This conversation will examine the echoes of a divided South Asia that continue to haunt the present and the ways in which artists, writers and activists work alongside each other to imagine futures of collectivity and togetherness. Given recent and ongoing developments in the political landscape in South Asia, this discussion will recognize how the interlocking and intersecting histories of these lands influence the collective memory and continue to impact lives at home and in the diaspora in a myriad of ways. These artists’ and writers’ works are pan-South Asian and intergenerational responses.

Moderated by Aziz Sohail (ACC 2019, 2020) and featuring Ather Zia, Naeem Mohaiemen (ACC 2019), and Urvashi Butalia, this event is part of the Arts and Justice series, in which all speakers' interrogations are timely explorations of religious freedom and the freedom of speech. How does the State condone, facilitate, and encourage religion, class, and caste based carceral violence? What is the role of the Arts in visibilizing this violence? This series builds on the Stanford Arts Institute’s program on carceral justice and takes the conversation to South Asia.


Sponsored by Center for South Asia at Stanford University in collaboration with Stanford's Center for Human Rights and International Justice and the Institute of South Asia Studies, UC Berkeley