Asian Voices resulted from a £50,000 Heritage Lottery Fund grant awarded in 2008 for the University of Huddersfield to document the experiences of first generation South Asian settlers through a groundbreaking oral history project. West Yorkshire has the highest concentration of South Asian origin residents outside London with particularly large communities in Bradford, Kirklees and Calderdale. Many of the first settlers migrated over fifty years ago and their experience are largely overlooked in conventional historical records.
The Asian Voices project aimed to record oral testimonies of first generation settlers from South Asian communities across West Yorkshire in order to preserve their memories for current and future generations. The project consists of a collection of interviews which focus on two main themes: ‘migration and settlement’, and give an insight into issues such as work, worship and leisure. The research offers a window into the experience of settling into Britain and adjusting to life in a foreign environment and celebrates the role first generation South Asian settlers have played in helping to shape multi-cultural Britain.