beenasarwar

Journalist, artist, documentary filmmaker, foodie, social media addict

[beenasarwar]

The assassination that changed India Reflecting on the tumultuous events that led to Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination and its aftermath, an educator reflects on the man, his politics and his impact on India....

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[beenasarwar]

Beyond remittances: A rare insight into the everyday lives of migrant workers

Commemorating Labour History Month  Social anthropologist Shankar Ramaswami’s ‘Souls in the Kalyug’ is a rich, multi-layered text that provides a window into workers’ lives in India, including some hopeful strands within the destructive churnings of global capitalism.  Sapan BookshelfSouls in the Kalyug: The Politics and Cosmologies of Migrant Workers in Contemporary India By Shankar…

Beyond remittances: A rare insight into the everyday lives of migrant workers

[beenasarwar]

RIGHTS-PAKISTAN: Demands for gender justice merge with the right to protest

Police heavy-handedness, delayed permissions, and restrictive conditions cast a shadow over an annual women’s rights demonstration in Karachi this year. But women’s involvement and spaces of resistance will keep growing, say analysts. “Nobody can stop it”. By Abdullah Zahid / Sapan News KARACHI: For the organisers of the annual women’s rights demonstration known as Aurat (Women) March, it had…

RIGHTS-PAKISTAN: Demands for gender justice merge with the right to protest

[beenasarwar]

From Brussels to South Asia: Who shapes the future of Israel–Palestine?

As the conflict in the Middle East hits Southasia through surging oil prices and fractured supply chains, an initiative aims to bring together Israeli and Palestinian peace activists, alongside European policymakers, journalists and international law experts, to explore what meaningful European engagement in a political solution might look like. Commentary By Pavithra Perera WJA/ Sapan…

From Brussels to South Asia: Who shapes the future of Israel–Palestine?

[beenasarwar]

“The American partition”: Watching a familiar horror movie unfold

 A migrant from Pakistan sees striking parallels between the 1947 Partition of British India and the current political schism in the United States. Is America repeating the same “divide and rule” history that fractured the subcontinent? Commentary By Ali Azad / Sapan News The Partition of British India in 1947, which created India and Pakistan, is often remembered as a singular, closed chapter…

“The American partition”: Watching a familiar horror movie unfold

[beenasarwar]

If music be the food of peace…

How ‘The Silver Songbirds of Bengaluru,’ a senior citizens’ choir led by a top-ranking retired diplomat, is crossing borders and boundaries, and building bridges, community, and solidarity with music By Ammu Joseph / Sapan News “Collaborations like these don’t make grand claims about peace, they quietly build it. When you sing together, you listen differently, you notice each other, you…

If music be the food of peace…

[beenasarwar]

Reclaiming the forest: The fearless women of Bom 

A ground report from the heart of India’s central forests, where indigenous women have liberated thousands of acres of ancestral land. By Amit Sengupta/ Sapan News She was young, dark, wearing a cotton sari. Phooleshwari lazily walked with me uphill in the undulating, muddy lane, surrounded by a sunshine-yellow landscape of mustard flowers.  It was the winter of 2022. We were in Bom, a…

Reclaiming the forest: The fearless women of Bom 

[beenasarwar]

Asha Bhosle: A shared cultural heartbeat

From the rebellion of ‘Dum Maro Dum’ to the soulful ghazals of ‘Umrao Jaan’, Asha Bhosle’s music remains a bridge of diplomacy that transcends geopolitics. By Madiha Arsalan Haneef / Sapan News The passing of Asha Bhosle at age 92 across the border in India feels like the silencing of a shared cultural heartbeat. In the drawing rooms of Islamabad and the bustling tea stalls of Lahore, the news…

Asha Bhosle: A shared cultural heartbeat

[beenasarwar]

My video interview with an Indian journalist about the Islamabad peace talks - before they collapsed - and a visit to ancient archaelogical sites in Sindh.

