Activist Shabnam Hashmi steps down: An era of fearless activism comes to a close, but the fight goes on

By A Representative 

Shabnam Hashmi, one of India’s most prominent human rights activists and a tireless campaigner for communal harmony, has announced her retirement from organizational leadership, bringing to a close more than four decades of relentless public life. At 68, Hashmi is stepping down from her role at ANHAD (Act Now for Harmony and Democracy), the organization she founded in 2003 in the aftermath of the Gujarat carnage. While this marks the end of an era in structured activism, she has made it clear that her commitment to social justice will continue as an individual activist.

Born in 1957 into a family that had been deeply involved in India’s freedom struggle and progressive movements, Hashmi grew up in a household where democratic values, gender equality, literature, and the arts shaped her outlook. Her elder brother, Safdar Hashmi, a renowned communist playwright and street theatre activist, was murdered in 1989 while performing a play — a tragedy that became a turning point in her own activist journey. His death led to the formation of SAHMAT (Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust), where Shabnam would dedicate 15 years of her life, using art, theatre, music, and intellectual forums to counter communalism and uphold freedom of expression.

Her activism, however, began much earlier and almost by accident. In the early 1980s, while still pursuing higher studies, she began teaching girls in Nizamuddin Basti in Delhi. What started as a favour to a friend soon became a lifelong commitment after she encountered firsthand the devastating consequences of child marriage and poverty on young girls. Over the next decade, she built a vibrant community education program, helping hundreds of children — many of them first-generation learners — to gain not just literacy but vocational training in fields ranging from tailoring to electrical work.

The Gujarat riots of 2002 marked another watershed in her life. Having spent months in relief and rehabilitation work there, she witnessed up close the entrenched hatred that had consumed entire communities. It was then that she realized the limits of cultural and intellectual resistance and felt the urgent need to counter communal propaganda at the grassroots. This realization gave birth to ANHAD in 2003, co-founded with historian K.N. Panikkar and activist Harsh Mander. From its inception, ANHAD set out to fight the “battle of hearts and minds,” building secular cadres, organizing training camps for young people, and using culture, dialogue, and direct engagement to dismantle prejudice.

Over the years, ANHAD became a crucial platform for peace-building, working in states like Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Jammu & Kashmir. It spearheaded innovative campaigns like “Mere Ghar Aake To Dekho” (Come, Visit My Home), which encouraged people across religions to visit each other’s homes, breaking stereotypes and fostering trust. It organized extensive training programs on the Constitution, communalism, gender justice, and caste discrimination, reaching tens of thousands of students, youth, and grassroots workers. Cultural interventions, from street theatre to film screenings, became central to its work, reinforcing Hashmi’s conviction that emotional connections and shared experiences were essential to challenge divisive ideologies.

But her activism was not confined to community campaigns. Hashmi also waged a historic legal battle in the Supreme Court for adoption rights, triggered by her own struggle to formally adopt a daughter. In 2014, the Court ruled that Muslims and Christians could adopt children under the secular Juvenile Justice Act, a landmark decision that opened doors for countless families across religious lines. This case exemplified her strategic legal acumen — choosing to push for secular reforms through existing laws rather than polarizing debates like the Uniform Civil Code.

Her journey, however, has not been without formidable challenges. Hashmi has been repeatedly targeted by smear campaigns, state hostility, and even physical violence. In 2014, while campaigning in Rae Bareli, she was attacked by a mob of political workers, threatened with rape, and denied police protection. Her organization, ANHAD, was stripped of its foreign funding license in 2015, and Indian donors faced intimidation through tax notices, forcing the group to shrink operations drastically. Yet, Hashmi and her colleagues kept ANHAD alive through personal donations and sheer determination, often working with minimal resources.

In 2017, in a dramatic act of protest, she returned the National Minority Rights Award conferred on her in 2008, denouncing the government’s silence on mob lynchings and rising Islamophobia. She accused the state of tacitly encouraging hate crimes and vowed not to be complicit by holding onto an award while minorities lived in fear. On the other hand, her work earned international recognition, including the “Woman of the Decade” award by the Women Economic Forum in 2022, reflecting the duality of her public life — celebrated abroad but harassed at home.

Her critics often accused her of being “anti-national” or biased, but she wore these labels as badges of honour, insisting that fighting for pluralism and constitutional values was the highest form of patriotism. She was equally unafraid to challenge regressive tendencies within minority communities, questioning patriarchal practices and insisting that true equality demanded critical introspection as well as resistance to majoritarianism.

Now, as she steps down from ANHAD’s leadership after 22 years, she has said the time has come to hand over the reins to younger activists who can bring fresh perspectives and energy to the struggle. “We need new ideas, new leadership, and the fearlessness of youth,” she remarked, underscoring her belief that the fight against fascism and communalism is generational and must constantly renew itself. Yet, her withdrawal from organizational responsibilities does not mean retreat. She has affirmed that she will continue to work as an independent activist, speaking out, mobilizing, and supporting struggles wherever needed.

The significance of her retirement lies not in the end of her activism but in the closing of a chapter that defined an entire era of Indian civil society. At a time when dissent is increasingly criminalized and spaces for independent organizations are shrinking, her resilience stands as both an inspiration and a challenge to the next generation. For thousands who trained with ANHAD, marched in its campaigns, or were touched by its interventions, Shabnam Hashmi’s name remains synonymous with fearless resistance.

Her life’s work has been guided by one central conviction: that the idea of India, as envisioned in the Constitution — diverse, plural, equal — must be defended at all costs. Whether teaching in a basti, organizing a nightlong concert in Ayodhya, training young activists in Gujarat, or standing before the Supreme Court, she has always carried that conviction into action. Her words continue to resonate: “If we have to die, let’s die fighting. If we fight together, we can defeat them as we defeated the British. Fascism will be defeated if the people of this country unite.”

As she passes the torch to the younger generation, her legacy will remain etched in the memory of India’s democratic struggles. Shabnam Hashmi may have retired from running an organization, but her voice, her defiance, and her vision for an equal India ensure that her activism is far from over.