On other pages...

Disclaimer: The history of BSNA has been compiled with input from several members who have had long association with BSNA, and is based on their best recollections. Any omissions or errors are unintentional.  

BSNA members are requested to point out any comments or suggestions to the Editor, Home Page.    

Arrival of Brahmans from India

In the decades of 1940’s and 1950’s engineers and scientists from India came to North America only for graduate studies or training. After completion of their studies/training they would usually go back to India. However, with a change in the immigration policy of the US government, a large influx of immigrants from India came to North America in late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Among these immigrants were a large number of well-educated Brahmans, most of whom were engineers, doctors, scientists and professors. They came here with an intention of making North America their homeland. Within a decade most of the Brahmans became U.S. and Canadian citizens.

Need for a Brahman Organization

As early as in 1979 a proposal was made to start an Association of U.S. Brahmans, when Dr. Shri Kant Mishra went to Fayetteville, Arkansas to perform the marriage of the daughter of Mr. Dwarka Prasad Mishra, a local resident. About ten Brahmans from different part of the country were present there. The effort continued for two years. Although more than 25 Brahmans from all over the USA had shown interest in joining the organization, the movement lost its momentum.

By 1990’s the new generation of Brahmans, born and brought up here, was in high schools and colleges. Their parents were concerned that this young generation of Brahmans should preserve the Brahmanic values and should not lose their rich culture. With this objective in mind, in early 1990’s several Brahmans in the United States felt the need for networking with other Brahmans. This gave birth to an idea of compiling a directory of Brahmans living in the USA and Canada for networking. Dr. Shyam Narayan Shukla of Fremont, CA was collecting names and addresses of Brahmans in order to publish a directory of Brahmans. Inspired by Dr. Rama Raksha Shukla of Massachusetts, to start an organization of Brahmans, Mr. Nirmalendu Choubey of Manlius, NY independently took the initiative of locating and contacting Brahmans for the purpose of forming an organization of Brahmans. Later, Mr. Nirmal Choubey and Dr. Shyam Shukla found about each other’s work and decided to pool their efforts to form Brahman Samaj of North America (BSNA).  After several telephone calls, e-mails, and meetings held at the residences of several Brahmans in different cities, a directory of 108 Brahmans, edited by Dr. Shyam Shukla, was published in June 1994. The following Brahmans worked on this initiative:

Formation of BSNA

The publication of the first directory of Brahmans provided motivation to other Brahmans who became actively involved in expanding the network. In cities across the country, several Brahmans held meetings at their residences, at which Brahmans from the surrounding areas were invited. Among those who participated in those meetings held in different cities are Dr. Ghanshyam Pandey, Dr. Shyam Shukla, Dr. Suresh Tiwari, Mr. Pooran Tripathi, Dr. Hans Upadhyay, Mr. Kanwal Parashar, Mr. Tryambak Bajpay, Dr. Prabhakar Mishra, Dr. Anita Dubey, Dr. Vinod Tewary, Mr. Kailash Sharma, and Mr. Dhirendra Shukla.  This is only a partial list, since many more Brahmans were contacted and participated in the meetings and telephone conversations.

Thus the original idea of developing a directory of Brahmans expanded into establishing a formal organization giving birth to the Brahman Samaj of North America (BSNA), which was formally established on 3rd September, 1994 with the adoption of an ad hoc constitution.  BSNA was registered as a not-for-profit organization in the state of New York. The ad-hoc officers were:

Later Mr. Bhaw Dutt Shukla was appointed as the first Treasurer of BSNA.

  A Board of Trustees was also formed with the following members:

The subsequent Chairs of BOT are Dr. Uday Naval (2000-2002) and Dr. Shri Kant Mishra (2002-present)

EC Expanded

In the year 1997 two slots were added to the Executive Committee of BSNA - Mr. Nitin Purohit as the Vice President and Dr. Satchidanand Mishra as the Assistant Treasurer and Editor of Brahmakulum (BSNA Directory).

Annual Conventions

The purpose of the conventions is to bring together members from different parts of the continent and develop bond of brotherhood among them. They provide forum to share views on different issues and to offer cultural education to youth and children

The first convention of BSNA was held in July 1995. The following list covers ten conventions held in different parts of North America during the 4^th of July weekend:

After the first convention, it was decided to attach an appropriate theme to each of the future conventions. The following is a list of themes attached to the annual conventions:

BSNA Constitution

The ad hoc BSNA constitution was replaced by the present constitution written by the Constitution Committee consisting of Dr. Vinod Tewary (Chair), Dr. Surendra Pandey, Prof. Ramanath Sharma, Mr. Jagar Sharma and Dr. Anita Dubey. The General Body approved the new constitution in September 1997, and it became effective January 1, 1998.

