South Asian History Month

We first celebrated South Asian History Month in July 2020 to celebrate, mark and honour South Asian cultures and histories – particularly the intertwined histories of the UK and South Asian communities – and how South Asian cultures are present throughout the UK.

We use South Asian History Month to celebrate the history, arts, culture and heritage of people with roots in the South Asian countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Our goal is to help people better understand the diversity of present-day Britain.

South Asian History Month 2024

Blog post: Celebrating South Asian identities

Dr Amrit Sachar, the College's Joint Presidential Lead for Equity and Equality writes a blog post to conclude our celebrations of South Asian History Month. 

Podcast: Tackling mental health challenges in South Asia

In this episode, we are joined by Dr Manoj Kumar, the RCPsych South Asian Chair, to discuss the mental health landscape in South Asia, with a focus on India.

Blog post: Challenging traditions – Navigating mental health stigma for South Asian youth in the UK

4th year medical student, Projit Kar, writes a blog post to celebrate this year's South Asian History Month.

Free members' webinar: 'Free to be me' – 4 July 2024

As part of our celebration of South Asian History Month, we held a free webinar for members.

Chaired by Dr Shahid Latif, the webinar featured a discussion of the journeys and learnings of doctors from different countries in South East Asia and their thoughts on this year’s theme: 'Free to be me'. The webinar was followed by a Q&A discussion.

We spoke to four doctors about their journey and some of the strategies or initiatives that the College or their organisations have used to support professionals/ psychiatrists from different cultural backgrounds.

Speakers

  • India: Bhavna Chawda
  • Pakistan: Aamer Malik
  • Sri Lanka: Maheshi Wickramanayake
  • Bangladesh: Suhana Ahmed

Previous years

Blog posts relating to South Asian History Month