Education / Combating Communalism

To get involved in any of these activities, please contact us or come to our next meeting.

Combating Intolerance

SAPAC condemns communal violence and intolerance in all its forms.  Recently, many communities in South Asia have been assaulted based on their religion and ethnicity and they include (but are not limited to) Hindus and Ahmadiyas in Bangladesh; Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, and Dalits in parts of India and Hindus in Kashmir; Hindus, Sikhs, and Shias in Pakistan.  The list is long and it feels as if it is getting longer every day.  We can do something about it.  We hope that through education, dialogue, and concerted action, we can deter hate-mongering and communal violence and help foster peace between communities. 

We believe that the majority of the citizens of South Asian countries want to live peaceful prosperous lives in a diverse society, and that a minority intentionally exploits cultural differences between communities to further its political cause through hate mongering and violence.  Our interest in fighting intolerance is based on the belief that intolerance often leads to human rights abuses and is harmful to a diverse democratic society.

We are looking for individuals and groups who want to help prevent communal violence in South Asia and find justice for victims of human rights abuses.  Our interest in fighting communal violence is broad and includes concern for all the countries and peoples of South Asia.  To prevent further polarization of societies in South Asia, we need your help and energy.  SAPAC is looking to form links with South Asian communities and individuals to address the issue of intolerance and communalism across the subcontinent and across ethnic and religious groups. If you are interested in addressing the situation faced by one or more communities such as Kashmiri Pandits; Muslims, Christians, Sikhs in India; Hindus and Ahmadiyas in Bangladesh; Hindus, Sikhs, and Shias in Pakistan; and other groups in South Asia, please contact us.

Building Bridges

SAPAC members are taking a leading role in organizing this region-wide collaborative of groups from the Indian Diaspora to address the issue of rising communalism in India.  Building Bridges has organized dialogues on communalism, hosted speakers from India, participated in letter writing campaigns, hosted screening of films dealing with this issues, and coordinated political action when Indian dignitaries visit the Chicago area.

To get involved or learn more, please contact us.

Coalition Against Genocide

SAPAC was a member of the Coalition Against Genocide and called the community to take action to protest the U.S. visit of Mr. Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister of Gujarat.  Mr. Modi and his state apparatus have been indicted by Indian and international human rights organizations for their sponsorship of and complicity in the ethnic cleansing and pogroms against the Muslim community in Gujarat during February - March 2002.

Listen to SAPAC member Sapna Gupta discuss the goals of the Coalition Against Genocide on the Asia Pacific Forum on New York City’s WBAI 99.5 FM  on March 15, 2005.

Independence Day Unity Events

For the last several years, SAPAC has maintained a presence at the Indian and Pakistani Independence day celebrations as a voice for peace.  We have co-sponsored a peace float, walked with banners and posters, and registered voters. In the future we hope to plan an event that will create a space for those from India and Pakistan to celebrate independence together.