BSNA Elections

The first election of BSNA was held in 1997 to elect its new officers with Dr. Satish Tripathi as the Chair of the Nominations and Election Committee (NEC). Mr. Nirmal Choubey submitted a slate of his proposed EC. Since no other nominations were submitted by the deadline, the NEC declared them elected. The members of the first Executive Committee for the term 1998-2000 were:

In early 1999, Mr. Maharaj became the General Secretary, when Dr. Surendra Pandey resigned from the position. Mr. Mahendra Misra also resigned as EVP in 1999 and Mr. Jagar Sharma took his place.

The second election was held in 2000. The Nominations and Election Committee (NEC) consisted of Dr. Suresh Tiwari (Chair), Dr. Shri Kant Mishra and Dr. Rama Nath Sharma. The NEC interviewed several members and asked them if they would consider to be nominated for the position of President of BSNA and what their vision on BSNA’s future direction was. After some persuasion, Dr. Shyam Narayan Shukla agreed to  submit the names of members who would be on the EC. Therefore, the NEC declared Dr. Shukla and the following members of EC elected unopposed for the term 2001-2003:

The new officers were to take over effective January 1, 2001. However, Mr. Nirmal Choubey resigned as President on September 30, 2000 and Mr. Jagar Sharma became President for the remaining period as per BSNA constitution. After the 2001 convention Mr. Nirmal Choubey resigned from BSNA as a member. Mr. Jagar Sharma resigned as EVP after the convention at Toronto in 2002, and Mr. Purushottam Sharma was selected to replace him.

The third election took place under the direction of the new NEC consisting of Dr. Surendra Pandey (Chair), Mr. Nitin Purohit and Dr. Satchidanand Mishra. Although there were other candidates who had expressed their desire to contest the election, they did not supply required information by the deadline, leaving Dr. Shukla as the only candidate in the field with his EC team. Therefore, NEC declared the following as elected officers for the term 2004-06, to assume office starting January 1, 2004:

BSNA Publications

There are three publications of BSNA. They are: (1) Brahma Bharati, a quarterly, newsletter, (2) Brahma-Vani, an annual souvenir magazine, published at the time of conventions, and (3) Brahmakulum, the BSNA Directory. In addition, (4) BSNA also publishes a Homepage on the web as www.bsna.org.

1. Brahma Bharati

The first issue of Brahma Bharati, BSNA’s quarterly newsletter, was published in December 1994 with Dr. Vinod Tewary as its editor. Subsequent editors of Brahma Bharati are Mrs. Nirmala Shukla (1999-2000) and Dr. Surendra Pandey (2000-present).

2. Brahma-Vani

After the first BSNA convention it was decided that a souvenir magazine called Brahma-Vani be published every year at the time of the convention. Dr. Satish Misra was appointed Editor of Brahma-Vani and the first issue was published at the time of the second convention (July 1996) at Reading PA. The magazine included some scholarly articles related to the theme of the convention and some advertisements to raise funds for BSNA. Dr. Misra has been the editor of Brahma-Vani ever since, with the exception of the issue in year 2000, which was edited by Dr. Ramanath Sharma. Since 2000 Dr. Tej Pandey has been the Managing Editor of Brahma-Vani.

3. Brahmakulum

After publication of the first BSNA directory, compiled by Dr. Shyam Shukla, in June 1994, the directory was renamed as Brahmakulum with Dr. Satchidanand Mishra as its editor who published it annually until the year 2000, when the EC decided to print it alternate years as a cost saving measure. The EC also decided to print a supplement of Brahmakulum during the years the complete edition was not published. The supplement included information about new members only.

4. BSNA Home Page

Dr. Vinod Tewary started the BSNA home page some time in early 1996. A year later Dr. Surendra Pandey and Mr. Chakradhar Sharma gave it a new face. Later on Mrs. Ranjana Sharma assumed the editorial role for the homepage. In early 2003 an editorial committee consisting of Drs. Tej Pandey, Surendra Pandey and Umesh Shukla, working with a web master from India redesigned the entire homepage giving it the present format. Dr. Tej Pandey continues to serve as the Homepage editor.

