The KHEYDAIEELAAR! campaign in defence of the name "Banglatown"

By © Muhammad Haque

Written at 2350 Hrs GMT

London 

Tuesday 27 November 2012

Published online at

2350 Hrs GMT from

London Tuesday 27 November 2012

The following is a short report on the meeting.

The KHEYDAIEELAAR! campaign in defence of the name "Banglatown"

was boosted on Tuesday 27 November 2012 by a constructive meeting held with a good mix of activists, councillors and local residents and Brick Lane Banglatown business people.

The NEXT meeting will be held on 10 December 2012.

Venue and time details will be announced here.

The crucial outcome of Tuesday night;'s meeting was to forge ahead by combining all the diverse forces in the community and channelling the united voice in defence of the community in the Brick Lane London E1 area, that is also known as the Tower Hamlets Council Ward of Spitalfields and Banglatown.

The English "Boundary Commission" has published an ill-informed, ignorant and incoherent "recommendation" encouraging the dropping of the word "Banglatown" from the Tower Hamlets Council Ward of Spitalfields and Banglatown.

At the 10th December 2012, more action will be agreed.

Tuesday's agreements include the following:

1. Tell the Boundary Commission of the error of their proposal and tell them to drop their proposal, not the name Banglatown.

2.Tell the UK Parliament and the Leaders of the UK Political Parties in Parliament of the community’s rejection of the Boundary Commission’s proposal  and ask them to support the community and keep the word Banglatown in.

3. Speed up all the lawful activities in support of the campaign for the defence of the word Banglatown and do so preferably before the end of December 2012.

4. Tell all the satellite  TV channels as well as other modes of the “media”  including print outlets that do their business in the name of the Bangladeshi community in the UK to immediately make sure that they  give full and equal space and prominence to all the actual campaign events on the defence of the name and the word “Banglatown”, rather than prioritising for publishing any particular group or personality or post holder under the pretext of a ‘sort of a campaign’. Particular concern was expressed at the abuse directed at the Bangladeshi community in the interview broadcast on one satellite TV channel in which the Tower Hamlets Conservative group spokesperson was seen as comparing the community’s stance in defence of the word “Banglatown”  with a call to name another place after the Kangaroos! 

5. The Council’s role in the economic, environmental, social contexts was discussed and it was agreed to broadens the scope of the campaign in defence of the word and the name “Banglatown” to address all those day to day and immediate issues. Further activities will be discussed and adopted as the campaign moves on.

6. All supporters of the campaign to keep Banglatown in are to be welcomed and encouraged and those from non-Bangladeshi background too would be welcomed. It was agreed to include the call “Celebrate Diversity” which was contained in the penultimate suggestion by Muhammad Haque  unanimously agreed. Councillor Abbas Uddin Helal said that he was participating in his Labour Group Motion at Wednesday’s Tower Hamlets Council meeting and he thought that that call was a fitting one for the arguments in support of that motion for Banglatown.

The meeting ended at appx 1957 Hrs

The owners of the STANDARD curry house in Brick Lane treated the participants in the meeting to a pleasant meal.