South Asian Studies Institute

The South Asian Studies Institute is pleased to welcome Raaynaa Madaan (she/her) as the new SASI Coordinator at UFV on January 22nd, 2026! Raaynaa completed her undergraduate studies at the University of the Fraser Valley in 2025, with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Minor in Criminology. From her first year as a … Read more

Written by Amrit Sahota – Research Assistant at SASI On a cool Thursday evening, on November 13, attendees gathered at the third installment of the Fall Lecture Series hosted and organized by the South Asian Studies Institute (SASI) at UFV. This lecture introduced Rizwaan Abbas, an archeologist, and the topic of the indentured labour system, … Read more

On October 30, 2025, the South Asian Studies Institute (SASI) hosted the second event of its annual Fall Lecture Series: the official launch of the South Asian Canadian Muslims in British Columbia online exhibit. The evening marked a significant milestone for a project that has been in development since 2023 and represents years of research, … Read more

I have been working with the South Asian Studies Institute (SASI) since fall 2022, working on various technical tasks like maintaining the South Asian Canadian Digital Archive (SACDA)’s automating repetitive tasks to save time, updating and maintaining the research websites, and creating new digital exhibits. Continuing my passion for computer science, I attended Canada’s largest hackathon, … Read more

On October 23, 2025, the South Asian Studies Institute (SASI) and the Museum of Anthropology (MOA) held the first of five Community Gathering events, launching a series focused on Honouring Indigenous–South Asian Canadian Relations and Building Intercultural Futures. Carrying the Light marked the beginning of a vibrant partnership between SASI and MOA, celebrating connection and … Read more

On 22 September 2025, the South Asian Studies Institute (SASI) hosted Cultural Discovery Day at the Sikh Heritage Museum (SHM) as part of the City of Abbotsford’s Cultural Day programming! SASI Museum Assistant, Makenna Brar, led guided tours of the grounds of the National Historic Site, Gur Sikh Temple with a fun scavenger hunt activity … Read more

On 26 August 2025, the South Asian Studies Institute (SASI) hosted a successful workshop titled “Photography is Forever: Documenting History in the Present” at the Sikh Heritage Museum, in collaboration with photographer and content creator Gibi Saini. The workshop began with a contextual introduction by Thamilini Jothilingam, Digital Archivist at the South Asian Canadian Digital … Read more

July 20, 2025 – After months of dedicated preparation and meticulous curation, the South Asian Studies Institute (SASI) at the University of the Fraser Valley proudly inaugurated its latest exhibit, Chandra Bodalia’s Legacy: The History and Heritage of Gurdwaras in BC, at the Sikh Heritage Museum in Abbotsford. This is the Museum’s seventeenth exhibit since … Read more

On Friday, July 11, 2025, the South Asian Studies Institute (SASI) hosted an enriching event titled “The Art of Preservation: In Conversation with Museum Conservator Vasundhara Pradip Madhumita” at the Sikh Heritage Museum, housed within the Gur Sikh Temple National Historic Site in Abbotsford, British Columbia. The event was part of the National Trust for … Read more