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Our Patrons

Anita Rani Founding Patron

Anita Rani, is a British radio and television presenter. Anita’s episode of BBC1’s Who Do You Think You Are? broadcast on 1 October 2015, led her to discover the history of her maternal grandfather Sant Singh and his tragic personal losses during the violence of the Partition of India in 1947. The public interest in the topic, particularly from second and third generation Asians led her and Director Leo Burley to create ‘My Family Partition and Me’ aired in 2017, which was nominated for Best TV Documentary at the National Television Awards in 2018 and for which she won best Presenter. She has been a passionate supporter of the South Asian Heritage Month campaign and is the Founding Patron.

Balvinder Sopal

Balvinder is an actress from Gillingham, Kent. Her career spans across film, tv, theatre and radio, which has seen her work with award winning companies both nationally and internationally. She started her career in community theatre and has always sought to serve and champion local communities, whether through running workshops, attending events, speaking on panels, as well as creating shows for and with the local community. She is an Associate Artist with Play On Words, a local theatre company based in Gillingham, and is also a regular contributor on the Dominic King Arts and Culture show for BBC Radio Kent. Currently Balvinder can be seen on our TV screens across the UK playing the regular, villainous Suki Panesar in Eastenders.

Nikesh Shukla

Nikesh Shukla is a novelist and screenwriter. He is the author of Coconut Unlimited (shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award), Meatspace and the critically acclaimed The One Who Wrote Destiny. He was editor of the bestselling essay collection, The Good Immigrant. He co-edited The Good Immigrant USA with Chimene Suleyman. He is the author of two YA novels, Run, Riot (shortlisted for a National Book Award) and The Boxer (longlisted for the Carnegie Medal). Nikesh was one of Time Magazine’s cultural leaders, Foreign Policy magazine’s 100 Global Thinkers and The Bookseller’s 100 most influential people in publishing in 2016 and in 2017. He is co-founder of The Good Journal and The Good Literary Agency. A fellow of the Royal Society Of Literature and member of the Folio Academy, his new book, Brown Baby: A Memoir Of Race, Family And Home was released on Bluebird in February 2021.

Bobby Seagull

Born in east London to parents from Kerala India, Bobby is proud of his British Asian identity. He rose to prominence after captaining his Cambridge college on University Challenge. As the nation’s favourite school maths teacher, Bobby understands the value of education. Growing up on an east London council estate, he won a Sixth Form Scholarship to Eton College. After working as an investment banking trader for Lehman Brothers & Nomura and Chartered Accountant at PwC, he changed careers to school teaching. He co-presents BBC’s road trip series Monkman & Seagull’s Genius Guides and is resident quiz brain on Channel 4’s The Answer Trap. He writes for Financial Times and has published two books, including The Life-Changing Magic of Numbers.

Babita Sharma

Babita Sharma is a Broadcaster, Journalist & award-winning Author. She is the author of the award-winning book The Corner Shop, and she has collaborated with the National Trust and The Migration Museum for two major projects about corner shop life in Britain. A new children’s book series written by Babita: The Adventures of Priya Mistry will be published by Hachette Children’s Group in 2022. She is a well known face in TV and radio, presenting several television documentaries, including BBC One’s Supermarket Secrets and Booze, Beans & Bhajis: The Story of the Corner shop broadcast to critical acclaim. Her landmark BBC Two series Dangerous Borders: The Story of India & Pakistan took Babita to the India/Pakistan border 70 years after partition. She was awarded the Asian Achievement Award for contributions in Media, Arts and Culture.

Bobby Friction

Bobby Friction is a DJ, television presenter and radio presenter. He has presented on various BBC Radio stations over the last 20 years playing South Asian music from across the world, including on Radio 1, Radio 6 Music and BBC Asian Network. He is recognised as the premier expert on Desi Beats globally

Dr Amir Khan

Dr Amir Khan is an NHS doctor turned TV GP. He’s a regular on our TV screens, including appearances on BBC Breakfast, Lorraine, This Morning, Good Morning Britain and GP’s Behind Closed Doors on Channel 5. Since then, Dr Amir has published his bestselling memoir, The Doctor Will See You Now. He is a Senior Lecturer at the Universities of Leeds and Bradford. In 2018, he was named GP Trainer of the Year by the Royal College of General Practitioners for his efforts in coaching the next generation of GPs. He’s also passionate about nature, and an Ambassador for the National Wildlife Trust and the Butterfly Conservation Society.

Dr Ranj Singh

Dr Ranj Singh

Dr Ranj is a familiar face on our screens and one of the nation’s most popular doctors. As a practising NHS Consultant Emergency Paediatrician, he looks after the health and wellbeing of children, young people and their families. Alongside this he has forged a career in the media as a BAFTA-award-winning TV presenter, Sunday Times best-selling author, and magazine columnist. He is the co-creator and presenter of the CBeebies’ show Get Well Soon, co-presenter of ITV Save Money Good Health and Dr Ranj On Call, resident doctor on ITV This Morning, and contestant on BBC Strictly Come Dancing 2018. This year he has also been the star of his own West End show Scrubs To Sparkles at the Garrick Theatre in London.

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The first of the Trust’s projects is the South Asian Heritage Month (SAHM), which first took place in 2020 and runs from the 18th of July to the 17th of August each year.

SAHM seeks to commemorate, mark and celebrate South Asian cultures, histories, and communities.

It seeks to understand the diverse heritage and cultures that continue to link the UK with South Asia.

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Charity No 1199026

Email: info@southasianheritage.org.uk

Jasvir Singh CBE
Co-Founder

Dr Binita Kane
Co-Founder

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