WOMEN-IN-FICTION
50 years on, the exodus of South Asians from Uganda finds retelling in three debut novels
This year marks 50 years since Ugandan dictator Idi Amin expelled South Asians from his country. We put the spotlight on three recent novels by women writers that dwell on this event in world history.
WORLD
International Day of Peace 2022 | Activists call for a visa-free South Asia
With International Day of Peace being celebrated globally on September 21, peace activists from across South Asia are re-igniting their call to ease visa curbs in the neighbourhood.
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Suleika Jaouad on vulnerability, isolation and writing about the “in-between places”
An interview with Emmy Award-winning columnist, TED speaker and bestselling author Suleika Jaouad on life after cancer and writing stories of our shared humanity.
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'Economic empowerment is the answer to caste discrimination,' says Saka Shailaja
Founder of an all-women beauty company that supplies soaps to the Indian Air Force, Saka Shailaja has empowered thousands of underprivileged women with training and jobs.
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New fellowship offers high-school girls the chance to learn from top business leaders
Author-entrepreneur Varsha Adusumilli has tied up with eminent personalities from India’s corporate and creative sectors for the Wonder Girls Student Leaders Fellowship.
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This Dutch entrepreneur is taking Indian classical music to concert halls in the Netherlands
Mahesvari Autar’s events platform showcases live performances of Indian classical ragas and mantra music to audiences in Holland.
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South Asia Union | "My identity is a hybrid of everything": 'EastEnders' actor Sudha Bhuchar
Bhuchar's new film ‘Into Dust’, based on murdered Pakistani land-rights activist Perween Rahman, releases on Amazon Prime Video on August 24, 2021.
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“If we want a sustainable workplace, it must revolve around the mental wellbeing of each individual”
Management consultant Seema Rekha on why employee mental health is vital for company growth and why women are natural leaders.
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Actor Santhy Balachandran on 'Oblivion', her surreal music video experiment
Malayalam film actor and Oxford graduate Santhy Balachandran used her anthropology background to conceptualise an avant-garde music video.
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“Indian women writers face incessant abuse online, no positive change in five years”: Soraya Chemaly
Washington DC-based author and feminist activist Soraya Chemaly believes women’s anger can be a powerful force for social justice.
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South Asia Union | Women athletes from South Asia come together to share challenges and wins
In the backdrop of the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, 13 women athletes from South Asia got together at a virtual event to share inspiring stories of grit and determination.
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South Asia Union | “We cannot move on until we have come to terms with the past” – Guneeta Singh Bhalla, founder, 1947 Partition Archive
Founder of 1947 Partition Archive, Guneeta Singh Bhalla is out to humanise history with people’s accounts, to help resolve the pain of Partition, and to remind South Asians of their region’s shared legacy.
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Digital entrepreneur and insta-poet Ayesha Chenoy on luck, bestsellers and bite-sized wisdom
Former investment banker and founder of one of India's top digital marketing agencies, Ayesha Chenoy talks about her new role as poet and author.
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South Asia Union | Doctors, public health experts call for medical collaboration and social justice in South Asia
Doctors and public-health activists from South Asia are calling for governments to address the social, economic and political inequities that the pandemic has highlighted in the region.
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South Asia Union | First ever Indo-Pak pride meet highlights the talent and challenges of the LGBTQIA+ community
Indo-Pak Pride Collective marked Pride Month with its first virtual meet, featuring an entertaining and inspiring line-up of talks, dance performances and poetry.
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These 11 ‘Listening Hearts’ are giving free mental and emotional support during India’s Covid crisis
Life coach Nasreen Khan got together a group of counsellors, coaches and therapists to support those facing loss and grief during India's second Covid wave.
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South Asia Union | New models of power will come from the East: Political theorist Indra Adnan
UK-based political entrepreneur and futurist Indra Adnan says theorists in the West are looking to the East for sustainable models of organisation and community-building.
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How a women-led WhatsApp group grew to become a Covid support network for hundreds of families
Natasha Kochhar started community WhatsApp groups to fill a void she felt in a new city after marriage. They ended up supporting hundreds of Delhi residents during Covid.
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“A South Asian Union would free us from the slavery of the west”: pro-democracy activist Hina Jilani
Globally acclaimed human-rights defender Hina Jilani believes democracy and secularism are values all South Asian nations need to promote and protect.
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Feminist poet Usha Akella’s book ‘I Will Not Bear You Sons’ is a scathing indictment of patriarchy
Austin-based poet Usha Akella's new book of feminist poems puts the spotlight on cultural traditions that perpetuate patriarchy and social evils like female foeticide.
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“My cousin was raped, killed in West Bengal – social media made it a political issue”
Last month, a 20-year-old student was raped and killed in her own home in West Bengal. Elements on social media misused the news for political propaganda.
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South Asia Union | Train local nurse practitioners and physician assistants to handle primary healthcare in villages: Dr Thakor G. Patel, founder, Sevak Project
Dr Thakor G. Patel, retired captain of the US Navy’s medical corps and founder of the Sevak Project, is on a mission to train rural healthcare workers across four states in India.
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South Asia Union | “The farmers’ movement, the Dalit movements, and the Adivasi movements can offer new models of democracy”: Lalita Ramdas
Peace activist Lalita Ramdas on how political forces use communalism for their own agenda, and why India’s ‘imperfect’ democracy needs to be reimagined.
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Doctor's orders: 'Stay positive and connected with family (virtually, to) recover faster from Covid'
A government doctor who has been on Covid duty in Kerala since the first wave, shares home isolation tips for quicker recovery from the coronavirus infection.
