This research project seeks to deconstruct and gain a deeper understanding of the world of activism and people’s movements — of the ‘activist’ and activism. It seek to do this in conversation with other Fellows, scholars, activists, and students of social movements in South Asia, and through the documentation of life stories of individuals involved in democratic rights, social, and climate justice activism in the region.
The first part of this project will examine how Fellows and activists from across South Asia relate to the categories of ‘activist’ and ‘activism’. Through critical dialogue and by using participatory tools of reflection and analysis, participants will collectively contemplate the meaning, experiences, and memories attached to these terms. The second part of the project will present the life histories of lesser-known activists from the region. These will include less-represented activists within social movements, universities, civil society organisations, and democratic rights institutions.
Objectives:
- Investigate the notion of an ‘activist’ and the world of 'activism', by bringing together varying critical perspectives and life experiences from struggles for justice across the region.
- Archive the political contributions of social justice activists, from different generations, facilitating intergenerational transfer of wisdom and lessons from the heart of struggle.
- Contribute to the ongoing attempts to build a regional South Asian dialogical community (within the larger AFSEE and Atlantic Fellows network), focusing on shared concerns and themes of this project’s focus on activism and memory.
Project Members
