Join us for an insightful discussion on the dynamics of the South Asian diaspora in the UK—exploring identity, migration, and transnational connections. This event brings together leading scholars and practitioners to unpack cultural, political, and social dimensions shaping diaspora experiences.
Event Details:
Date: 17 November 2025 | Time: 11:00 AM GMT
Speakers:
1. Professor James Staples (Brunel University London)
James Staples is Professor of Social Anthropology at Brunel University London. He earned his BA and PhD in Social Anthropology from SOAS, University of London. Before academia, he worked for nearly a decade as a journalist. His research focuses on South India, exploring themes such as leprosy and social exclusion, disability, suicide, food practices, and identity politics. Staples has conducted extensive ethnographic fieldwork, including studies on how bodily differences and disability are socially constructed and experienced. More recently, his work has examined the politics of meat-eating and vegetarianism in India, linking food practices to class, caste, and social mobility. He joined Brunel in 2007 and was promoted to Professor in 2022. He also co-hosts The Migration Menu podcast.
2. Dr. Arif Azad (Political Analyst)
Dr Arif Azad is a Public Health Consultant and International Development Specialist whose work bridges migration policy and South Asian political dynamics in the UK. His expertise includes migration policy, health governance, social protection, disaster risk reduction, and universal health coverage. Author of Patient Pakistan: Reforming and Fixing Healthcare for Pakistan and a regular contributor to Dawn, Dr Azad’s work informs debates on diaspora engagement, migration-driven health inequalities, and transnational policy transfer.
He has worked with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) on refugee and migrant health in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Greece, and in Pakistan, he has been involved in research and advocacy projects on Afghan refugees in collaboration with UNHCR and Balochistan’s Bieutems University. Moreover, Dr Azad is recognised as a political analyst and commentator on British and South Asian politics.
3. Dr. Luke Heslop (Brunel University London)
Dr Luke Heslop is a Senior Lecturer in Anthropology and Global Challenges at Brunel University London. He trained in anthropology at the University of Edinburgh, earning his PhD in 2015, and was previously a Fellow at the London School of Economics. His research focuses on South Asia, particularly Sri Lanka and the Maldives, exploring themes such as markets, kinship, infrastructure, work, and labour. Heslop’s ethnographic work examines the lived experience of macro-economic and political change and global challenges in emerging economies. He specializes in trade, mobility, and the social life of work, and his recent research addresses the financialisation of development, changing modes of aid, and entrepreneurship.