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Who Are We?

Historical Review

Bengal is a state in the eastern part of India. In undivided India (before 1947, India's independence from British rule) Bengal actually used to be a single state, encompassing what are now the state of West Bengal in the Indian Union and the country of Bangladesh. These pieces have sometimes been called west and east Bengal respectively, and the name Bengal reserved to this day to refer to the entity encompassing both. Bengal is astonishingly rich in cultural heritage, even considering the length of civilized history in the geographical region. Though east and west Bengal differ a lot in their cultural traditions, there is a lot in common too. Some of the differences are based in religion, because the main religions of the two parts differ (in fact Bangladesh is an Islamic state). This was the original (alleged) reason of the British government to propose and carry out the partition of Bengal, once abortively in 1905 (the people of Bengal did not stand for it), and once more during the withdrawal of British rule in India, when east Bengal was packaged with Pakistan, which came into being in 1947 as a separate country. Bangladesh subsequently separated from Pakistan in 1971 to become a separate country itself.

Okay, So Who Are We?

The North Carolina Bengalee Association is a non-profit, cultural organization of Bengali people in North Carolina. Our membership extends over the Bengali people in the state of North Carolina in the USA, though the largest part of our members are in the Research Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill) region. Our members include people from both east and west Bengal. NCBA hosts a few of the main events of the Bengali calendar. These include the Saraswati and Durga Puja, a Vasanta Utsav (some years) and an annual picnic. NCBA sometimes also sponsors events as opportunities present themselves, not on a yearly basis, such as a recent drama performance by a drama group from Calcutta touring the USA.


Last modified: April 20th, 2000


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