In 1955, east bengal became east pakistan, and in 1971 became the independent state of bangladesh after a successful war of independence with west pakistan. Whereas previous studies of the end of british rule in india have concentrated on the negotiations of the transfer of power at the allindia level or have considered the emergence of separatist politics amongst indias muslim minorities, this study provides a reevaluation of the history of bengal focusing on the political and social processes that led to the demand for partition in bengal and. By then, the congress and the muslim league had agreed to divide british india, and as part of the exercise, bengal and punjab was to be divided as well. But it was not the first time that british india witnessed a partition. Finally, the paper will emphasize the impact of the 1947 partition by discussing. View partition of bengal research papers on academia. Engagements with displacement and relocation in select partition narratives from bengal suranjana c houdhury abstract partition of indian subcontinent in 1947 witnessed millions of people move across borders towards their newly formed respective homelands, india and pakistan. We are dedicated to documenting the peoples history of the 1947 indiapakistan partition. This month, india and pakistan celebrate 70 years of independence. Bengal and india, 194767 by joya chatterji cambridge university press, 342pp. The british recognized that bengal, with some 85 million people, was much too large for a single province and determined that it merited reorganization and intelligent division. By then, the congress and the muslim league had agreed to divide british india, and as part of the exercise, bengal and punjab was.
With the migration of millions of refugees across the borders in bengal and punjab, rioting continued in india and pakistan for many months with cases of horrific violence. First partition of bengal 19051911 the demand of unified bengali nation state emerged after the first partition of bengal in 1905. History of partition of bengal and swadeshi movement duration. The present edition of plassey to partition pdf is different from its previous edition in many ways. Indian independence act passed in the british parliament and india got independence in 15th august 1947. August 14, 1947 and august 15 1947, respectively upon the granting of independence to british india by the united kingdom. The british quit india after a reign of 200 years which resulted in the partition of 1947. On 14 august 1947, pakistan was made an independent country, and on 15 august 1947 india was made independent as the british transferred their power over at midnight. Partition of bengal 1947 27 01 2010 while the research about the partition of bengal, despite its relative recent occurence in 1947 is proving much more difficult than earlier anticipated, i have thoroughly managed to vet and critically assess the potential usefulness of three major specific sources in expanding wikipedias historical stub.
Bangladesh was created out of two violent partitions. The partition of bengal 1905 from pages of history. The hidden story of partition and its legacies bbc. Louis mountbattens 3 june 1947 statement was a watershed in the history of indias emergence as a free nation. Partition agitations and the role of the ulama ever since the constitution of assam as the chief commissioners province in 1874, the presidency ofbengal comprised ofbengal proper, bihar and orissa and chota nagpur. Much has been written about the punjab and the creation of. An oral history project is racing to collect stories from those who lived through it. So, in 1903 a proposal was made to separate chittagong division and the districts of dhaka and. More than sixtyfive years after the partition of the indian subcontinent in 1947, controversy about partition, its causes and its effects, continues.
Whereas previous studies of the end of british rule in india have concentrated on the negotiations of the transfer of power at the allindia level or have considered the emergence of separatist politics amongst indias muslim minorities, this study provides a reevaluation of the history of bengal focusing on the political and social processes that led to the demand for. He did not condemn the bloodshed for a whole two weeks after the first. The british government planned to separate bengal on 19th july 1905. The partition of india in 1947 was a seminal event of the twentieth century. In the year 1874, assam was separated from bengal as a distinct region. Bengal and india, 19471967 joya chatterji frontmatter more information. On that day, a massive demonstration against the partition was organized in the town hall in calcutta. Oral histories in the archive are widely distributed on social media and to universities across the world for access. The partition of the indian subcontinent in 1947 saw the birth of india and pakistan in an unprecedented human tragedy. Much has been written about the punjab and the creation of west pakistan. Partition here refers also to the division of the bengal province of british india into the pakistani state of east bengallater east pakistan, now bangladesh and the indian state of west bengal. In this year 1905 16th october, the plan of partition of bengal was officially implemented.
