this special feature examines how women across the region are anchoring peace processes, reimagining diplomacy through empathy and equity, and offering community-rooted, care-centred responses to war, displacement, and climate disasters.

When oncologist Dr. Azra Raza stood before Simon Fraser University’s graduating class of 2025 a week ago, she urged the graduates to “go forth with your hearts on fire.” That phrase captures her passion for her work and the assignment she was handing the students.

International journalism often sees countries through agenda and breaking news issues. What is groundbreaking about our project and characterizes the work of the Southasia Peace Action Network & Sapan News, is that we went in without an agenda — being exploratory, observational, and non-judgmental.

Resisting the Trump administration’s deportation policies, community groups across America are advocating for immigrant rights and protections — with reminders that immigration bolsters the U.S. economy.

As the tariff standoff in U.S. courts continues, like the crisis caused by the recent conflict between India and Pakistan, this might be an opportune moment to consider the importance of reviving regional trade.

The dominant narrative may feature aggression and calls to ‘act’ but conflict benefits only certain vested interests. Here we highlight some of the many calls for peace emanating from paediatricians, activists, and civil society representatives from India to Pakistan, Nepal to Bangladesh, and more

A Bangladeshi writer explores what’s so special about the Kannada writer Banu Mushtaq and her book Heart Lamp, the first short story collection to win the prestigious Book prize.

When a rights group advocating for women’s access to public spaces organised their first walk for peace – a stated agenda beyond simply ‘loitering’ – it caused ripples in an atmosphere vitiated by hypernationalism and warmongering. An organiser shares experiences from Mumbai and Bangalore

A conversation in Kathmandu with Dr. Arshiya Lokhandwala, founding director and curator of the Lakeeren Gallery in Mumbai, who has been at the forefront of conversations around Southasian feminism and contemporary art.

via @beenasarwar.bsky.social & @sapannews.bsky.social

For immediate release: Appeal for India and Pakistan to Stop Hostilities and Talk Gains Global Traction southasiapeace.com/2025/05/20/a...

Are the diplomatic failures, aggressions, tensions, and lack of empathic leadership in Southasia rooted in the emotional inheritance of unhealed wounds and unresolved histories?

Reproducing this 2010 piece in tribute to the late Harvard professor and water resources expert John Briscoe — and a reminder of the importance to focus not on settling scores, but to look forward and construct a better future “for all the people."

Growing up in the western traditions of the Burgher community with its Portuguese and Dutch influences, George Keyt made a name for himself as Sri Lanka’s most celebrated painter by embracing his country’s indigenous cultures.

It has been a decade since we lost Sabeen Mahmud to a targeted attack in Karachi and since we lost Shayan “Poppy” Afzal Khan to cancer. It is also 20 years since the pioneering environmental journalist Saneeya Hussain died in Brazil. Their peacemongering legacies live on.

A recently published coffee table book by architect Naeem Pasha documents the social and cultural forces behind the nearly-30 year long process that culminated with the inauguration of Pakistan’s monumental National Art Gallery in Islamabad.