Written by Jessica Wilhoit
South Asian Heritage month was started in the UK in 2020. It is celebrated during the month of July and can run into August. South Asian Heritage month celebrates the significant contributions of those from South Asian countries including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan to the UK. Since 2020, the celebration has expanded to other countries including the United States. While the United States does not share the historical connection to South Asia that the UK does through Colonialism and the Commonwealth, people of South Asian descent are a growing group in the United States.
South Asian Americans are a fast-growing immigrant population within the United States. As of 2020, there were 6.1 million people of South Asian descent in the US. As a percentage of total population, New Jersey has the largest South Asian population in the US with South Asian Americans making up almost 5% of the state’s population. South Asians are 40% of the population in Middlesex County, New Jersey. A county, located south of Newark Airport and Northeast of Princeton University, at the “Bend” in the state.
When it comes to contributions to the community, South Asian Americans are making a large impact in New Jersey. In politics, across the gambit of elected positions in New Jersey, there are more South Asians than in any other US state. Rutgers’ medical school, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has a South Asian Health Initiative program called SATHI or the South Asian Total Health Initiative. This initiative provides a collaborative environment for multiple disciplinary studies to come together and increase, “research, education and outreach” to the South Asian community. The South Asian community is disproportionately affected by type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Initiatives like SATHI are working to find proactive solutions to improve the health of South Asian Americans.
South Asian Americans are making an impact in politics and healthcare in New Jersey and the country. Find the influential South Asians in your customer base with E-Tech’s product suite. Including our product Access India which specializes in helping you market to the Asian Indian community in the United States. Happy South Asian Heritage Month!