Community Engagement

A cornerstone of SFU’s India Initiative is its long-standing engagements with the local South Asian diaspora to promote Indian art, culture, history, language, literature and lifestyle, and to support events and initiatives of interest and importance to the South Asian community.

Signature initiatives include:

Komagata Maru Journey

Launched on May 23, 2015, the 2015 Komagata Maru Collection at Simon Fraser University has helped advance the cataloguing, digitizing, and sharing of resources central to the story of the Komagata Maru incident. Sponsored by the Government of India’s Ministry of Culture, the project was part of a year-long series of events, talks, tours, and exhibitions that took place in Canada and India to commemorate the 101st anniversary of the Komagata Maru incident.

Indian Summer Festival

Simon Fraser University is one of the founding partners for the Indian Summer Festival, which is a contemporary multi-arts festival that takes place over 10 days every July in Vancouver. Festival events are held at various venues, with many taking place at SFU Woodward’s Goldcorp Centre for the Arts.

Diwali Gala

SFU has been hosting an annual Diwali Gala in Surrey for more than a decade. The event celebrates the festival of Diwali, along with the university's initiatives in India and its engagement with B.C.'s South Asian community. The gala draws business, government, academic and community leaders, along with SFU students, faculty, staff and alumni.

Funds raised from the event support opportunities for students to work, study and volunteer in India through the university’s mobility initiative. To date, more than 160 students have benefited from their experiences in India.

CINI Conference

The Canada India Network Society (CINS) collaborated with SFU and Fraser Health to host the Canada India Networking Initiative (CINI) health conferences in 2010, 2014 and 2018, on issues relating to advancing health care in India and Canada.

Darpan Extraordinary Achievement Awards

Since 2006, SFU has been a sponsor of the Darpan Extraordinary Achievement Awards, which recognize the outstanding achievements of South Asian community members.

Vancouver South Asian Film Festival

Since its inception in 2010, the Vancouver South Asian Film Festival has spotlighted lesser-known South Asian stories. SFU has been a strong supporter and sponsor of the event for many years.

Honorary Degrees Recipients

SFU has recognised many distinguished members of the South Asian community—both in Canada and abroad—by awarding honorary degrees that recognize their scholarly, scientific and artistic achievements, or their professional or philanthropic contributions to the public good. Those conferred with honorary degrees in the last decade include:

• 2018 – Ashok Khosla, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa (Pioneer in environmental sustainability)
• 2017 – Miloon Kothari, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa (Architect and internationally recognized human rights advocate)
• 2015 – Meeru Dhalwala and Vikram Vij, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa (Restaurateurs and owners of several award-winning Metro Vancouver restaurants, including the world-renowned Vij’s Restaurant)
• 2015 – Sut Jhally, Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa (Executive director of the Media Education Foundation and a prolific filmmaker and author)
• 2015 – Deepa Mehta, Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa (Oscar-nominated screenwriter, director and producer)
• 2013 – Shabana Azmi, Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa (Award-winning actor and advocate for the rights of women, minorities and displaced slum-dwellers in India)
• 2012 – A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa (former President of India)
• 2012 – Jagat (Jack) Uppal, Doctor of Laws, honoris causa (B.C. South Asian community leader and businessman)