Southasia Peace Action Network

20/09/2026

Why We Need a Visa-Free South Asia | Ammar Ali Jan

In this video, Ammar Ali Jan discusses the importance of working toward a visa-free and integrated South Asia. He explores how shared cultural roots, history, and popular culture naturally unite South Asians, while narrow national projects and the “othering” of neighboring cultures fuel right-wing authoritarianism. Watch to explore why embracing our shared history and openly addressing historical traumas are key to regional peace and reconciliation.

15/09/2026

Salima Hashmi shares a powerful memory of taking her art students from Lahore to Delhi by train, proving that curiosity and human connection always transcend political borders across South Asia.

Peace HumanConnection SouthAsiaPeaceActionNetwork

14/09/2026

on why Mai Vaapas Aunga focuses on ordinary lives, universal connections, and the vital need to heal intergenerational trauma before it leaves us vulnerable to divisive narratives.

12/09/2026

In this clip, artist and educator Salima Hashmi reflects on the deep sense of longing, the meaning of being rooted, and her enduring connection to Lahore. She shares memories of cross-border recognition and discusses the lasting unfairness and lack of closure experienced by populations across South Asia.

11/09/2026

How do childhood memories cross borders? Author/Writer Nayanika Mahtani shares the deeply personal story behind her Partition novel Across the Line - from a recurring vision of a young boy in Rawalpindi with an Urdu tattoo to tracing her family’s roots in Sargodha for the upcoming film Mai Vaapas Aunga.

05/09/2026

Shared rivers, shared histories: Standing with Nepal and building regional peace

Sapan’s latest newsletter brings together urgent calls for regional climate action following the Nepal floods, upcoming cultural events, a Youth Pledge for Peace, opportunities for young Southasian scholars, and a Sapan Spotlight on Sanjoy Hazarika’s new book and two decades of boat clinics in Assam. It also revisits a recent conversation on Partition, memory, and dosti.

Read the newsletter: https://southasiapeace.substack.com/p/shared-rivers-shared-histories-standing

31/08/2026

Video of the discussion following a screening of our documentary Democracy in Debt: Sri Lanka - Beyond the Headlines, at Institute of Business Administration, Karachi, last semester, with economist Haris Gazdar and Sanjeewa Pattiwila, Consul General of Sri Lanka in Karachi, attended by students of Beena Sarwar’s journalism class at IBA.

Watch full video: https://youtu.be/viYTQvghA3k

Thanks Zahid Raza for the editing👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

Beena Sarwar's film "Democracy in Debt: Sri Lanka – Beyond the Head...

26/08/2026

Haris Gazdar On The Importance Of Southasian Peace And Union

Social scientist and researcher Haris Gazdar reflects on the deep-rooted historical, geographical, and cultural ties that continue to shape South Asia.

Despite political boundaries, imperial legacies, and the 1947 Partition, Gazdar argues that the people of the region remain fundamentally interconnected. From shared anti-colonial struggles to ongoing socio-economic realities, he highlights why regional unity and peace remain essential for South Asia’s collective future.

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Visit our website: https://southasiapeace.com

Credits:
Video: Beena Sarwar
Music: Ratnadeep
Video Editing: Zahid Raza

22/08/2026

Sun. 30 Aug: Home, love, loss… and ‘dosti’ (friendship)

Join Urvashi Butalia, Salima Hashmi, and Nayanika Mahtani for a conversation on Partition, memory, home, loss, and the connections that continue to bring Southasians together across borders and generations.

Date: Sunday, 30 August 2026
Time: 9 am EST | 6 pm Pakistan | 6:30 pm India | 6:45 pm Nepal | 7 pm Bangladesh
Where: Online via Zoom, with a live stream on YouTube

Register & read more: https://southasiapeace.com/2026/08/22/sun-30-aug-home-love-loss-and-dosti-friendship/

22/08/2026

From an upcoming conversation on home, love, loss and dosti with Urvashi Butalia, Salima Hashmi and Nayanika Mahtani, to a new Sapan Stories video with Taimur Rahman, reflections on exile and the launch of Global Southasia, Sapan’s latest newsletter brings together stories, events and updates from across Southasia and the diaspora.

Read the latest briefing: https://southasiapeace.substack.com/p/home-love-loss-and-building-bridges