Our Crowdfunding Groups
About the Bengal Gazette
The Bengal Gazette is the first South Asian student-run publication at a US university established at UC Berkeley in 2018. We publish in print and online via our website and global social media presence. We collaborate regularly with Bengali Student Association (BSA’s) across the U.S. and other South Asian diaspora organizations, while keeping ties to communities in Bangladesh and India. 
Mission
We strive to serve as a global grassroots diaspora publication, offering Bengali and South Asian adjacent communities and individuals a platform to promote any kind of creative expression. Our organization champions its peer-review process, where we guarantee each writer’s submission receives at least 3-5 editors and upon completion, a full Instagram post and online publishing exposure through both our popular website and Instagram.
We promote original journalism, academic papers, cultural commentary, art, poetry and video submissions. Our publication consistently creates new opportunities for Bengali and South Asian thought, discussion and knowledge production with our regimented design and peer review processes.
History
We began as a registered student publication at UC Berkeley in 2018, working alongside the Bengali Student Association. Our first-ever print issue was published in print during the BSA Spring 2019 Bengali New Year celebration through a scholarship from the Institute of South Asia Studies and Subir and Malini Chowdhury Center for Bangladesh Studies at UC Berkeley.
With the pandemic preventing our launch of a second print issue in Spring 2020, we launched a popular website and social media presence, transitioning to an online publication. We have since continued publishing both in print and online, and to date, have published over 60 students, faculty and people around the world.
Significance
In 1780, the original Bengal Gazette was published in Kolkata, erstwhile-East India Company administered British India, as the first newspaper in all of Asia. 238 years later, we created the first South Asian student-run publication at a US university under the same name and promoting a new vision, enshrining original articles on all things related to Bengal from its history, politics, cultural commentary, art and other forms of creative expression.
The original 1780 Bengal Gazette published in Kolkata.
Budget Breakdown
The funding from this crowdfunding initiative will contribute greatly to the publication costs of the Bengal Gazette during this calendar year.
In 2019, the Bengal Gazette was awarded a $2,000 Live Life like Tarisihi scholarship from the Institute of South Asia Studies, which covered printing costs from a Silicon Valley-based publisher frequently used by UC Berkeley registered student publications called Fricke Parks Press.
We hope to receive the following funds in order to cover publication and operation costs for the 2024-2025 academic year:
Fixed Costs + Projected Costs = Total | |
Printing Costs | $3,500 + $500 = $4,000 |
Event Costs | $500 + $200 = $700 |
We will feature your name in our next print issue as a donor
You will be able to set meetings with our editorial team or contact us about writing an article on your behalf.
We will make you a personal PDF mini issue with five of your favorite articles. We will also do a Bangla calligraphy of your name.
