A UNIQUE new exhibition is telling the story of South Asian immigrants to Scotland in the hope it will inspire new generations.

GlaswegAsian opens today in Scotland Street School Museum with a wealth of history about the country's largest immigrant population.

The exhibition tells the story of how people from South Asia came to Scotland and made the country their home.

It is a collaboration between Glasgow Life and Colourful Heritage, a community group based in Glasgow that has developed the largest online video archive recording the migration stories of people from South Asia to Scotland.

Omar Shaikh, a volunteer with Colourful Heritage, is one of those behind the new exhibition.

He said: "What we wanted very much was for this to inspire all communities, all of Scotland, not just Asians.

"The South Asian community has achieved success in Scotland and have become millionaires, doctors and lawyers through hard work, selflessness and community spirit, which gives them a great opportunity to inspire."

Glasgow Life first engaged with Colourful Heritage to set up am archive in The Mitchell Library and that led to the idea for a dedicated, permanent exhibition.

Organisers have spent nine months putting the display together.

Among the exhibits are the copy of the Quran Mohammed Sarwar used as he was sworn in as the UK’s first Muslim MP and the kilt and sherwani worn by Humza Yousaf MSP as he was sworn in at the Scottish Parliament in 2011.

The collection also shows videos of the unique stories of older immigrants who migrated to Scotland in the 1930s and 1940s from India and Pakistan.

Omar added: "We have recorded the stories on video to make the largest online archive of stories of South Asian migrants.

"What's fascinating is seeing people's expressions and hearing the tone of their voice in a way print media doesn't allow.

"It's much more interesting and more engaging for younger people.

Omar says it is particularly important to look at the stories of immigrants against the backdrop of a rise in Islamophobia and the uncertainty created by Brexit.

He added: "We were asking what was it like to come here, what South Asians have contributed 80 years down the line and showcase these things, particularly because questions are immigrants are, at the moment, very much alive.

"This is something really worth doing because if you don't do it know then you can't do it 20 or 30 years down the line because people will have passed away.

"Unless you capture their stories now we will have lost them."

The exhibition will run for an extended period at Scotland Street School Museum allowing Glasgow Museums to explore how people came to Glasgow and how the city grew and changed as a result.

Glasgow Museums also aims to shape future collecting by further reflecting Glasgow’s many diverse communities.

The exhibition is being supported through the loan of numerous objects by Colourful Heritage and through Museums, Galleries Scotland and its partnership fund.

The exhibition also explores entrepreneurship and working life, politics, contribution of the Indian soldiers to the world wars, family and social life and schools.

It looks at the particular achievements of Glasgow and Scotland in integrating its new members to communities - with everything from having the first Muslim MP and inventing the chicken tikka masala.

Omar said: "There are a number of very unique things Glasgow has achieved that you would have thought would have been more like to happen first in London or the East Midlands or Bradford where there are much larger South Asian populations.

"Glasgow had the first publicly elected official - we only have around 82,000 in Scotland.

"In 1970 Bashir Man became the first Muslim elected to public office as a councillor. That was a massive achievement.

"Fast forward 25 years and we have the first ever Muslim MP in Mohammed Sarwar.

"We started to become aware that there is something very unique and special happening in Glasgow with regard the integration of South Asians, there seems to be something different here so we started trying to unpick further why that is."

Colourful Heritage is working with Edinburgh University to answer that question and has attracted interest from researchers in France.

Omar believes the answer is in several parts.

He said: "A lot of countries are beginning to look round the western world and see which examples they can point to and say where's a better experience?

"They are asking, 'Why has Scotland been so different?'

"I don't think there is a single answer to it but some of the reasons for this include the Asian community adopting the Scottish identity, which is different from Asians adopting the English identity.

"The established community has a sense of openness and acceptance because there are already sectarian divides and so people reacted with, 'If you're not one of them then you're welcome with us.'

"This new community wasn't seen as a rival to the established community. It also worked hard and achieved many successes."

A video booth and a community space have also been built into the exhibition to support the collection of further oral histories to help the work Colourful Heritage does.

There are also the lesser known stories of Lady Evelyn Cobalt, who was the first female aristocrat to convert to Islam, and the "Muslim Robert Burns", Ayrshire poet John Parkinson, who converted to Islam.

The exhibition is the first step in establishing a South Asian community presence in Scotland Street School Museum to address what Omar calls "massive archival silence" on the community, unlike that of Italian, Irish or Jewish immigrants.

An activity and workshop programme will accompany the display.

Omar added: "This is also important for young South Asians: do they know all these things, that their forefathers gave their blood to protect Britain?

"Do they know the struggle their grandparents went through to come here?

"When you feel you have a stake in a country and you can contextualise your place in that country you are less likely to be radicalised and less susceptible to right wing elements.

"You are more likely to want to contribute positively. That is what I would like them to take away from the exhibition."