Working to help transform the intellectual landscape of the Bangladeshi community in the UK and discover and celebrate the shared common roots of Britain's diversity
Brick Lane Circle
Main Navigation
Welcome to website of Brick Lane Circle!
We hope you will find the website interesting, informative and stimulating. If you have any suggestions about how we can create opportunities for visitors to interact with materials posted and important debates and discussion we would like to hear from you.
Battle of Plassey Day: 23 June every year
How should we remember 23 June 1757? This day in June this year will be 254 years after the Battle of Plassey when the English East India Company conquered Bengal, under the leadership of Robert Clive. The battle itself was quite an insignificant event, lasting only a day and fought on an unimportant field, about 100 miles north of Kolkata (Calcutta). However, it was a highly momentous event, being the springboard for and the beginning of the British Indian Empire. More ...
Walcot Hall, Shropshire
Robert Clive purchased Walcot estate in 1764 for £90,000 from his Bengal loot
How should we remember the day?
How should we remember 23 June 1757? This day in June this year will be 254 years after the Battle of Plassey when the English East India Company conquered Bengal, under the leadership of Robert Clive. The battle itself was quite an insignificant event, lasting only a day and fought on an unimportant field, about 100 miles north of Kolkata (Calcutta). However, it was a highly momentous event, being the springboard for and the beginning of the British Indian Empire. More ...
Walcot Hall, Shropshire
Robert Clive purchased Walcot estate in 1764 for £90,000 from his Bengal loot
How should we remember the day?
Before Tagore: Music, Farce, and Muslim Patrons in 19th Century Bengal
By Richard David Williams and Priyanka Basu
Before Tagore: Music, Farce, and Muslim Patrons in 19th Century Bengal - By Richard David Williams and Priyanka Basu from bricklanecircle on Vimeo.
Priyanka Basu is an MPhil/PhD student at the Department of the Languages and Cultures of South Asia, SOAS, UK on a Felix Scholarship. Her research topic is entitled, "Cockfight in Tune: Reading Nations, Communities and Peformances in the 'Bengali' Kobigaan".
Richard David Williams is an MPhil/PhD student at the Department of Music and a member of the India Institute at King’s College London.
---------------------------------------------
Ruhana Ali talks about the Battle of Plassey Young People’s Project and tea plantations in Sylhet by the East India Company
Ruhana Ali is a co-author of Plassey’s Legacy, who wrote a chapter on Tea: dividing politics, uniting heritage.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Ruhana Ali is a co-author of Plassey’s Legacy, who wrote a chapter on Tea: dividing politics, uniting heritage.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Georgie Wemyss talks about the East India Company and East India Docks
She is the author of
The Invisible Empire: White Discourse, Tolerance and Belonging
-------------------------------------------------------------------
She is the author of
The Invisible Empire: White Discourse, Tolerance and Belonging
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Amazing Bangladeshis - inspiring everyone to become extraordinary
How inspiring ideas can energise a people into undertaking extraordinary deeds
By Jebi Rahman
She is Programme Officer, BRAC UK. She recently took part in a seven day cycle challenge from Sylhet to Cox’s Bazaar to raise money for Vision Bangladesh, a BRAC and Sightsavers International initiative to eradicate avoidable blindness in Bangladesh by 2020. The tour was organised by Xperime Adventures and part sponsored by the Akij Group to raise awareness about climate change.
Jebi made an inspiring presentation at Brick Lane Circle’s launch event for the Amazing Bangladeshis initiative at the Idea Store Whitechapel on Thursday 16 December 2010, 7-9pm. This was the 39th Anniversary of the 1971 Liberation War Victory.
---------------------------------------------------------
How inspiring ideas can energise a people into undertaking extraordinary deeds
By Jebi Rahman
She is Programme Officer, BRAC UK. She recently took part in a seven day cycle challenge from Sylhet to Cox’s Bazaar to raise money for Vision Bangladesh, a BRAC and Sightsavers International initiative to eradicate avoidable blindness in Bangladesh by 2020. The tour was organised by Xperime Adventures and part sponsored by the Akij Group to raise awareness about climate change.
