South Asian Heritage Month – The History And The Future
On 6th August 2025, our Madhir Seera and Kiranjeet Kaur had the honour of attending a Sikhs in Law event celebrating South Asian Heritage Month.
South Asian Heritage Month offers a powerful occasion to honour the vibrant cultures and communities that have made indelible marks on British society. The 2025 theme, “Routes to Roots,” is particularly meaningful for the Sikh community a collective whose spiritual and historical journey has always been closely tied to values of justice, equality, and integrity.
For Kiranjeet, this was the first time being a in a room full of people who looked like me and my family, in established positions within their legal career. Being in the presence of and conversing with these people gifted me with a renewed sense of inspiration and encouragement to continue building my legal career.
The history of South Asian Heritage Month
South Asian Heritage Month is unique in the fact that it runs through two months. The month starts on the 18th of July, as this is the date that the Indian Independence Act 1947 obtained royal assent from King George VI. The month then ends on the 17th of August as this is the date that the Radcliffe Line was published in 1947. This outlined where the border between India, West Pakistan and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) would be.
South Asian Heritage Month also coincides with the South Asian month of Saravan/Sawan, the predominant monsoon month in which the land of South Asia experiences renewal. South Asian Heritage Month is a celebration and a reminder of the progress that the South Asian population has made from British colonisation. It is also a time of reflection of the progress that is yet to be made.
“Routes to Roots”: Migration, Identity, and Legal Tradition
At the heart of “Routes to Roots” is the idea of returning to the core principles that have guided South Asian communities through generations of migration and adaptation. During the event we heard several key note speeches of leading Sikh professionals including Honour Judge Jinder Singh Boora, Kings’ Counsel Talbir Singh KC and Counsel Baldip Singh Aulak.
We heard impassionate speeches from them focussing on inclusivity, celebrating our individuality and the Sikh tenants of being committed to justice, the rule of law, and the welfare of all. We heard firsthand through their speeches and the values that have been celebrated throughout South Asian Heritage Month.
For Sikh legal professionals, “routes” represent the literal and figurative journeys from ancestral villages to British courtrooms, while “roots” signify the values that shape their approach to legal practice. The interweaving of these journeys is reflected in the increasing visibility of Sikhs in British law to include solicitors, barristers, judges, and legal scholars whose expertise and integrity enrich the UK’s legal landscape.
In the post-war decades, Sikhs migrated to the United Kingdom in significant numbers, contributing to every facet of society. As the community established itself, Sikh representation in law grew steadily. I was able to see this community grow first hand having entered the legal field myself, starting as a legal assistant before becoming a paralegal, then a trainee solicitor and hopefully a qualified solicitor in the near future.
South Asian philosophies and the legal profession
In many South Asian cultures, we have shared philosophies that echo what we believe the British legal system should embody.
These philosophies include the addressing unconscious bias, promoting sensitivity to cultural differences, listening to those we disagree with and fostering environments that celebrate our similarities not our difference. These ideas can guide us in the crucial steps toward building a profession that reflects Britain’s diversity.
In internalising these philosophies as legal professionals, we can further ensure access to justice for individuals who might otherwise be denied it, championing social justice through representing individuals from all backgrounds and cultures and ultimately fighting for our client’s rights against injustice. This is how we can help clients when making important life and business decisions.
Final thoughts and the future
The Sikhs in Law event and South Asian Heritage Month event encouraged reflection on the journeys that have shaped Britain and its values through embracing and sharing our varied cultures as a profession. As we honour “routes to roots,” let us recognise the transformative impact of South Asian Heritage on the legal profession and recommit to the principles of justice, equality, and service that are at the core of both British culture and law.
There are 5.5 million South Asian people in the UK, making up 8.6% of the UK’s population. In a country where one’s ethnicity, culture and language are not dominant, it can often be the case that minority ethnic people feel like they can lose what contributes to so much of their identity.
South Asian Heritage Month provides us with the opportunity to celebrate this part of our identity with others and for some it is an opportunity to reconnect with this part of their identity for the future to come.
The co-author of this blog is Kiranjeet Kaur, a Legal Assistant in our Personal Injury Team.