South Asian Studies Institute

(Artist Celina Koops, CHASI Research Assistant) Guest Blog Post: Dr. Inderjeet Singh Mann: The SASI is pleased to present a guest blog by Dr. Inder Mann, UFV’s Peace and Reconciliation Centre (PARC) Visiting Scholar and SASI Research Fellow to present a blog commemorating April as Sikh Heritage Month. We are grateful for a collaboration with … Read more

As part of the lecture series on Caste at SASI – Dr. Surinder Jodhka, Professor of Sociology at the Centre for Social Systems, presented his ground breaking and important research on April 23rd, 2021. The lecture, as described by SASI Director Dr. Satwinder Kaur Bains, is part of the SASI’s ongoing and meaningful commitment to … Read more

  On April 14th  the South Asian Studies Institute launched a permanent outdoor exhibit and temporary indoor exhibit at the Sikh Heritage Museum located in the National Historic Site Gur Sikh Temple, Abbotsford BC. The exhibit, titled Komagata Maru: Discrimination Meets Determination pays homage to historic 1914 and to the power of determination to enact meaningful … Read more

Dr. Jon Thomas, BC Regional Innovation Chair (UFV) has also been appointed as the Director, the Esposito Family Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (EFCIE) at UFV. The Esposito Family Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (EFCIE) is a new research hub at the University of the Fraser Valley working to foster an inclusive, vibrant, and resilient … Read more

For the past three years, the SASI has worked under the leadership of Dr. Dhami and Dr. Bajwa to organize the ‘Building Bridges Community Golf Day’ event. The annual golf tournament’s goal, which began in 2018, is to assist in the creation of an endowed Research Fellowship program housed at the South Asian Studies Institute. … Read more

The SASI is in the process of curating its next exhibit at the Sikh Heritage Museum, on the heels of the ‘Haq and History‘ ending its run. The Haq and History exhibit was curated by the Royal BC Museum in partnership with the SASI. The next exhibit, slated to launch April 14, 2021, is travelling … Read more

The SASI has been busy working on six major projects as part of its Provincially funded South Asian Canadian Legacy Project (SACLP). Each of the projects: the travelling exhibit, the labour history work, the digital archive, the social history book, the historic sites work and the school curriculum work is well underway with major milestones … Read more

The SASI has received a number of grants reflecting the breadth and depth of the work being undertaken. This includes the BC Arts Council,  Arts Infrastructure program grant in the amount of of $24,436 to assist SASI in the installation of permanent exhibit of the Vancouver Maritime Museum’s 2014 exhibit titled Komagata Maru: Challenging Injustice. The … Read more

The South Asian Canadian Legacy Project was the successful recipient of the MITACS Business Strategy Internship grant totaling $10,000 from January 11, 2021 to May 11, 2021. MITACS introduced this new grant based on the new economic landscape due to COVID-19. This internship presents an opportunity to an UFV student to learn the new realities … Read more

The SASI has created a newsletter for all work, projects, exhibits and early Sikh settler story telling based on the Sikh Heritage Museum, located in the National Historic Site of Canada in Abbotsford, BC. The SASI has collected years of archival images and stories from the Punjabi settler community in Canada and would like to … Read more