Southasia Peace Action Network – Southasia Peace Action Network

Book Discussion: Neha Dixit on The Many Lives of Syeda X

16 May 202616 May 2026

By Haritha K On May 2, just days after millions of workers took to the streets across India and the world to mark May Day, journalist and author Neha Dixit…

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Sat. May 2, Boston: ‘Stories the state tries to erase’ – talk by Neha Dixit

23 Apr 202623 Apr 2026

Some lives exist only in files, headlines, or accusations. How do paperwork, policing, and media narratives quietly decide who belongs? What does democracy look like from below? Join us for…

Events

Sun. 26 April: Southasian Beats – Remembering Asha Bhosle, Reimagining a Region’s Sound

20 Apr 202626 Apr 2026

On the last Sunday of April 2026, the Southasia Peace Action Network, Sapan, will present a curated conversation bringing together memory, music, and modernity across the region. Anchored in a…

Uphold UN Resolution calling to maintain the Indian Ocean as a ‘Zone of Peace’

2 Apr 20262 Apr 2026

The Southasia Peace Action Network on its 5th anniversary passes the following five-part Resolution, Sunday 29 March 2026: The Southasia Peace Action Network, Sapan, commemorating its fifth anniversary in March…

An unplanned tuk-tuk ride that rewired my thinking

2 Apr 20262 Apr 2026

By Nadia Rajput Bhatti in Sri Lanka I was in a tuk-tuk on my way to Kandy, just looking for some fresh air and scrolling through my phone to see…

Events

Sun. 29 March: Five Years of Sapan – Connecting, Holding Space, Keeping Hope Alive

26 Mar 202620 Apr 2026

Join the Southasia Peace Action Network (Sapan) on Sunday, 29 March 2026, to commemorate our fifth anniversary, upholding the importance of dialogue, empathy, and regional solidarity When the Southasia Peace…

Resistance in Pakistan: looking back to look forward

21 Mar 202623 Mar 2026

What can the student movements of the past teach us about the struggles of today? The Boston South Asian Coalition (BSAC), in collaboration with the Southasia Peace Action Network (Sapan),…

Remembering Richard Cash: A special life, richly lived

16 Mar 20261 Apr 2026

Prominent development practitioner and scholar Marty Chen, a Southasia Peace Action Network Advisory Council member shared this tribute at a memorial at Harvard University last year, for the legendary pediatrician…

Mohabbat, dard and dost… Love, heartbreak and friends

6 Mar 20266 Mar 2026

Reflections on shared cultures, histories, geographies, and pain in the midst of senseless destruction By Mandira Nayar Mohabbat. Love. We love in the same language. Joy too, is shared –…

Press Statements…

Pulitzer Center-supported Pakistani-Sri Lankan documentary being awarded in India

23 Feb 20267 Mar 2026

23 Feb 2026PRESS RELEASE BOSTON: The acclaimed Pulitzer Center-supported documentary 'Democracy in Debt: Sri Lanka Beyond the Headlines' will receive two awards at the Second Jalgaon International Film Festival in…

Indians on Indian lands: diaspora, caste and the tangled politics of solidarity

20 Feb 20261 Apr 2026

What does it mean to migrate to a settler colonial state while carrying the hierarchies of caste and the wounds of colonialism with you? CAMBRIDGE: How are the struggles against…

Event Reports…

Sapan January Circle 2026: A year in review, a region in focus; voices and visions from Southasia and diaspora

30 Jan 20263 Feb 2026

The Sapan January Circle: Catching Up and Looking Ahead took place on January 25, 2026, via Zoom, serving as an annual gathering to reflect on the collective achievements of the…

Press Statements

Access is not a threat: A call to lift reciprocal news bans in India and Pakistan

14 Jan 202616 Jan 2026

Joint statement by media professionals and concerned citizens in Southasia and the diaspora We, the undersigned individuals and organisations, express deep concern over the continued blocking of Indian news websites…

South African activist Ela Gandhi calls on world to condemn the US attack on Venezuela

6 Jan 20267 Jan 2026

“Can the world stand by and allow such aggression to continue?” BOSTON: Invoking her grandfather Mahatma Gandhi‘s words, “I want world sympathy in this battle of right against might,” Ela…

Press Statements…

South Asia media groups express solidarity with journalists, condemn attacks on Bangladesh and Nepal media, demand accountability

22 Dec 202524 Dec 2025

December 22 - The Southasia Peace Action Network (Sapan), the South Asia Media Defenders Network (SAMDEN), Sapan News, Rural Media Network Pakistan, and others strongly condemn the attacks, vandalism and…

Sun, 21 Dec.: Nepal’s Shifting Political Landscape, Gen Z Protests, and Pathways Forward’