Jebi made an inspiring presentation at Brick Lane Circle’s launch event for the Amazing Bangladeshis initiative at the Idea Store Whitechapel on Thursday 16 December 2010, 7-9pm. This was the 39th Anniversary of the 1971 Liberation War Victory.
---------------------------------------------------------
Tea for the Raj: a History of Tea in Assam and Sylhet
By Roy Moxham
By Roy Moxham
He recently retired from the University of London. His most well-known book is The Great Hedge of India, part-travelogue, part-historical treatise on the author's quest to find a 1500-mile long customs hedge built by the British in India to prevent smuggling of salt and opium. His second book, Tea: Addiction, Exploitation and Empire focuses on the effect of British tea addiction on British policies in Asia and Africa, and includes the author's own experience as a tea plantation manager in Africa.
1st Seminar, 22 January 2009
2007 Annual Brick Lane Circle
SEMINARS ON BANGLADESH AND BANGLADESHIS ABROAD
Every Thursday, 7-9pm, 22 January - 9 April 2009
Lab 5, Idea Store Whitechapel, 321 Whitechapel Rd, London E1 1BU
----------------------------------------------------------------
1st Seminar, 22 January 2009
2007 Annual Brick Lane Circle
SEMINARS ON BANGLADESH AND BANGLADESHIS ABROAD
Every Thursday, 7-9pm, 22 January - 9 April 2009
Lab 5, Idea Store Whitechapel, 321 Whitechapel Rd, London E1 1BU
----------------------------------------------------------------
Post 1980 Drivers of Economic Change in Bangladesh
By Professor Mushtaq Khan
By Professor Mushtaq Khan
Professor of economics at School of African and Oriental Studies. He was born in Dhaka in 1961, completed his undergraduate studies in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford and then won a scholarship for his PhD studies in Economics at Cambridge. Previously he taught at the universities of both Oxford and Cambridge . Information about his research interests and publications are available on his website: http://www.soas.ac.uk/staff/staff31246.php
5th Seminar, 15 February 2007
2007 Annual Brick Lane Circle
SEMINARS ON BANGLADESH AND BANGLADESHIS ABROAD
Every Thursday, 7-9pm, 18 January - 5 April 07
Whitechapel Sports Centre, Durwood Street, London E1 5BA
5th Seminar, 15 February 2007
2007 Annual Brick Lane Circle
SEMINARS ON BANGLADESH AND BANGLADESHIS ABROAD
Every Thursday, 7-9pm, 18 January - 5 April 07
Whitechapel Sports Centre, Durwood Street, London E1 5BA
Brick Lane Circle's third annual conference on the
STORY OF BANGLADESH & BANGLADESHI PEOPLE, AT HOME AND IN THE DIASPORA - 2013
Saturday 27 April 2013, 11am-7.30pm
Rich Mix Centre, 35-47 Bethnal Green Rd, London E1 6LA
The conference is designed to help improve our understanding of Bangladesh, experiences of Bangladeshis around the world and the complexities and challenges faced by the country and its people. Next
IT WAS A GREAT CONFERENCE - GREAT TURNOUT, GREAT SPEAKERS, GREAT PRESENTATIONS, GREAT AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION, GREAT INTERACTIVITY AND GREAT FEEDBACK.
