About Us

An Independent Bangladeshi Community Organisation

Historically, Bengal has been credited with resource affluence and rich arts and cultural heritage, and continues to maintain profound multilateral relations with Scotland since the mid-17^th century. In order to serve a Scotland-wide remit, Bangla Centre was established as an Independent organisation in Glasgow in June 1985 by a few Bangladeshi arts and cultural enthusiasts. Indeed, in respond to a growing demand for arts and cultural opportunities in Scotland, the Centre emerged as the expanded organ of ‘Sunday Bangla School and Social Club’ which had been operating in Greater Glasgow area since the late 1970s.

Become A Charity Organisation

Bangla Centre is now a Scottish charity and is entered in the Scottish Charity Register since 30th of July 2015 by The Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR). 

Bangla Centre Charity number is – SC 045854

Charity Bank Details :

Account Name : Bangla Centre

 Account Number : 00143431

Sort code : 80-83-33

Mission Statement of Bangla Centre

The central focus of the Bangla Centre is to promote and strengthen the Bangladeshi community excellence through diverse activities - education, arts & culture, leisure & sports, and welfare - towards greater understanding as well as disseminating amongst the Scottish and Bangladeshis plus other Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities the unique attributes of Bengali arts and cultures, as enriched over years especially by Bangladeshi National Poet – Kazi Nazrul Islam, Nobel Laureate Poet Rabindranath Tagore and Bangladeshi Rural Bard – Jasim Uddin, thus enhancing the promotion of a healthy multi-racial, multi-faith and multi-cultural Scottish society.

The Centre aims to achieve this by – Familiarising and popularising the profile of Bengali language and literature, arts and culture in Scotland; Organising Bengali cultural activities and offer performances in dance, short plays, drama, songs and music; Disseminating the rich attributes of Bengali arts and culture among the indigenous Scots through easily understandable performances; Bringing the community together, especially involving the young members via its diverse activities; Maintainingclose contact with mainstream schools, and other cultural groups and organisations serving similar purposes; and Strengtheninglinks and partnership with the voluntary, statutory and community sectors, and promoting inter-community and cultural links between Bangladeshis and others including host Scots.

Bangla Centre is now the vibrant Bangladeshi Community organisation for educational, cultural and recreational activities for both the indigenous and Scottish Bangladeshis. The Centre has for a number of years sought through the medium of Arts to keep alive the rich aspects of Bengali culture which might otherwise be lost to young Bangladeshis growing up in a predominantly European culture. For years Bangla Centre’s program of dance, songs, music, short-plays and ‘dance drama’ have been interspersed with spectacular performances in Glasgow by visiting famous Bengali artists, notably versatile popular singers Manna Dey (widely branded as Indian playback singer), Abdul Jabbar, Bangladeshi-origin British ‘Kathak’ Dance Artist - Akram Khan, popular Bengali writer-columnist and journalist Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury, as had powerful Bengali writers and poets Kazi Nazrul Islam, Rabindranath Tagore and Jasim Uddin upheld Bengali as a rich language and literature. Of equal importance, the Centre has striven to forge links with other cultures, notably Asian and Scottish.

Bangla Centre is indeed a multi-dimensional voluntary organisation, devoted to the promotion of multi-racial, multi-faith and multi-cultural understanding and education through the medium of high quality arts, exhibition, cultural workshops & shows, and theatrical performances, recreational outings, GYM and sports, AQA-awarded GCSE qualification in Bengali Language and literature, etc.