Bradford British Asian community members come together to celebrate South Asian Heritage Month

Image by Saliha Sadiq

A Bradford community centre has been holding celebrations to mark South Asian Heritage Month.

South Asian Heritage Month was first celebrated in 2020 and is a celebration of South Asian heritage and culture in the UK. It began on July 18, the day the Indian Independence Act got royal assent in 1947, and ends on August 17, the date the Radcliffe Line, which separated India from Pakistan, was published.

This year, the Millan Centre in Bradford took part in the event to celebrate South Asian heritage. Saliha Sadiq, who runs the mental health unit at the centre, said it was “amazing” to see different generations get together and celebrate their culture on the “colourful” day.

The community came together to remember their parents and grandparents who came to the UK, many in the 1950s and 1960s, bringing their culture and identity along with them. Many braved the rain to come to the event where South Asian food was served and people from all ages gathered.

Saliha said, “We celebrated when our parents or grandparents came over to this country and brought their culture, their identity and who they are, their background. They even brought their spices and curries, they introduced all that. We’re just kind of celebrating that we’re part of that culture.”

Even the young people got involved, with many staying behind to clean up any litter.

She added, “We got all the communities together on Saturday, there were all different generations. It was more than just the elderly, the younger children participated too which was good to see because they wanted to be part of this heritage.”

Saliha also paid tribute to all the people who came together to support the event. She said, “Thank you to the local community, the people who actually travelled to come to the event. Thank you for taking part and making this event successful and hopefully there will be more to come.” The event is also marking two important anniversaries this year, the 75th anniversary of the Independence of India and Pakistan and the 50th anniversary of the expulsion of Asian people from Uganda by the dictator Idi Amin.