Category Archives: SANSAD Events


Pakistan-India Peace

SANSAD Events

SANSAD-CPPC Public Forum

Pakistan-India Peace: People’s Need vs State Interest

A talk by Karamat Ali

Poetry: Irfan Malik

September 20, 2.00 pm
Room 120
Surrey Centre Library, 10350 University Drive, Surrey, BC

Since their creation as independent states in 1947 india and Pakistan have fought three wars and taken the subcontinent to the brink of nuclear holocaust. The two militarized states face each other across an uneasy “line of control” in divided Kashmir, frequently bringing the miseries of war to those living along the border. People of the subcontinent need peace, yet peace remains elusive. How can the roadblocks to peace be overcome?

Karamat Ali is a founder and Executive Director of Pakistan Institute for Labour Research and Education (PILER). He is a life-long activist for peace on the subcontinent and the recipient of the first Dadi Nrmala Deshpande Peace and Justice Award in 2013.

Born in Lahore, Irfan Malik is currently the Artistic Director of South Asian American Theatre in Boston. He writes in Punjabi, Urdu, and English. His latest book of Punjabi poetry, Dooji Aurat, was published in 2015.

Organized by South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy (SANSAD, www.sansad.org) and Committee of Progressive Pakistani Canadians (CPPC).

Contact: Chin: 604-421-6752; Shahzad: 604-613-0735

 

 

 

 

SANSAD Events

Public Forum

Mourn the secular humanists killed in South Asia and build inclusive and pluralist societies in our homelands

Sunday, June 21, 2015
2 PM – 5 PM
Policy Room 7000
SFU Harbour Centre Campus 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver
Moderator: Zahid Makhdoom
Panelists: Ajay Bhardwaj, Aden dur-e-Aden, Anis Rahman, Harjap Grewal

Over the past few years there has been a systematic attack on secular humanists who have spoken out against the rising tide of religious fanaticism and politicized religion across South Asia. Not only has there been a growth of intolerance and violence against minorities but attempts to challenge these through speech and writing have been met with intimidation and violence. Activists, journalists, teachers, and writers have been threatened, beaten, and killed in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka by Hindu. Muslim, and Buddhist extremists, with impunity and often the complicity of the state. How shall we oppose this and work to build inclusive societies in the homelands we have left and the land where we have made our home?

Zahid Makhdoom is a champion of human rights and the rule of law; Ajay Bhardwaj is a filmmaker and graduate student at UBC; Aden dur-e-Aden is a graduate student at UBC; Anis Rahman is a graduate student at SFU; Harjap Grewal is a human rights, civil liberties, and environmental rights activist.

South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy (SANSAD), https://www.sansad.org;

sansad@sansad.org.
For more information: Chin Banerjee, 604-421-6752