July is South Asian Heritage Month, an ongoing opportunity for those with a Eurocentric perspective to expand their horizons. South Asia is a large area of the globe with many different histories, cultures, languages and food that have travelled and dispersed far beyond their original subcontinent. To celebrate that geographic and demographic reality the theme for 2026 is ‘Unity in Diversity’ – a positive message to recognise the strength of the range of peoples throughout the region rather than using those differences to create discord.

At the Historical Association we are keen to draw people’s attention to the diversity of these histories and heritage and to celebrate them within another of our 2026 themes – the Year of Reading. We have brought together some of our existing resources that cover the different voices from the region and celebrate some of the stories tillustrate the rich history of South Asia.

• A trail of garnet and gold: Sri Lanka to Anglo-Saxon England (Primary History article)
• European attempts to 'recolonise' South East Asia after 1945 (Historian article)
• India in 1914 (Historian article)

HA webinar: Ruling India: the Mughal Empire within South Asian and world histories

8 July, 4-5pm on Zoom | Professor Audrey Truschke
Free and exclusive to HA Members
Book now

The Mughal Empire dominated India’s political landscape for the better part of two centuries (1526–1707). At its height, the empire included 150 million subjects and stretched across most of the Indian subcontinent, encompassing 3.2 million kilometers (including parts of modern India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan). The Mughals had a wide range of effects on Indian cultures and society that continued well into British colonialism and the post-independence period. This talk outlines key features of Mughal rule during its height.

South Asian historical fiction for children and young people

Each year we run the Young Quills awards for best historical fiction for children and young adults. Read our young people's reviews of three recent books by South Asian authors or with South Asian themes:

• Rosie Raja: Undercover Codebreaker by Sufiya Ahmed
• Nush and the Stolen Emerald by Jasbinder Bilan
• Nisha’s War by Dan Smith

Or for a more adult audience, why not try a novel by Salman Rushdie, Arundhati Roy, Monica Ali, Vikram Seth, Kamila Shamsie, or historian and author Amitav Ghosh?

South Asian British history podcasts

Listen to our podcast series by Dr Sumita Mukherjee on South Asian British history from 1600 to 1947 (all open access during July):  

• South Asian British history 1600-1800
• South Asian British history 1800-1900  
• South Asian British history 1900-1947