Club Bangla, recognized in Spring of 2002, is a cultural group where both Non-Bengalis and Bengalis from Bangladesh and the state of West Bengal in India can come together to celebrate the common rich Bengali culture, heritage and language. Club Bangla aims to increase awareness of Bengali language and culture at Columbia as well as create a platform for issues affecting Bengalis and the South Asian community at large. The club strives to promote a more visible representation and better understanding of the Bengali community on campus while contributing to Columbia's myriad of student-led diversity initiatives. Recently, Club Bangla has had a renewed mission of facilitating cross-cultural, ethnic and religious dialogue by programming events with a varied range of student groups.