In celebration of South Asian Heritage Month, Jaspreet, Clinical Director of Pharmacy and Physical Health Services at Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust and Bradford District and Craven Mind Trustee, considers how her heritage and community have shaped her identity.
As a woman born into a Sikh Indian Punjabi family in the UK in the 1980s, it is fair to say that I struggled with my identity significantly growing up. I never really knew where I fitted in, felt awkward going out in traditional Punjabi clothing for fear of being stared at, and always felt somewhat different to others in my community, who seemed to embrace their Panjabi heritage completely. I know now that many 2nd and 3rd generation South Asian immigrants have similar experiences where they feel ‘caught’ between 2 cultures. Reflecting on this now, however, it is evident that we have created our own British South Asian culture, which is diverse, vibrant, and unique. It doesn’t need to be defined by one or the other, it is a wonderful melting pot of multiculturalism.
I grew up in a multigenerational household with my grandparents and parents, which of course is extremely common in Sikh and wider South Asian communities but very different to the typical British household. The Sikh community places a strong emphasis on family and intergenerational relationships which is one of our strengths. Elders pass down wisdom, traditions, values, and the history of our people. The Sikh community has endured much over the last century, with the horrors of the partition of India in 1947 and more recently the Sikh genocide in 1984. When I think about how my grandparents came to this country in the 1960s, not knowing the language, having little to no money and experiencing racist abuse daily, I am in awe of them and their strength, to not just survive, but to thrive, so their children could have a better life.