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Rebellion and the Ghadar Centennial
The SAMAR Collective | October 20, 2013

How do we practice and understand revolution? How has the spirit of Ghadar shaped the communities we form in the present, and how have we transformed radical action in the 21st century?

the colour of mourning
Amal Rana | October 20, 2013

Amal Rana explores how love can inspire revolution.

Recent Articles

Circles of Gender Justice
By: The SAMAR Collective | From: Issue 40: Circles of Gender Justice (5/31/2013)

Dear Readers,

Gendered violence plays a pervasive and significant role in the lives of modern women around the globe. In that vein, we present a special issue on women’s responses and activism against gender-based violence in South Asian and South Asian diasporic communities.

Typography and Other Inspirations for Feminist Artistic Actions
By: Swati Khurana | From: Issue 40: Circles of Gender Justice (5/31/2013)

A long history of agit prop inspires SAWCC's recent "FreedomSafetyNow" protest against gender-based violence.

The Power of Complicated Stories
By: Chitra Aiyar, Nahar Alam | From: Issue 40: Circles of Gender Justice (5/31/2013)

Nahar Alam and Chitra Aiyar discuss the varied, subtle, and often unknown narratives that arise both in the not-for-profit economy and the lives of the members of Andolan-a among the members of Andolan – Organizing South Asian Workers, a Queens-based workers’ center that seeks to empower low-wage immigrant workers (primarily female domestic workers) through popular education, collective organizing, and litigation. 

Reinforcing Demands for Gender Justice: The War Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh
By: Zakia Afrin | From: Issue 40: Circles of Gender Justice (5/31/2013)

In 2010, the Bangladesh Government, led by Sheikh Hasina, set up the International Crimes Tribunal and charged as many as 12 individuals for participating and assisting in war crimes and crimes against humanity during Bangladesh’s war of independence from Pakistan. The tribunals not only address the worst rape concentration camps in history; they also reveal the inner struggles of a society as it faces demands for gender justice, along with secularism and social justice.  Unnoticed by most of the world, there is a revolution happening here.

The Art of Politics
By: The SAMAR Collective | From: Issue 39: The Art of Politics (2/8/2013)

In honor of our 20th anniversary, we wanted to share our perspectives on crafting this vibrant issue, which features poetry by Bushra Rehman, Purvi Shah, YaliniDream  and Ather Zia, along with a photo essay by Sabelo Narasimhan. Together, these pieces highlight the diversity of voices in the diaspora, ranging from Narasimhan’s visual documentation of protests against New York City’s Stop-and-Frisk policy to Rehman’s tongue-in-cheek take on break-ups.

Radio Samar

Tracks Back Home
Naazneen Diwan, Taz Ahmed

Live reading of poem developed for the South Asians for Justice event "Gujarat Genocide and US Solidarity" in Los Angeles, April 2012

History of Communalism in India
Yasmin Qureshi

History and context of how communalism grew in India (part of SAJ-LA's Gujarat Genocide event)

Book Review: Corona by Bushra Rehman (Sibling Rivalry Press, 2013)
Zohra Saed | Oct 23, 2013

This fragmented, musical novel breaks the prettiness of memory, brings irreverent humor where it should, shows the crisscross of ethnic neighborhoods in New York City, and celebrates love in the midst of violence. 

Cartoon

Khalil Bendib
Click on the cartoon for a larger version.

Visit Our Friends

Pass the Roti Group blog covering issues pertaining largely to South Asia and the South Asian diaspora.

South Asian Progressive Action Collective (SAPAC) Chicago-based collective takes up progressive issues pertinent to South Asia and the Diaspora through direct action, creative expression, and discussion.

Disappeared in America A multimedia art project created by the VISIBLE Collective to address the post-9/11 disappearances of Muslims in the US. See also Shobak.org: Outsider Muslims.
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Random Five from the Archive

Terrors Old and New
| Issue 14: The South Asian American Generation (//)
Jan 28, 2011
Erasures and Resistance: What Peter King’s Hearing Said. And What It Didn’t.
Amna Akbar

Representative Peter King’s (R-NY) first hearing on the radicalization of American Muslim communities exemplified the right wing’s ongoing commitment to constructing the idea of a radical, threatening Islam.  The hearing also exposed what is, at best, liberal acquiescence, and, at worst, liberal partnership in that dangerous agenda.   Most profoundly, the hearing made clear the extent to which the war on terror has robbed public discourse of any meaningful vocabulary for contesting the universe in which Islam poses legitimate concern for the American public.

May 31, 2011
Not In Our Name
South Asians Against Police Brutality and Racism | Issue 15: Dogmas of War (//)

An Anti-Detention Testimonial

Jan 28, 2011
Bollywood Imagines the Good (and Bad) Muslim
Omer Shah | Issue 35: States of Disaster (3/1/2010)

My Name is Khan...and I am not a terrorist is the already ubiquitous chorus from the most recent Bollywood blockbuster to cross over to western audiences. The film seeks to engage American anxieties around nationalism and race and at the same time reveals similar commentaries about India. Omer Shah reviews the film and asks: are we ever able to construct Muslim identities without the notion of terrorist?

Jan 28, 2011
when they started bombing
Saba Waheed | Issue 15: Dogmas of War (//)

Monday, October 08, 2001
after arriving home from my weekend upstate, i fell asleep with a sadness that comes when i leave behind the comforts of the sounds of the river and the hikes through the forest. feeling slightly ill, i awoke and checked my email and saw the headline i had been dreading

the one that took me back ten years

we had spent the afternoon celebrating my friend's birthday, we came home and we rang the doorbell and her mother opened the door with tears in eyes, she was crying and she was saying, and i can't remember now, if she said:

Jan 28, 2011
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