South Asian Heritage Month (SAHM) starts on 18 July and runs until 17 August (every year). It raises the profile of British South Asian heritage and history in the UK through education, arts, culture and commemoration, with the goal of helping people to better understand the diversity of present-day Britain. About 1 in every 20 people in the country (5% of Brits) are of South Asian heritage.
The dates are chosen because of their special significance to the South Asian community. On 18 July 1947, the Indian Independence Act gained royal assent and 17 August of the same year marks the date the Radcliffe Line was published, which created the border that separated India from Pakistan.
This year the theme for SAHM is “Journeys of Empire”. From empires such as the Mughal, the Duranni, the Vijayanagar and the British, from indentured labourers forced to travel to the Caribbean and East Asia, and other migrants who travelled by choice to Africa and beyond, to the journeys that families made to the UK with just £3 in their pockets, we have all been affected by the journeys of empire.
The theme also incorporated two major anniversaries taking place in 2022:
- 75th anniversary of the independence of India, Partition, and the creation of Pakistan (later known as East and West Pakistan)
- 50th anniversary of the expulsion of Ugandan Asians by Idi Amin
For SAHM everyone is encourages to host/organise their own events for South Asian Heritage Month. Th online calendar lists events across the UK submitted to SAHM to celebrate, commemorate and educate about South Asian culture and histories.
The South Asian Heritage Month team has also curated a full calendar of online events for South Asian Heritage Month 2022. These 31 events over 31 days included specific Focus Days for each of the 8 countries of South Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Maldives, Sri Lanka.
Find out more about SAHM here.
The Law Society Gazette article (linked below) shares that statistic that of the 20,000 solicitors of Black, Asian and minority ethnic background with practising certificates two thirds of those were of Asian/Asian British heritage (including East Asians).
Further Reading:
- South Asian Heritage Month: why it matters
- “I didn’t have role models early on but thankfully that’s changing” ~ Amandeep Khasriya
