President’s Message

Dear Members,

I am writing to express my sincere gratitude for nominating me as the President of Bengali Association Singapore (BAS) for the year 2024. It is an honour to be associated with an organization that has played a significant role in celebrating and preserving Bengali culture in Singapore since its inception in 1956.

Looking back, we as a family, came to Singapore in the year 2000, and it has been our pleasure to be associated with BAS since that time. Over the years, through this association, we have built strong friendships, deep roots, and have been able to nurture our identity as Bengalis. This is an association I hold dearly to my heart, and I consider myself to be really privileged to have the opportunity to contribute more meaningfully.

At the very outset, I would like to thank Mr. Shoumo Mitra and all the previous Management Committee (MC) members for doing an outstanding job. Our association is in good financial health, has made significant progress in furthering our motto of inclusivity, as well as engaging our community through a variety of innovative cultural programs. A robust foundation, that we as the new MC, going forward, would strive to strengthen.

I also know that this would not have been possible without the unwavering support that all of you, as members, have extended over the years, through your active involvement and guidance. From seniors of the association who have been ever ready to impart their knowledge and experience to help us, to the youth who have come forward with great gusto and are now building up the Youth Wing, every member is an asset to our organisation. As we embark on this journey, my colleagues and I look forward to the same continued level of support for the new MC.

As the new MC, our strong focus will be on upholding our motto of ‘Tomar, Amar, Shobar’ by inculcating openness, inclusivity, transparency, and good governance, in whatever we do. Involving the ‘Youth’ was a great initiative of the previous MC, which we will strive to strengthen further. In the spirit of transparency, we will also be increasing the frequency of our communication with you through web conferences, and multiple social media platforms.

I now take great pleasure in introducing our team of new MC members who will be working closely with you.

The MC members for 2024 are as follows:

• Dr. Kaushik Ghatak, President
• Dr. Pratik Mukherjee, Vice-President
• Mrs. Jaeita Mukherjee, Treasurer
• Mr. Dibyendu Haldar, Hony Secretary
• Mr. Amartya Chakraborty, Cultural Secretary
• Mr. Raja Chowdhury, Member
• Mrs. Shalinee Chatterjee, Member
• Mrs. Amrita Dasgupta, Member
• Mr. Arnab Ghosh, Member

In the coming weeks, we will be assessing the level of activities and extra support we may need in the MC. We may then induct up to 3 additional MC members. We will also reach out seeking volunteers for supporting us in the various events, activities, and during Durga Pujo.

We are excited to start on this journey and are looking forward to your strong support and collaboration in 2024.

With warm regards,

Dr. Kaushik Ghatak

President, Bengali Association of Singapore