The first in 1947 partitioned bengal into a largely muslim east, which became east pakistan later bangladesh, and a largely hindu west, which became the state of west bengal in india first map in. Steps towards partition bengal at the time of lord curzon was the biggest and most populated province unable to be governed by a single person, or so the official record runs. New material of sekhar bandyopadhyay from plassey to partition pdf has been incorporated at many places to improve the quality of its presentation and to make it more logical, lucid, effective and uptodate. Please be aware that the text in the supplied thesis pdf file may not be as clear as text in a thesis that was born digital or digitised directly from paper, due to the. The tired men of india and the partition massacres of 1947 255 violence in self defence is preferable to cowardly nonviolence.
Latest plassey to partition pdf by sekhar bandyopadhyay. Inspite of the separation of assam which had taken with it the bengali. Partition of bengal, 1905, division of bengal carried out by the british viceroy in india, lord curzon, despite strong indian nationalist opposition. The partition of bengal in 1947, part of the partition of india, divided the british indian province of bengal based on the radcliffe line between india and pakistan. In 7 august 1905 student carrying black flags and banners of united bengal and unity is strength to the town hall.
The britishruled bengal presidency was divided into western bengal and eastern bengal and assam to weaken the bengali nationalist movement. Bangladesh simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The first partition of bengal in 1905 brought that province to the brink of open rebellion. The western part with predominantly hindu population became a part of india west bengal, while the predominantly muslim eastern part east bengal became a. The bengali hindu homeland movement refers to the movement of the bengali hindu people for the partition of bengal in 1947 to create a homeland aka west bengal for themselves within the indian union, in the wake of muslim leagues proposal and campaign to include the entire province of bengal within pakistan, which was to be a homeland for the muslims of british india. The tired men of india and the partition massacres of 1947. Myriad kingdoms and principalities of ancient eastern india had been always changing in their extent and influences until a transbengal political unity was achieved by the husain shahi rulers under the imperial banner of shahi bangala. Throughout the country, communal violence kept spreading and the final decision to partition india was. Partition here refers also to the division of the bengal province of british india into the pakistani state of east bengal later east pakistan, now bangladesh and the indian state of west bengal. Both the british indian provinces, isbn 9780415328890 buy the the partition of bengal and assam, 19321947. Dec 31, 2016 the british quit india after a reign of 200 years which resulted in the partition of 1947.
The historiography on the partition of bengal has tended to see it as a culmination of long term trends hindu and muslim communalism within the province. Please be aware that the text in the supplied thesis pdf file may not be as clear as text in a thesis that was born digital or digitised directly from paper, due to the conversion in format. In 1947 east bengal and the dominion of pakistan were separated from presentday republic of india and thus formed a new birth of country named pakistan. Please be aware that the text in the supplied thesis pdf. The fragmentation of bengal and assam in 1947 was a crucial moment in indias sociopolitical history as a nation state. The making of a research interest satish saberwal formerly, jawaharlal nehru university, new delhi, india address for correspondence. Despite the celebrations in london, the partition of the indian subcontinent was not a peaceful process. This was perhaps the worst time to ask the bengal government for money. This essay offers a counter narrative to the inevitability of the partition by focusing on bengali public discourse in the months leading up to the partition.