Education Program

In order to develop an education program for youth and children, BSNA appointed an Education Committee in 1998 with Dr. Surendra Pandey as its first Chair. Later, the education Committee’s work was transferred to one of the Vice Presidents of BSNA, Dr. Ramesh Paliwal, who has developed a set of lectures on Hinduism for youth and children. He has visited several chapters in the east coast where he conducted classes for children.

  Dr. Shyam N. Shukla has also developed a series of lectures on Hinduism. They are on different topics, namely, History of Sanatana Dharma, Unique Gifts of Hinduism, Four Purusharthas, Social Structures, Sanskaras, Deities, and Festivals.

Global Networking with Brahmans Overseas

The BSNA Convention held at Troy, MI, witnessed another historic moment when Dr. Surendra N. Pandey, General Secretary of BSNA and Mr. Rameshwar Dayal Dixit, Secretary General of All India Kanyakubja Board (AIKB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) forming an official affiliation between the two organizations. The members of the BSNA Executive Committee witnessed the signing ceremony on July 5, 1997, and the General Body approved the MOU the following day. Using the first MOU as the guiding document Brahman Samaj of Nepal signed a similar agreement with BSNA in the year 2000.

In the year 2002, President Shukla visited Australia, New Zealand and Fiji for a pleasure trip. There he established personal contacts with Mr. Ram Pandey of Sydney, Mr. Rajiv Pandey of Auckland and Dr. Vivekanand Sharma of Suva.

In the summer of 2003 Mr. Jagprasad Pandey, a Brahman Leader from Ahmedabad came to the USA and invited Dr. Shyam Shukla to visit Ahmedabad. In November 2003 Dr. Shukla went to India and visited Navi Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Rajkot and Bhopal to have personal contacts with Brahman leaders of the places. Mr. Vinod Trivedi of Samast Brahman Samaj, Navi Mumbai, Mr. Shashikant Tiwari of Sarayupari Brahman Samaj of Ahmedabad, Mr. Shailesh Vyas of Rajkot and Mr. Rajani Kant Shukla of Sarayuparin Brahman Sabha, Bhopal honored Dr. Shukla at special functions and expressed their desire to establish permanent relationships of their organizations with BSNA.

• BSNA is a social, cultural, educational, and religious organization with no political affiliations. The sole objective of the BSNA is to bring Brahmans together and help them seek their own cultural and social identity that has a tremendous psychological, social, economic, and political value. For a group to become a socio-economic force, it must evolve from a crowd to a community. The main task of the BSNA is to create a community of Brahmans by identifying the common cultural links.

• BSNA has already achieved a North American identity. However, the community of Brahmans must transcend geographical and political boundaries. We must create an international community of Brahmans. The WBC is a step in that direction.

• Science and Technology, and the consequent industrialization have brought about a fragmentation of society. In the present age of fragmented society and localized irrational forces, it is of paramount importance for individuals to form regional as well as international links and communities. Brahmanatva provides that much-needed link.

• Religion, traditions, and above all the "Samskar" are needed for being a Brahman. It is necessary to pass on the torch of Brahmanatva to the younger generation. BSNA acts as an enabler for passing that torch.

• BSNA promotes a healthy respect for the tradition along with a progressive outlook and scientific attitude. BSNA strongly encourages our children to excel in modern education and their professions. Our motto is, "Derive strength from the past and move into the future."

• BSNA promotes respect for all human beings and is strongly against all types of discriminations.

• BSNA believes that we can have respect for different cultures only if we have respect for our own.

• BSNA strongly disapproves the evils of the Hindu caste system. Brahmanatva, for it to have any contemporary relevance, must be above all petty considerations. Brahmanatva must evolve at each point of space and time, along with the new generation.

• BSNA provides a platform for our youth to meet and develop contacts with other members of the community all over the world. The WBC would precisely serve that purpose. Matrimony has been an important consideration in every community in every part of the world. The BSNA provides potential contacts for those who want to marry in their own Brahman community.

• BSNA has won the acceptance and respect of a large number of highly distinguished people from all over the world. Our membership includes scientists, engineers, doctors, lawyers, industrialists, and professionals from many different walks of life.

