History of Karol Bagh Bangiya Samsad

The Karolbagh Bangiya Samsad was established on 28th December 1958 at 14-A/6, Western Extension Area, New Delhi. It was registered under the Societies Act of 1861 on 7th November 1959. The Samsad had a humble beginning at the initiative of a group of young men who came from West Bengal on government job and with the patronage of some of the local residents. The success of the Saraswati Puja celebration was a milestone and instrumental in the formative days of the Samsad.

Western Extension Area of Karolbagh in the post-independence period had a large number of Bengali residents. Many of them were in the government or private service and a good number of people retired from government service and built their own houses in WEA. Young men from Calcutta and adjacent areas used to come in good numbers and WEA was very popular. Some such young men got together in 14-A/6, WEA Karolbagh New Delhi, and had their initiative, a meeting of the local residents was held 14th December 1958 at 14-A/6, WEA wherein it was decided to hold the Saraswati Puja. Shri Panchu Gopal Mukherjee was the Secretary. A further meeting of the residents was held on 28th December 1958 at 14-A/6, WEA when it was decided to have an organization for meeting and get-together on a continuous basis. A Promoter’s Committee was formed and entrusted with the responsibility of drafting the Constitution, getting it registered and also finding a suitable place for the organization.

The Saraswati Puja Celebration was a grand success and one must recall the services of Shri Sukumar Bhaduri, Shri Panchu Gopal Mukherjee and Shri S. N. Bose of GEC. The draft Constitution was adopted and got registered. It started functioning at the garage of the 14-A/6, WEA, Karolbagh. The library of the Karolbagh Bangiya Samsad was inaugurated by Shri Bhupathi Majumdar, the then Minister of Industries, Government of West Bengal at the same garage. For sports, there was only a carom board. Even this humble beginning attracted lot of people and it become the talk of the town. The first cultural programme which attracted great attention was the Rabindra Jayanti Celebration at St. Thomas School Lawn, opposite Ajmal Khan Road. With increase confidence, the management of the Samsad took a bold decision to hire a more specious area at 7-A/45, WEA Karolbagh New Delhi. The functioning of the library, Table Tennis, Carom and Cards and organization of the cultural functions got great impetus. It would always be remembered as glorious days of the Samsad with the participation of the young and the old. The children section used to function regularly and there were home-delivery system for supply of books to members, residents of adjacent areas of Karolbagh, Rajinder, Dev Nagar and Patel Nagar. Another important milestone in the history of Karolbagh Bangiya Samsad is the hiring of the ground and first floors of 7-A/37, WEA Karolbagh New Delhi where the Shishu Bharati School started functioning in the ground floor and the library was shifted to the first floor of 7-A/37, WEA Karolbagh. Subsequently, the old building of the 7-A/35, WEA Karolbagh was taken on rent where Samsad Sadan (Guest House) was established so that the outstation of the members could have accommodation for temporary stay. The Samsad acquired another building in 5-A/135, WEA Karolbagh where the Social Service Unit was established. It was inaugurated on 1st February 1970 by Shri V. K. Malhotra, the then Chief Executive Councillor, and attended by more than thirty leading medical practitioners and specialists of the Capital. The hiring of 7-A/37 and 7-A/35 was possible only because of the initiative and leadership of Shri Abani Mohan Lahiri and the establishment of the Social Service Unit was the brain-child of Dr. Ashok Kr. Ghosh and Shri Abani Mohan Lahiri. The Samsad acquired the plot of land at 3-A/61-66, WEA Karolbagh after a long persuasion with the Ministry of Land & Development, Government of India. The Samsad Bhavan was constructed out of donations collected from the members and the well-wishers and it was inaugurated during Samsad Mela in 1983.