Peace, like democracy, is a process, not an event

[beenasarwar]

Five years of keeping Southasian hope alive

Marking half a decade of cross-border solidarity, the Southasia Peace Action Network’s recent anniversary event highlighted the region’s enduring resilience, the urgent challenges faced by Gen Z, and a renewed push for hope in Southasia. By Bilal Arif /  Sapan News – London The Southasian region borders are more than just geographical markers; they are deep fractures that dictate who we can…

Five years of keeping Southasian hope alive

[beenasarwar]

Reclaiming a progressive past: Documentary screening in Boston revisits an iconic student movement in Pakistan

Lessons from the 1950s Democratic Students Federation movement remain relevant beyond Pakistan for the revived progressive consciousness of a new generation. By Abdullah Zahid / Sapan News KARACHI: A recent screening in Boston of journalist and filmmaker Beena Sarwar’s documentary Aur Niklenge Ushhaq ke Qaaflay (There Will Be More Caravans of Passion) brought the 1950s Democratic Students…

Reclaiming a progressive past: Documentary screening in Boston revisits an iconic student movement in Pakistan

[beenasarwar]

More than music: A Florida band aims to inspire change and connection

Ghost Peppers use their music as a platform for dialogue, blending cultural narratives and rhythms to explore unity, friendship, and the power of cross-border understanding – particularly between Pakistan and India By Siraj Khan / Sapan News What happens when a Bengali-origin English professor and Partition scholar at a university in Florida starts to collaborate with fellow English professors…

More than music: A Florida band aims to inspire change and connection

[beenasarwar]

Blood for oil: From Gaza to Iran, the western war that is burning West Asia

The conflict between Iran, Israel and the United States spans decades, rooted in revolution, nuclear tensions, and regional rivalry. Evolving through proxy wars, sanctions and recurring military escalations. By MJ Vijayan / Sapan News The war on Iran did not begin in a vacuum. It began in Gaza. For nearly two years the world has watched Israel devastate Palestine, daily, with unprecedented…

Blood for oil: From Gaza to Iran, the western war that is burning West Asia

[beenasarwar]

Desecrating history: Southasia’s silence as Gaza war graves are bulldozed

The recent bulldozing of the Gaza War Cemetery has disturbed the final resting place of thousands of soldiers, including those from the British Indian Army. While Australia has expressed outrage, the silence from Southasian governments raises urgent questions about how we value our shared historical memory. By Inderjeet Parmar / Sapan News The Gaza War Cemetery in al-Tuffah, eastern Gaza City,…

Desecrating history: Southasia’s silence as Gaza war graves are bulldozed

[beenasarwar]

Tariff threats and trust deficit: Can Southasia trade with itself?

As Donald Trump starts a global tariff war, economists argue Southasia has an overlooked shield: deeper regional trade, and without it, the region risks remaining dependent on Western concessions and vulnerable to external pressure. By Rohinee Singh / Sapan News At a time when U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening tariffs across the world, experts say that if Southasian countries, India,…

Tariff threats and trust deficit: Can Southasia trade with itself?

[beenasarwar]

Double win for ‘Democracy in Debt’ at Jalgaon International Film Festival

A Pakistani-Sri Lankan collaboration secured two major awards at the Second Jalgaon International Film Festival in India, highlighting the shared struggles and creative spirit of the region. By Pragyan Srivastava / Sapan News LUCKNOW, India:  Underscoring the enduring power of storytelling to transcend national boundaries, a documentary filmed at a remote village in Sri Lanka and the capital…

Double win for ‘Democracy in Debt’ at Jalgaon International Film Festival

[beenasarwar]

‘Gender diplomacy’: A new peace project for India‑Pakistan and Southasia

On International Women’s Day, a reminder to focus on people, not politics. Placing gender equality and women’s empowerment at the heart of peace and development efforts between India and Pakistan offers a radically different way to rethink Indo-Pak relations. By Dr. Feroza Sanjana / Sapan News The foreign policy discourse on India-Pakistan relations is centered around traditional security…

‘Gender diplomacy’: A new peace project for India‑Pakistan and Southasia