Reimagining the Himalaya through the lens of diasporic indigeneity
While the Himalaya is often imagined and memorialised through a Eurocentric notion of ‘discovery’ that romanticises the region as Asia’s majestic mountains, this is rooted in colonial encounters, particularly with the British Indian Empire in the 19th and 20th centuries.
This online exhibition aims to reimagine the Himalaya region from the perspective of its Indigenous communities within the UK diaspora. Adopting a decolonial approach, this exhibition aims to include contested memories and imaginations by privileging marginalised narratives and hidden histories, and to open up archives to underserved communities. It draws heavily on re-captioning and re-mapping exercises conducted during a community archival workshop in May 2024.
The exhibition is part of a British Academy-funded public engagement project titled Indigenising the Himalayas: Reimagining its Past, Present, and Futures, led by Dr Rohini Rai (Brunel University London) in collaboration with the Society.
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Static view
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Note about captions
Within the Society’s Collections there are some historical images (and image titles or captions) which are recognised as containing unacceptable forms of language, or present image content that is considered inappropriate. In such cases, as part of its Collections policy, the Society maintains access to those images and descriptors as a source of context and information for researchers, recognising that the historical language used or image subjects in themselves do not reflect the Society’s contemporary position as an organisation wholly committed to principles of equality and diversity.