UKBC – The Record of Our Existence, The Witness of Our Belonging
On the eve of Janmashtami, with only a few days left before the curtain rises on UKBC 2026, I am writing this. This is not another emotional Bengali write-up. This is about responsibility.
Across 25 different teams, people are quietly working day and night. We are moving towards what I often call our Annual Bangla Olympics in the UK – the Convention of our own Diaspora.
Yet, even today, the real purpose of this coming together has not reached everyone. Those of us who have understood it are the baton holders. We are its ambassadors.
We Bengalis are born emotional. Art, literature, books, intellectualism, music, poetry, Tagore, Nazrul, Vivekananda, Marx, Durga Puja, biryani, football, cricket and Darjeeling tea – we can talk about them endlessly. Creativity has always been our strength. But we speak far less about social, community and greater responsibility.
UKBC has travelled the extra mile. We have hit many sixes beyond the boundary and many fours along the way. We have also lost wickets.
Some still compare UKBC with a local Durga Puja or an annual cultural programme. It is not. This is an annual Bengali Diaspora Convention across the four nations of the United Kingdom. Seventy to eighty organisations can come together under one platform, often working with people they did not even know before.
And here lies the most important misunderstanding: some people still believe somebody else organises UKBC for them. That is utterly untrue.
There is no single organiser of UKBC. And, at the same time, everyone is an organiser.
There is no hierarchy waiting for somebody at the top to solve everything. If you see a problem – see it, own it, solve it. If you know a better way, come and fix it. If we are wrong and you know better, come and lead us. We are ready to learn and adapt.
The power of UKBC lies precisely here – in democracy, transparency and a no-hierarchy model.
There is only one thing we do not compromise: the UKBC framework. We do not walk in carrying yesterday’s baggage. No old history, no old camps, no past conflicts. We work in the NOW. We are not commercial. We are volunteers.
From making a mochar chop to writing a heart-winning poem; from bringing a character alive on stage to conducting a complex debate; from creating a dance drama to painting a picture with a powerful narrative – every one of these is an act of creation. Every one belongs here.
Because this is more than a Convention.
This is the record of our existence.
This is the witness of our belonging.
When many of us left the land where we were born, we became immigrants and then a Diaspora. We built our lives again. Our colour does not display our university degrees when we walk down the street. Our faces do not reveal our professions, the amount of taxes we pay, the people we employ, or the years we have spent serving this country.
And yet our children are different from us. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are not simply their Karmabhumi. This is their home. They were born here, raised here and belong to this soil in a way that many first-generation immigrants emotionally never completely can.
We love Britain deeply. But somewhere inside us, another soil still calls us, the streets where we grew up, the language in which our mothers spoke to us, the smells, sounds and memories we carried across continents.
UKBC stands exactly at that meeting point.
And that brings me back to the word with which I began: Responsibility.
Keeping a Diaspora connected is a responsibility. Looking after its wellbeing is a responsibility. Building something meaningful for the next generation is a responsibility. And contributing to the wider society in which we now live is equally our responsibility.
That is why UKBC is fundamentally about giving more than taking.
Our Co-Hosts, sponsors, stallholders, performers, painters, presenters, writers, dancers, musicians, chefs, technicians and volunteers are not merely participating in an event. They are giving something back to their diaspora in the UK.
So UKBC does not believe that our success should be measured by temporary glitter, extravagance or show.
We would rather measure it through love, care, responsibility, fairness, looking after one another, walking together and most importantly not leaving anyone behind.
That journey is joyful but challanging.
That is the UKBC we are building.
Not “I”.
“We”.
