Incorporating amendments passed on:

7 April 1994

6 June 1999

19 May 2002

23 May 2004

20 May 2007

12 May 2013

30 April 2023

1. Name

The name of the organisation shall be “Bengali Performing Arts”, here in after simply referred to as “the organisation”.

2. Aim

To advance cultural education and social cohesion among the community members of the West of Scotland.

3. Objects

The objects of the Organisation shall be to advance the education of the public in the Arts, particularly in the arts of Bengali music, dance, song and poetry by the presentation of concerts and public performances and organising workshops where the public can learn Bengali Culture and skills

4. Powers

a.To promote Bengali Culture through Bengali celebrity performance and to assist projects, initiatives and schemes which further any of the objectives of the organisation.

b.To organise year-round quality programme of traditional Bengali culture and to prepare and support Bengali cultural workshops.

c.To design, prepare, publish and/or distribute leaflets, newsletters, magazines, posters, audio and video recordings, display materials and to create and maintain a database.

d.To liaise with Scottish and local government authorities and agencies and other voluntary associations having objects similar to those of the organisation with a view to maximising the effectiveness of the organisation in pursuing its objectives.

e.To organise social and recreational activities to enhance social cohesion within the community and to tackle individual isolation.

f.To accept subscriptions, grants, donations and gifts of all kinds either absolutely or conditionally or in trust. for any of the objects of the organisation.

g.To purchase, take on feu, lease, hire, take in exchange and otherwise acquire any property and rights which may be advantageous for the purpose of the activities of the organisation and to effect insurance against risk of all kinds.

h.To organise any other activity which may deem appropriate with any of the objects of the organisation by the Management Committee.

i.To engage with volunteers and make provision for the reimbursement of any out-of-pocket expenses.

j. to organise fundraising activities for charitable cause as deemed necessary to help the victims of natural disaster.

5. Membership

5.1 There shall be three categories of members:

a. Ordinary member

b. Associate member and

c. Honorary member

5.2

a.Ordinary membership shall be open to all persons of age sixteen or above, and of Bengali origin by birth/parental birth or marriage.

b.Ordinary members shall have full rights to take part in all activities of the organisation.

5.3

a.Associate membership shall be open to all persons of age eighteen or above.

b. An application for associate membership shall have to be made by the candidate on an appropriate form available from the General Secretary and such application must be sponsored by two ordinary members.

c. Associate members shall have no voting rights.

5.4

Honorary members may be appointed by the Management Committee at its discretion but these members shall not be entitled to vote at general meetings.

6. Subscription

Annual membership subscription shall be decided by the members every year at each Annual General Meeting (AGM), when it is payable and non-payment shall incur automatic loss of membership.

7. Management committe

7.1 The members of the Management Committee are honorary and shall consist of the following officers and members:

a. President

b Vice President

c. General Secretary

d. Joint Secretary

e. Treasurer

f. Project Manager

g. Cultural Secretary

h. Eight Management Committee Members

i. The outgoing President and General Secretary of the organisation shall be the ex-officio members of the Management Committee.

7.2 The Management committee shall have the power to co-opt a maximum of four members, if necessary, to assist the Management Committee in conducting the business of the organisation. Co-opted members shall be entitled to vote at meetings of the committee.

7.3 The officers / members of the Management Committee, as shown in 7.1 (a-g) shall be directly elected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) as deemed necessary.

7.4 A system shall have to be established for the officers and members of the Management committee at each annual general meeting to represent fairly the two main local Bengali speaking Communities from Bangladesh and Indian State of West Bengal.

7.5 There shall be at least four Management Committee Meetings in a year and the gap between two such meetings shall not exceed four months. At least eight members will be necessary to form a quorum of a Management Committee Meeting. The Management Committee shall ensure that minutes are kept of all general meetings and of all meetings of the Management Committee and sub-committees. All resolutions in the Management Committee meeting shall be passed by simple majority. Any member of the Management Committee who remains absent in two consecutive committee meetings shall automatically lose his/her position in the Management Committee. Any casual vacancy on the Management Committee may be filled by the committee.

