What is South Asian Heritage Month? 

South Asian Heritage Month aims to amplify and celebrate British South Asian heritage and history across the UK through education, arts, culture and commemoration. The theme for 2024 is ‘Free to be Me’ which encourages us to embrace who we are, sharing our similarities and honouring our differences. 

South Asia is made up of eight countries: Afghanistan; Bangladesh; Bhutan; India; The Maldives; Nepal; Pakistan and Sri Lanka. As you can imagine, South Asian cultures are hugely diverse and there is a wealth of histories, religions, languages, music, dance and food to explore. 

We can see influences from South Asia all over the UK. In food – traditional curries adapted for a British palate gave us one of the nation’s favourite dishes, the Chicken Tikka Masala (thought to be based on a Bangladeshi/North Indian dish although the exact origin is hotly debated!). In language – numerous words in modern English have their origins in Sanskrit. Did you know the word shampoo derives from Hindi? In fashion – the paisley print originated in Kashmir, India in the 11th century and was brought to Europe during trade with European colonisers. It got its modern name in the 19th century from the Scottish town which became the leading manufacturer of fashionable paisley shawls. People of South Asian heritage make up a significant part of the British population – around 4.5 million. That’s around 1 in every 14 people! British South Asians you might have heard of include Mawaan Rizwan, writer of Channel 4’s Sex Education and Taskmaster contestant; Sculptor Sir Anish Kapoor who designed the Orbit sculpture for the London Olympic Park, just next to our London Campus; and Nadiya Hussain, Great British Bake-Off winner, author, and TV chef. 

In the UK people from South Asian backgrounds still face racism and discrimination in many forms. One of these is underrepresentation in certain areas. Notably in football, only 22 out of approximately 3,700 male professional players have South Asian backgrounds. This Sky Sports report explores the underlying stereotypes at the heart of the issue. There is so much more to explore, for instance acknowledging the role and impact of British and European colonialism which brought many South Asians to the UK and the associated intergenerational trauma, biases and cultural stereotypes.  

Through this year’s theme ‘Free to be Me’, South Asian Heritage Month aims to celebrate the diverse experiences of being of South Asian heritage, provide a platform to highlight voices and explore the diverse ways we honour our roots and individuality 

Get involved  

There are lots of ways to learn more and get involved with South Asian History Month:  

• Find toolkits and resources on southasianheritage.org.uk 

• Come to an on-campus event:
  – How to be an Ally for People with South Asian Heritage   (6 August)
  – Book Club: Fasting, Feasting by Anita Desai (21 August)

• Find other events in your local area  

• Check out the Library reading lists for further reading and resources 

• Read and share stories with the South Asian Heritage Trust