BengalOnline presents Bengal to the people of the world in its full glory of language, literature, music, folklore, traditions, history and cultural heritage.

Nobel Laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore put Bengal in the world map by his luminous literary work. Rebel poet Kazi Nazrul Islam inspired us to be free and to march ahead by breaking the shackles of fear and superstition. Vidyasagar warmed our hearts with a fountain of love, care and kindness for the poor, the sick and the destitute. Philosophers and philanthropists Sri Ramkrishna and Swami Vivekananda taught us humanism, love for all creatures big or small. Netaji Subhas Bose and Sri Aurobindo gave us the strength and leadership to fight for our rights. In recent years Professor Amartya Sen roused the world's awareness about poverty - the disparities between the haves and havenots. His far-reaching thoretical and empirical work in the areas of wealth distribution and famine has been rewarded with the 1998 Nobel prize in economics.

This is an ambitious task! Believe us, it's not a job for one person or for one website in one lifetime! We hope that anyone who loves Bengal, its way of life or its language Bengali (the 5th most spoken on the planet), particularly all Bengalees - home and abroad, irrespective of their caste, creed, sex, religion or nationality - would come forward to assist us with whatever they can. We need that invaluable information, comments, criticisms and suggestions. Let our past help us find our future in the world. Let us learn from the world. Let the world learn from our heroes. Let the world be a better place.