Mission & History
The Bangladeshi American community is a fairly new immigrant group. The Bangladeshis first began to immigrate to the United States in mid-1970’s and since then the Bangladeshi- American community has grown significantly. The New York City Metropolitan Area (New York City and Paterson, NJ) is home to the largest Bangladeshi community in the United States and has seen a 500% growth from 1990 to 2000. Hardworking Bangladeshi Americans have been contributing greatly to US economy, specifically New York. With unprecedented growth, the community is faced with many challenges.
The Bangladeshi American Advocacy Group (BAAG) was founded in 2010 by a group of Bangladeshi Immigrants who wanted to empower their community. They proposed that BAAG create a platform and give them a voice to encourage Bangladeshis demand equal political rights and to raise their quality of life. We hope to achieve these goals by communicating political and social concerns of the Bangladeshi American community to federal, state and local elected officials.
BAAG intends to act as an umbrella organization to create, support and sponsor initiatives and programs to help Bangladeshis in the state of New York. By engaging in multicultural events, seminars, programs and city services that will assist monolingual and bilingual people of Bangladeshi origin, BAAG is committed to helping not only Bangladeshis but the South Asian and Muslim community.
The Bangladeshi American Advocacy Group (BAAG) held its 9th Annual Legislative Day at the Capitol in Albany. Three busloads of New Yorkers leaving from Jackson Heights and Jamaica left early on the morning of March 13th for meetings with legislators at the Capitol.​The Assistant Speaker of the New York State Assembly, Felix Ortiz, greeted the attendees as they gathered in Room 104A. The attendees had appointments with eighty state senators and assembly members from 10:30 am through 3 pm.State Senators Martin Dilan, Jesse Hamilton and Assemblymembers Felix Ortiz and Eric Dilan held a recognition ceremony for BAAG attendees in the well of the Capitol. Many elected officials stopped by the meeting room including Assemblymembers Mike Miller, David Weprin, Assistant Speak Felix Ortiz and Senators Velmanette Montgomery, James Sanders, Toby Ann Stavisky and Roxanne Persaud.​The BAAG Board of Directors were invited to a meeting with the Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul and Governor Cuomo’s Deputy Secretary of Education Jere Hochman. BAAG was also given the honor of opening the Assembly Legislative Session with a recitation from the Holy Qur’an.
The issues participants advocated for are:
1) Religious Garb Bill A04977, S01503- Prohibits discrimination against religious attire and appurtenances thereto, including facial hair; referred to Governmental Operations Committees in Assembly and Senate.
2) Eid Holiday in CUNY AND SUNY A04930, S01560- Relates to the observance of Eid Ul-Fitr and Eid Ul-Adha by institutions within the state university and the city university of New York; referred to Higher Education Committees in Assembly and Senate.
3) Halal Food in Public Schools A02473, S04950- Requires public schools in any city with a population over one million to offer Halal food options during lunch; referred to Education Committees in Assembly and Senate.
4) Election Law Bill A4072, S26 Change to the election law that would require tax releases from any Presidential and or VP candidate for the US if they want to get on NYS ballot; referred to Election Law Committee.
5) DREAM Act A03039, S00471- This bill would create a DREAM fund commission and a DREAM fund in order to advance the educational opportunities of the children of immigrants by providing scholarships to college-bound students; passed Assembly- Referred to Higher Education Committee in Senate
6) New York Muslim American Advisory Council A03167, S02187 -Advise the Legislature on ways to advance the role and civic participation of Muslim Americans in New York; referred to Assembly Governmental Operations, Senate Finance Committee.
7) Autism ID Cards- A00249, S02565- Relates to providing for identification cards for individuals with autism spectrum disorder.
Founding Board
Mohammed Shah Jahan
Engr. Kamal Bhuiyan
Md. Rahim