We would like thank all the speakers / presenters who gave up their valuable time to come and share their research findings with our audience. They are: José Mapril (Who sings for Sonar Bangla? (Trans) national imaginaries and political memories among Bangladeshis in Lisbon), Munsur Ali (Shongram - The movie. Trailer and Q&A), Shahida Rahman and Dr Nazneen Ahmed (Reimagining the Victorian East End: Islam, Lascar Seafarers and Subaltern Histories), Dr Anindita Ghosh (Bengali Pundits, the British and the Artificial Construction of the Bengali Language in the Nineteenth Century), Dr Delwar Hussain (The Future that did not Happen: The Ruins of Progress on the Bangladesh-India Border) and Dr. Elora Shehabuddin (Developing the Modern Woman: Feminism, Nationalism, and Cold War Politics in East Bengal).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
STORY OF BANGLADESH & BANGLADESHI PEOPLE, AT HOME AND IN THE DIASPORA - 2013
Saturday 27 April 2013, 11am-7.30pm
Rich Mix Centre, 35-47 Bethnal Green Rd, London E1 6LA
The conference is designed to help improve our understanding of Bangladesh, experiences of Bangladeshis around the world and the complexities and challenges faced by the country and its people. Next
IT WAS A GREAT CONFERENCE - GREAT TURNOUT, GREAT SPEAKERS, GREAT PRESENTATIONS, GREAT AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION, GREAT INTERACTIVITY AND GREAT FEEDBACK.
We would like thank all the speakers / presenters who gave up their valuable time to come and share their research findings with our audience. They are: José Mapril (Who sings for Sonar Bangla? (Trans) national imaginaries and political memories among Bangladeshis in Lisbon), Munsur Ali (Shongram - The movie. Trailer and Q&A), Shahida Rahman and Dr Nazneen Ahmed (Reimagining the Victorian East End: Islam, Lascar Seafarers and Subaltern Histories), Dr Anindita Ghosh (Bengali Pundits, the British and the Artificial Construction of the Bengali Language in the Nineteenth Century), Dr Delwar Hussain (The Future that did not Happen: The Ruins of Progress on the Bangladesh-India Border) and Dr. Elora Shehabuddin (Developing the Modern Woman: Feminism, Nationalism, and Cold War Politics in East Bengal).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reimagining the Victorian East End: Islam, Lascar Seafarers and Subaltern Histories
Shahida Rahman. She is an author, writer and publisher, born and raised in Cambridge. Her first historical novel, Lascar was published in 2012. She is the co-founder and Director of a print-on-demand book publishing company, Perfect Publishers. Shahida has a number of published articles and is currently writing her second novel.
Dr Nazneen Ahmed. She is currently working as Research Assistant on the Oxford Diasporas Programme project “Religious faith, space and Diasporic Communities in East London, 1880-present.” Her D. Phil. in English Literature from Wadham College, Oxford, examined the cultural development of Bangladeshi secular nationalism through literature and cultural production from 1947-1971.More videos will be uploaded in due course.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thinking about Peace: Oral History and Testimony after the 1971 War of Bangladesh
We were all very pleased with the seminar on Thinking about Peace: Oral History and Testimony after the 1971 War of Bangladesh by Yasmin Saikia at Davenant Centre on Sunday 25 March 2012, 3-5pm.
The presentation was very interesting, which generated heated interactions during the Q&A session. Many new areas were explored and fresh ideas presented as possible solutions to unresolved issues caused by the 1971 war. However, we could not take all the questions as we ran out of time. Hope we can continue the debate and discussion in the days, weeks, months and years to come.
We were all very pleased with the seminar on Thinking about Peace: Oral History and Testimony after the 1971 War of Bangladesh by Yasmin Saikia at Davenant Centre on Sunday 25 March 2012, 3-5pm.
The presentation was very interesting, which generated heated interactions during the Q&A session. Many new areas were explored and fresh ideas presented as possible solutions to unresolved issues caused by the 1971 war. However, we could not take all the questions as we ran out of time. Hope we can continue the debate and discussion in the days, weeks, months and years to come.
Please click above to watch the video of the seminar.