Mr. Ram Pandey,
11A, First Avenue, Eastwood 2122, Sydney, Australia

Phone: 011-61-2-9804 6346

Fax: 011-61-2- 9206 3070

Email:  rampande@aul.ibm.com

Mr. Arvind Misra,
65A Coogee Rd., Ardross, Western Australia WA6153

Phone: 011-61-8-93647427

Email: misra@upnaway.com

Mr. Uday Mishra,
6/ 1927 Princess Hwy, Clayton 3168, Victoria, Australia

Phone: 011-61-3-9548 9342

Email: uday62@yahoo.com

Dr. Vivekanand Sharma,
P.O.Box 5074, Raiwaqa, Suva, Fiji

Phone: (Office): 011-679 - 212673, (Home): 011-679-305171

Email: sharma_v@usp.ac.fj

Chairman: Mr. Dharnidhar Trivedi,
                    R-12/3, Rajnagar, Ghaziabad, U.P, India

              Phone: 011-91-575-4717770

Secretary General: Mr. Rameshwar Dayal Dixit,
                     37 Gagan Vihar Extn., Delhi, 110051, India
                     Phone: (Office): 011-91-11-2252-0089, (Home): 011-91-11-2254-7423
                     Email: aikb@123india.com

Mr. Shashikant Tiwari, 
                    69 Kulun Tenaments, Nr. Bhavna Tenments, Vasna, Ahmedabad, 380008

               Phone: 011-91-979-2526-5237, E-mail: shashikant_tiwari@yahoo.com

Mr. J. P. Pandey, 
                    Savitri Sadan, B-5 Anupam Colony, Opp. Chirag Diamonds, L. B. Shastri Road, Po. O. Thakkarbapanagar, 

                    Ahmedabad 382350
                    Phone: : 011-91-79-2274-0093, (Cell): 011-91-98-2506-4772.

Mr. Vinod Trivedi, 
                    707 7th Floor, Devavrata, Plot No. 83, Sector 17, Vashi Navi, Mumbai 400703

               Phone: 011-91-20-2789-3551; E-mail: pecpl@homail.com

Mr. Sailesh Vyas, 
                    J-9/36-A Rajouri Garden, New Delhi  110027

Mr. Vidyadhar Mishra, 9, Catoire Street, Beau-Bassin, Mauritius

Phone: (Office): 011-230-212-6121, (Home): 011-230-454-4282

Email: mvidyadhar@hotmail.com

Chairman: Dr. Mankeshwar Nath Pandey, Director (Retd.)
                    Livestock Services Deptt., HMG Nepal, GPO Box no. 8049,
                    Kathmandu, Nepal

Phone: (Home): 011-977-1-523430; (Office): 011-977-1-260046

Fax: 011-977-1-412697

Email: shambhu@bluebird.wlink.com.np

General Secretary: Mr. Ramagya Chaturvedi, General Manager,
                                     National Construction Company, Nepal, Post Box. No. 37,
                                     Hal Chowk, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Phone: (Office): 011-977-1-282726; (Home): 011-977-1-471284/ 485698

Fax: 011-977-1-271926

Treasurer: Dr. Parshuram Mishra, MBBS, MS, Asstt. Prof. General Surgery,
                     NMC 424, P. O. Box. 8912, Lazimpat, Kathmandu, Nepal

Phone: (Home): 011-977-1-422314, (Office): 011-977-1-412303/ 412505

Email: usr@hons.com.np or surgery@mos.com.np

 Mr. Rajiv Pandey, 21 A Debron Avenue, Remuara, Auckland 1005
 Phone: 011-64-95-290415
 Email: pandeyr@topaz.co.nz

 Mr. Rakesh Maharaj, 15 Villador, 376 New Germony Rd., Reservoir Hill, Durbon, RSA 4091
 Phone: 011-2731-2629537
 Email: simrak@mweb.co.za

President: Mr. Ram C. Tiwari, 10 New Trinity Rd., East Finchley, London, UK N2 8EE;
Phone: 011-44-208-883-0283;
Email: ramtiwari41@yahoo.co.uk

Executive Vice-President: Mr. Surendra Kumar Atri

7 Sydney Road, Barkingside, Ilford, Essex IG6 2ED, England
Phone: 011-44-208-491-5769
Email: suren10atri@hahoo.co.uk

General Secretary: Mr. Satish Kumar Sharma, 

35 St. Michael Crescent, Pinner, Middlesex UB1 3PB, England41 The Drive, Illford, Essex, London, UK LG1 3HB;
Phone: 011-44-208-429-8672

Email: satish_indirauk@yahoo.co.uk

Treasurer: Mr. Virendra K. Tewary, 41 The Drive, Illford, Essex, London, UK LG1 3HB;
Phone: 011-44-208-554-1768

BSNA is proud of its friends at home and abroad.
We thank them for promoting Brahman unity worldwide