We at the 1947 partition archive are dedicated to documenting the peoples history of the 1947 indiapakistan partition, a globally disruptive event that created the largest mass refugee crisis in our written human history. The ideology developed among bengali nationalists after the first partition of bengal in 1905. United bengal is a political ideology for a unified bengalispeaking nation in south asia. But the east and west provinces were on either side of india and separated by 930 miles 1,500 km. Partition of bengal ias abhiyan ii ias upsc exam preparation. Aug, 2017 this month, india and pakistan celebrate 70 years of independence. On 16 october 1905 bengal province was redistributed by the viceroy lord curzon, apparently for administrative efficiency. Apart from the partition of bengal and punjab, the 3 june, 1947 statement also suggested a referendum in the northwest frontier province and in sylhet, a district in assam. Jun 06, 2002 whereas previous studies of the end of british rule in india have concentrated on the negotiations of the transfer of power at the allindia level or have considered the emergence of separatist politics amongst indias muslim minorities, this study provides a reevaluation of the history of bengal focusing on the political and social processes that led to the demand for partition in bengal and. Predominantly hindu west bengal became a province of india, and predominantly muslim east bengal now bangladesh became a province of pakistan. Communal politics and the partition of bengal, 1932 1947. In bengal, partition frustrated the plans and purposes of the very groups that had demanded it.
The partition of these regions was an episode marked with communal. Search for a respectable place by the new independent countries of asia, africa and south america. In 1947, bengal was partitioned for the second time, solely on religious grounds, as part of the partition of india following the formation of the nations india and pakistan. An attempt to show the population transfers in august 1947. In other words, there was a more or less equal exchange of population on the western border in 1947 which was not the case in west bengal. Partition of bengal, 1947 latest major change in the political geography of bengal. Cambridge studies in indian history and society 15 editorial board c. The partition of india and pakistan one year before partition255 million hindus. Bengal and india, 19471967 the partition of india in 1947 was a seminal event of the twentieth century. The line drawn by lord curzons government, however, cut through the.
Communal politics and the partition of bengal, 19321947. It began a transformation of the indian national congress from a middleclass pressure group into a nationwide mass movement. Our flagship oral history project has helped preserve over 7,500 memories of partition witnesses. Jan 27, 2010 partition of bengal 1947 27 01 2010 while the research about the partition of bengal, despite its relative recent occurence in 1947 is proving much more difficult than earlier anticipated, i have thoroughly managed to vet and critically assess the potential usefulness of three major specific sources in expanding wikipedias historical stub. The fact that the partition of bengal in 1947 was not the result of a political mobilization long which had struggled for the creation of pakistan meant that the muslims of bengal, punjab, and the other areas constituting pakistan had not created a consistent or shared national ideology that pre. He declared the partition of india into two countries, india and pakistan in 3rd jun 1947. In 1947, bengal was partitioned for the second time, solely on religious grounds as part of the partition of india following the formation of the nations india and pakistan. India and pakistan won independence in august 1947, following a nationalist struggle lasting nearly three decades. After the declaration of partition political leaders, students gathered in the capital city of calcutta to protest against the partition. The bengal partition,background,partition,political crisis.
Pangs of being unhomed 1 engagements with displacement. With the migration of millions of refugees across the borders in bengal and punjab, rioting continued in india and. The partition of india led to the partition of bengal 1947 dividing the british indian province of bengal into two. It set a vital precedent for the negotiated winding up of. Predominantly hindu west bengal became a state of india, and predominantly muslim east bengal now bangladesh became a province of pakistan. The indian national congress and the nationalists of bengal firmly opposed the partition. In this dissertation i analyze the figure of the eastbengali refugee woman in indian literature on the partition of bengal of 1947. Summary edit description bengal in 1947 partition of bengal. New material of sekhar bandyopadhyay from plassey to partition pdf has been incorporated at many places to improve the quality of its presentation and to make it more logical, lucid, effective and uptodate plassey to partition by sekhar bandyopadhyay pdf. Jun 28, 2018 the partition of india led to the partition of bengal 1947 dividing the british indian province of bengal into two. Both the british indian provinces, isbn 9780415328890 buy the the partition of bengal and assam, 1932 1947. The spoils of partition the partition of india in 1947 was a seminal event of the twentieth century. The western part with predominantly hindu population became a part of india west bengal, while the predominantly muslim eastern part east bengal became a part of pakistan.
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