South Asian Heritage Month 2024

South Asian Heritage Month runs from 18th July to 17th August and this year's theme is ‘Free to be Me’ an ideal opportunity to celebrate the rich heritage and culture of South Asia & reflect on my experiences as a British South Asian. 

A highlight of the month was the opportunity to attend an excellent event at the university organised by the the Global majority staff network, click here for the staff news article about the event. 

With a great line up of speakers generously sharing their stories and creating and empowering atmosphere for further debate and discussion I found it a very rewarding and inspiring event. With talks from across various fields including academia, arts and business it was interesting to see common themes such as the importance of representation, the power of community, resilience and more. 

Hearing people talk about their challenges, their success and the impact of their work on communities inspired me to learn more about South Asian history and culture. Browsing the library South Asian Heritage Month collection I have picked a few books to add to my TBR pile. 

• Brown girl like me by Jaspreet Kaur  – to hear more stories from South Asian women 
• Shadows at noon : the South Asian twentieth century by Joya Chatterji – to discover the history of South Asia through it food, leisure and more and highlighting the richness and diversity on offer. 
• The midnight panther by Poonam Mistry – to enjoy the beautiful illustrations and gentle story by a talented British South Asian artist.