A Study of the Development, Geography and Significance of Scottish South Asian Built Heritage

The Collaborative Doctoral Partnership between Historic Environment Scotland and the University of Edinburgh will focus on the Scottish South Asian community's built heritage. The community stretches from the borders to the Scottish isles, with their first settlement taking place a century ago. Historically the diaspora encompasses people from the South Asian subcontinent, with the larger populations originating from present day Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Today, the communities are spanning into their fourth generation.

Each of these communities have become an integral part of Scottish society and their presence is well-known. The iconic 'curry house' can be found across the country and has played an important role in the visual representation and history of Britain's South Asian community. However, this project aims to look more broadly incorporating the urban and rural to uncover the geography, history and built heritage of Scotland's South Asians from its beginnings to today.

An historical and geographical overview will be at the core of the project to develop a record of built evidence of the South Asian community in Scotland. The research will be led by literature and archival work, however, with the sparsity of available material, there will be a reliance on oral history interviews and private archives. Once the scope of the project is understood, a more concise look at geographical areas or buildings will influence the use of case studies. From mapping these sites, the research will create a dataset specific to the community and will populate the National Record of the Historic Environment. This will begin to unravel the influences and ways in which South Asians have adapted elements of their intangible cultural heritage to Scotland's built environment.

The engagement of the South Asian community will be an important part of this project. Working with HES's engagement team will encourage an approach to methodology that may include oral history recording, discussion groups, and experiential journeys with communities among others. Additionally, the supervisory role of organisations such as Colourful Heritage will further produce a project centred on the voices of those within the community. It will add a layer of validity to buildings or areas that will be researched. And, a cross-generational focus will aide the historical narrative but also questions surrounding how these sites and buildings have changed with the needs of the community and how they may be perceived in the future.

Working with the communities will influence the direction and focus of the project but will be a significant component relating to how HES can develop a more inclusive approach to their work. The research will follow one final strand that will look to incorporate the findings and needs of the community into HES's heritage practice policy. Working with both HES's engagement and policy teams will allow for an exchange of research that is focussed towards a more inclusive heritage practice towards not only the South Asian community but all minorities.