18 Dec 202522 Dec 2025

This Sunday, Southasia Peace Action Network will hold an online discussion, as part of its Country Focus series, highlighting the situation in Nepal which is relevant to the entire region…

Book lovers and ‘peacemongers’ come together over Arundhati Roy’s new memoir

16 Dec 202516 Dec 2025

Members of the online book club Readers Without Borders and activists from the Southasia Peace Action Network convened for an engaging discussion over the recently published ‘Mother Mary Comes to…

Youth propose a ‘New Grammar’ for Collaborations across Southasia

12 Dec 202512 Dec 2025

HYDERABAD, India: Doyens of Peace, a pan-Southasia platform of civil society organisations and youth groups, facilitated by COVA Peace Network, organised an online event to commemorate SAARC Charter Day on…

Events

Sat. 13 Dec.: A conversation with Arundhati Roy

12 Dec 202513 Dec 2025

Photo credit: Mayank Austen Soofi The Southasia Peace Action Network (Sapan) is excited to collaborate with the Readers Without Borders book club for a conversation with Arundhati Roy this weekend.…

Press Statements…

A call for SAARC and its member states to revitalise regional cooperation in South Asia

10 Dec 202510 Dec 2025

Sapan Peacemongers call to “find a way to restore some level of civilised interaction, particularly between India and Pakistan” and “forging our own narrative” BOSTON: December 8 is commemorated annually…

Events

Mon. 8 Dec, Boston area: ‘South Asia Bound’ film premiere

30 Nov 202510 Dec 2025

You are invited! Join us for the premiere of South Asia Bound: The Cost of National Identity, a documentary film by Zac Colah, an independent journalist and senior at Tufts…

Allied Events…

Mon. 24 Nov: Tribute to Dr. Arfa Sayeda Zehra, Toronto area

24 Nov 202524 Nov 2025

Third Culture Language Learning: Tribute to Dr. Arfa Sayeda Zehra ڈاکٹر عارفہ سیدہ زہرا کے لیے خراجِ عقیدت Organised by Joy of Urdu Toronto-Mississauga Chapter Joy of Urdu is a…

Events

Nov 16: Sapan and Sanglaap: Art, Gender, Media and Peacebuilding at SOAS, London

14 Nov 202514 Nov 2025

A multi-disciplinary exhibition viewing, opening up to conversations foregrounded on practices of women artists and peacebuilders, takes SOAS South Asia Institute’s Sanglaap Art and Culture Series to a contemporary level…

Press Statements…

Southasian call for climate justice: Sapan launches online petition ahead of COP30

7 Nov 20257 Nov 2025

PRESS STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE BOSTON: An online petition calling for global recognition of Southasia’s shared climate crisis and collective potential has been launched ahead of the 30th Conference of…

Victory written in blue

6 Nov 202513 Nov 2025

Read the latest Sapan Blog, where Siraj Khan reflects on India’s historic Women’s Cricket World Cup victory, a win that transcends sport to symbolize empowerment, unity, and regional pride. By…

Events

Oct 26: Bridging Borders – A Southasian vision for COP30

24 Oct 202525 Oct 2025

Imagine: Neighbours in Peace!Bridging Borders - A Southasian Vision for COP30Date: Sunday, 26 October 2025Time: 10:00 a.m. EST / 2:00 p.m. GMT / 4:00 p.m. SA / 7:00 p.m. PKT…

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Oct 26: Special screening of film ‘Chittagong’ in Boston

22 Oct 20252 Nov 2025

BOSTON: The Boston South Asian Coalition and the Southasia Peace Action Network will hold a special screening this Sunday of ‘Chittagong’, Bedabrata Pain’s debut film. The 2012 film brings to…

From tension to talk: Youth visions for peace

21 Oct 202522 Oct 2025

Report on a unique discussion organised by the Southasia Peace Action Network, featuring the voices of young people from across the region on what what peace means to them By…

Two worlds touch at Cambridge Diwali-Eid event

12 Oct 202512 Oct 2025

By Beena Sarwar/Sapan News CAMBRIDGE, Mass.: Some 300 festively dressed Cantabrigians and neighbors gathered at Cambridge’s Reservoir Church on Saturday for the annual Diwali-Eid Cultural program, an interfaith, intercultural event…

“You Can Kill a Person, But Not an Idea”: Southasia Peace Action Network Film Club on ‘After Sabeen’

3 Oct 202524 Apr 2026

By Sapan News Desk New Delhi / Berlin / Karachi / Southasia diaspora — Last week, the story of prominent social entrepreneur Sabeen Mahmud who was shot dead in Karachi,…