BAG

Trustee

Dr. Saif Khan is an alum of Government Laboratory High School, Dhaka College and Dhaka Medical College, three of the most prestigious institutions of Bangladesh. He acquired his surgical fellowship from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow in 2001. Later he decided to switch to general practice, completing his membership from the Royal College of General Practice in 2012. He now works as a partner in his practice in Glasgow and a GP appraiser for NHS Lanarkshire. A keen believer in acquiring different skills by pushing oneself out of their comfort zone – he has worked as a compere in world music programme of national radio, was English newscaster on both national radio and television in Bangladesh before he moved to UK. He dabbles writing articles on creative arts, medical and social topics. He has been part of various cultural organisations of the Bengali speaking community in Glasgow, organising and partaking as a compere, recitation and acting in various events. In 2016 during National Theatre Scotland (NTS) ‘s 10-year anniversary festival HOME/AWAY, he took part in BAG’s stage drama MEMORi and its audio drama version written by dramatist Simon Sharkey.

During COVID19 pandemic he was part of BAG’s initiative of regularly informing the community of the disease, debunking various vaccinations and treatment myths. He also helped translating the NHS Lanarkshire’s various COVID19 related patient documents. He has been one of the initiators of BAG’s Glasgow Language Festival-BHASHA. After 2 years of formative work, since 2019 the festival is held every year with co-operation from Glasgow Museums, Universities of Glasgow, Strathclyde and Edinburgh and the British Council. Dr. Khan and his team were motivated to create a platform like BHASHA inspired by the Language Movement of Bangladesh in 1952. He believes “we are created differently so that we can and should know each other better.” Since its inception, BHASHA is growing as a focus of expression for the increasingly multilingual Glasgow, where there are now more than two hundred language speaking communities. From BHASHA has arisen the Lascar Research Group, where he is a member of a team of four researchers. It’s a cooperative project between BAG and Glasgow Museums. In 2022 the project has created and staged a fascinating drama titled LASCARi and followed by a day of academic seminar on Lascars.

Dr. Khan is a father, a keen walker and cyclist, loves reading, enjoys following international cricket & football and a fervent Indian classical music enthusiast.