7.6 The Management Committee shall be elected for two full consecutive sessions and shall be eligible for re-election.

7.7 The Management Committee may appoint sub-committees as may be considered appropriate and shall determine their powers, duration and composition. All acts and proceedings of such sub-committees shall be reported back to the Management Committee. The President and the General Secretary shall be the ex-officio members of such sub-committees.

7.8 The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) requires Bengali Performing Arts (BPA) to have a Board of Trustees and to incorporate this in its Constitution. The role and responsibility of trustees will be as per OSCR regulations. 

8. Sessions

The duration of each session shall be one year commencing from first day of the month of April.

9. Address of the organisation

Until a Permanent address is found. the residential address of the General Secretary will be the official address of the organisation unless otherwise decided by the Management Committee.

10. Annual general meeting (AGM)

The AGM shall be called by the General Secretary, giving three weeks’ clear notice, inviting all the members of the organisation.

One-third of the total members or 30 members, whichever is less, shall be required to make a quorum of the AGM.

The AGM shall be held during the month of April or May every year. There shall be individual annual reports from the General Secretary and the Treasurer. The gap between the two AGM shall not exceed 14 months.

A Management Committee shall be elected at the AGM to run the activities of the organisation for two consecutive sessions. Two Independent Examiners shall also be appointed at the AGM.

Only full members of the organisation shall be eligible to serve as honorary officers or members of the Management Committee. Nominations for honorary officers or members of the Management Committee must be made by full members of the organisation in writing and must be in the hands of the General Secretary at least 48 hr before the AGM. Should nominations exceed vacancies. election shall be by ballot. In the case of a tie, the person taking the chair at the meeting shall have a second or casting vote.

11. Special general meetings (SGM)

Twenty members of the association can make a written request, giving specific agenda, to the General Secretary for inviting a SGM. The General Secretary must call a SGM giving three weeks’ clear notice within four weeks of receiving such a request. A SGM can also be called by the Management Committee. In such a SGM only the specific agenda, as notified, will be discussed. The quorum of the SGM is the same as in the case of the AGM. All resolutions, except constitutional amendments, shall be passed by simple majority voting.

12. Amendments

The constitution can only be amended at the AGM and SGM. All amendments will be required the approval of two-thirds of the members present in the meeting. Amendments can be proposed by the Management Committee and/or by twenty members giving a written request to the General secretary at least six weeks before the AGM/SUM as the case. No amendments shall be made which would have the effect of causing the organisation to cease to be recognised by, Financial Intermediaries and Claims Office (FICO) or Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR).as a charity.

13. Finance

All funds raised by or on behalf of the organisation shall be applied to further the objects of the organisation and for no other purpose and this provision shall not prevent the payment in good faith of reasonable out-of-pocket expenses.

The treasurer shall keep proper accounting records and shall prepare proper accounts annually, and at such other intervals as the Management Committee may direct. The accounts shall be independently examined at least once a year by the Independent Examiners and the accounts for the last financial year shall be submitted by the Management Committee to the annual general meeting.

A bank account shall be opened in the name of the organisation. The Management Committee shall authorise in writing four officers of the Management Committee (one of whom shall be the treasurer) to sign cheques on behalf of the organisation. All cheques must be signed by not less than two of the four authorised signatories.

14. Property

The title to all property, heritable and moveable, which may be acquired by or on behalf of the organisation shall be vested in the names of trustees of a trust established for that purpose.

15. Dissolution

If the Management Committee by a simple majority decide at any time on the ground otherwise it is necessary or advisable to dissolve the organisation, it shall call a Special General Meeting of the organisation, of which meeting not less than 21 days’ notice (stating the terms of the resolution to be proposed at the meeting) shall be given. If such decision is confirmed by a two thirds majority of the votes cast in relation to the resolution at such meeting, the management Committee shall sell such of the assets of the organisation as the Committee may consider appropriate for the best price reasonably obtainable and settle the debts and liabilities of the organisation. Any assets remaining after the satisfaction of such debts and liabilities shall be given or transferred to such other charitable organisation or organisations having objects similar to the objects of the organisation as the Management Committee may determine.

16. Assests of the organisation

All assets of the organisation will be kept, under full insurance, in a safe place/custody as decided by the Management Committee.