1. Warm up activity:

□ Can we call the movement of groups of people from Bangladesh in recent decades a diaspora? Where do these Bangladeshis like to settle? Which parts of Bangladesh have been characterized by the departure of such groups and what are the reasons why people have left these parts?

2. Bead the following extract taken from Nazli Kibria’s book, Muslims in Motion:

Mam and National Identity in the Bangladeshi Diaspora. Then attempt to answer the questions that follow either by responding to your classroom teacher in English or by trying to write down answers to them in your notebook.

‘Banglatown’ in East London

British-Bangladeshis, also known as British-Bengalis, are an important part of the Bangladeshi diaspora or those of Bangladeshi origin who are living abroad. Almost half of all British-Bangladeshis live in London, especially in the East London boroughs, of which Tower Hamlets has the highest concentration.

Today a tourist who is new to London may well decide to make her way over to the 5 

East End of the city, to visit Banglatown. After exiting the Tube Station there she might follow the signs that point to Brick Lane, a street that has gained certain notoriety from Monica Ali’s best-selling novel of the same name, which was also made into a movie. She may decide to try out one of the many Bangladeshi restaurants she sees there for lunch. Sitting at one of the tables with a window onto 10 

the street, she might notice that the street signs are not just in English but also in Bengali.

And the lamp-posts are in green and red – the colors of the Bangladeshi flag. In fact everywhere she looks she finds visual cues of the Bangladeshi, and even more specifically, the Sylheti presence in the area. Storefronts advertise flights from London to Sylhet, some on Bangladesh Biman (the national airline of Bangladesh) 15 

and others on Air Sylhet, a private airline company formed by British Bangladeshis. There is a sign for Sonali Bank – the major state-owned commercial bank of Bangladesh. 

There is a food store advertising frozen fish from Sylhet’s Surma River. She watches two elderly men with long, grey beards enter the store; they are dressed in long white tunics, baggy pants and white head caps. She sees a group of teenage 20

girls walking down the street in animated conversation. One is dressed in a black burkah and the others are in jeans and long shirts, along with bright sequined hijabs on their heads. Looking through her London guidebook, she reads about how this neighborhood is in ‘Banglatown’.

In 2001 British Bangladeshi leaders, including many of the second-generation 25

activists, led a successful bid via the Tower Hamlets council to gain the official designation of ‘Banglatown’ for Brick Lane and its surrounding neighbourhoods. With the help of street signs and an advertising campaign, the hope was to give the area a distinct cultural identity that would be attractive to tourists and thus beneficial for Bangladeshi businesses located there. 

In fact the area has a number of visible 30

Bangladeshi landmarks, such as Altab Ali Park, the Kobi Nazrul Cultural Centre and the Shohid Minar Monument. Along with the official designation of Banglatown, these landmarks are matters of considerable pride for many British Bangladeshis, symbols of their hard-won presence and political voice in Britain.

3. Write down what you have guessed about the meaning of each of the following words from the context in which they have been used:

a. origin

b. borough

c. concentration

d. notoriety

e. cues

f. tunics

g. bid

h. distinct

i. landmarks

j. hard-won

Now consult a dictionary or search Google for the words to see if you have guessed the meanings of the word correctly.

4. Discuss the following questions with members of your group. Carry on the discussion in English as far as possible:

a. Where do most British-Bangladeshis live?

b. How and why did Brick Lane gain ‘notoriety’?

c. What is the name of Monica Ali’s novel and the film made based on it?

d. What are some signs and symbols of Bangladesh to be found in the Brick Lane area?

e. How did the area come to be known as ‘Banglatown’?

f. What are some of the landmarks that reflect the pride of British-Bangladeshis about their identity as Bangladeshis?

5. Which of the following statements seem to be false and which true? Tick ‘T’ or ‘F’ after each statement to register your response:

a. Most Bangladeshis in Britain live outside London. T/F

b. Everywhere in Brick Lane, one sees evidence of the high percentage of Bangladeshis from Sylhet who live in the area. T/F

c. Bangladeshis in Brick Lane lack confidence in their future. T/F

d. There was no business motive in the drive to make the Brick Lane area known as

‘Banglatown’. T/F

e. Bangladeshis have made their presence felt in Britain through hard work. T/F

6. Answer each of the questions in about 300 words in your notebook:

a. Why would a tourist in London want to visit Banglatown and what would be its main attraction for him or her?

b. Who are the customers of the shops, restaurants and business offices in Banglatown?

c. Are there other Bangladeshi diasporas that are comparable in size and vitality to Banglatown that you know about?

d. What connection does the economy of Banglatown have with that of

Bangladesh?

7. Answer the following:

a. ‘origin’ (line 2) is used in the passage as a noun; what would be its verb form?

b. Is ‘especially’ (line 3) used as an adjective or an adverb?

c. ‘best-selling novel’ (line 8) is a phrase where ‘best-selling’ is used as an to

modify ‘novel’.

d. ‘advertise’ (linel4) is a verb; its noun would be .

e. ‘animated’ (line 21) is used as an adjective; what would its adverb form be?

8. Follow up activity: Group Presentation

Make a presentation on the history of diasporas, mentioning some of the most famous diasporas that have been recorded in history, religion and culture, such as the Palestinian diaspora.