London echoes with Faiz: ‘no justice, no peace’ roars at 13th Faiz Amn Mela at SOAS

Summary

•   LAHORE/LONDON : The SOAS Gallery in Russell Square turned into a living, breathing festival of resistance, poetry and hope as the 13th Faiz Amn Mela lit up London on Saturday, 3rd October, from 2:30 PM to 9:00 PM.
• Organized by Faiz Cultural Foundation UK in collaboration with SOAS South Asia Institute, the Mela has become the biggest non-commercial progressive cultural gathering of the South Asian diaspora in the United Kingdom.
• This year’s central theme was unequivocal and timely: “No Peace Without Justice in the World” — _Dunya Mein Insaf Ke Baghair Amn Qaim Nahi Ho Sakta._ Speakers agreed that Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s vision of peace was never silent — it was peace with social justice, equality, human dignity, and resistance against oppression, authoritarianism and imperialism.

AI Generated Summary

LAHORE/LONDON : The SOAS Gallery in Russell Square turned into a living, breathing festival of resistance, poetry and hope as the 13th Faiz Amn Mela lit up London on Saturday, 3rd October, from 2:30 PM to 9:00 PM.

Organized by Faiz Cultural Foundation UK in collaboration with SOAS South Asia Institute, the Mela has become the biggest non-commercial progressive cultural gathering of the South Asian diaspora in the United Kingdom.

*A Packed House, A Powerful Message:*

From 2:30 PM sharp, the gallery was packed. British-Pakistani families, Indian and Bangladeshi community members, SOAS students, professors, trade unionists, human rights activists and second-generation youth — all sat together on the floor and chairs, with no VIP protocol.

This year’s central theme was unequivocal and timely: “No Peace Without Justice in the World” — _Dunya Mein Insaf Ke Baghair Amn Qaim Nahi Ho Sakta._