South Asian Heritage Month (SAHM) is still in its infancy – members of the South Asian community organised the concept launch of the first South Asian Heritage Month event in July 2019 at the House of Commons, with the first event taking place in July 2020.
Unlike most commemoration months, SAHM takes place across two Western calendar months (July and August), the reason being that it respects the traditions of the South Asian solar calendar and 18 July – 17 August contains several significant dates such as
- 18 July: the Indian Independence Act of 1947 gained royal assent
- 26 July: Maldives Independence Day
- 8 August: Bhutan Independence Day
- 14 August: Pakistani Independence Day
- 15 August: Indian Independence Day
- 17 August: Partition Commemoration Day or the date that the Radcliffe Line was published in 1947, setting out where the border between India, West Pakistan and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) would be
The month also gives us the opportunity to delve into and hear stories from cultures we are not aware off. It is a chance to talk about my own heritage as well as learning from friends and colleagues.
The UK, a country which has c5.2m South Asians, (Indians 1.45 million (2.3 per cent), Pakistanis 1.17 million (1.9 per cent), Bangladeshis 451,500 (0.7 per cent) and other Asians. who include Sri Lankans, as well as third-generation Asians, Asians of mixed parentage, people from Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldive Islands and some from the Middle East).
I was born and raised in the UK and have had the opportunity of going to India to visit family and sample the culture shaped by my ancestors.
Being brought up in a majority British environment I have seen isolation and suppression that many from my generation faced. For example, we were only allowed to speak Punjabi at home, what to change from our school uniforms into traditional Indian dress as soon as we came home from school, weren’t allowed to have sleepovers or even go out on our own.
Looking back this some of this was down to the fear of being attacked and my parents keeping us safe. Growing up in the late 60’s and 70’s when the far right in the form of the National Front and hearing the quote ‘go back to where you came from’ and seeing/hearing family members being attacked I can now understand why my parents did this.
SAHM is important to me because it helps us to be seen and heard and helps combat the issue of overcoming our struggles with our identity. The month helps us to tell and hear stories that engage, inform, educate and even entertain. SA influences can be found everywhere from the food we eat to the cloths we wear to the architecture in our cities to the words we use and the music we listen to.
We need to do all we can to help raise the awareness of the SAHM and the profile of South Asian identity in Britian by making sure SAHM is a month to remember.
Author: Pam Sian, members of the National Black Members Committee (NBMC)