------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------
The Roots of Political Conflict in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of BangladeshT
By Shapan Adnan
-----------------------------------------------------------
By Shapan Adnan
-----------------------------------------------------------
Failure of the Pakistan experiment in East Pakistan: Economic Growth and Political Crisis 1947-71
Part 1
By Professor Mushtaq Khan
Part 1
By Professor Mushtaq Khan
Failure of the Pakistan experiment in East Pakistan: Economic Growth and Political Crisis 1947-71
Part 2
By Professor Mushtaq Khan
---------------------------------------
Part 2
By Professor Mushtaq Khan
---------------------------------------
Are we Bengalis, Bangladeshis, Muslims, British or something else? Role of history in identity formation: a panel discussion
Panelists: Dr Nazneen Ahmed, Dr Fuad Ali, Dr Georgie Wemyss and Ruhul Abidin
Panelists: Dr Nazneen Ahmed, Dr Fuad Ali, Dr Georgie Wemyss and Ruhul Abidin
Channel S Awards 2011
On the evening of 7 April 2011 Channel S held its annual awards at their mega studio in Walthamstow, where guests, celebrities and presenters created an amazing must be at event. Brick Lane Circle was among 19 categories of winners. The award to Brick Lane Circle was for Achievement in Education Research / Teaching, which was in recognition for publishing the book called Plassey's Legacy, researched and written by eight young people aged 18-25.
This initiative was part of a project ran by Brick Lane Circle called the Battle of Plassey Young People's Project, developed to encourage more research and learning about the shared past of Britain and Bengal / Bangladesh - funded by Heritage Lottery Fund. Further details of the project can be obtained by visiting www.the-eastindiacompany.org.
Three of the eight young researchers attended the event to collect the award if successful. They are: Lothifa Chowdhury, Ruhana Ali and Atif Kazi,who were thrilled when they found out that we won.
You can get the full list of winners of the Channel S Awards 2011 by clicking below:
Channel S Awards 2011
-----------------------------------------------
On the evening of 7 April 2011 Channel S held its annual awards at their mega studio in Walthamstow, where guests, celebrities and presenters created an amazing must be at event. Brick Lane Circle was among 19 categories of winners. The award to Brick Lane Circle was for Achievement in Education Research / Teaching, which was in recognition for publishing the book called Plassey's Legacy, researched and written by eight young people aged 18-25.
This initiative was part of a project ran by Brick Lane Circle called the Battle of Plassey Young People's Project, developed to encourage more research and learning about the shared past of Britain and Bengal / Bangladesh - funded by Heritage Lottery Fund. Further details of the project can be obtained by visiting www.the-eastindiacompany.org.
Three of the eight young researchers attended the event to collect the award if successful. They are: Lothifa Chowdhury, Ruhana Ali and Atif Kazi,who were thrilled when they found out that we won.
You can get the full list of winners of the Channel S Awards 2011 by clicking below:
Channel S Awards 2011
-----------------------------------------------
Sarmila Bose's publications on the Bangladesh Liberation War 1971 and responses by critics and commentators
Brick Lane Circle's seminar on: How can we apply critical thinking to understand 1971?
By Sarmila Bose
Click to watch seminar video
Brick Lane Circle's seminar on: How can we apply critical thinking to understand 1971?
By Sarmila Bose
Click to watch seminar video
Story of Bangladesh and Bangladeshi People at Home and in the Diaspora
Annual Conference
Brick Lane Circle initiated an annual conference in 2011 with a major two day weekend conference during 23/24 April 2011 to celebrate the 40th Birthday of Bangladesh. Our aim was to bring people who have undertaken researches on Bangladesh and Bangladeshi people, together with the wider community, to facilitate exchange of knowledge and help promote networking.
The second conference was held on 28 April 2012.
All the videos of presentations and discussion will be posted in due time.
Conference videos
Annual Conference
Brick Lane Circle initiated an annual conference in 2011 with a major two day weekend conference during 23/24 April 2011 to celebrate the 40th Birthday of Bangladesh. Our aim was to bring people who have undertaken researches on Bangladesh and Bangladeshi people, together with the wider community, to facilitate exchange of knowledge and help promote networking.
The second conference was held on 28 April 2012.
All the videos of presentations and discussion will be posted in due time.
Conference videos