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Noakhali riots

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Noakhali riots
Part of Partition of Bengal (1947)
Gandhi listens to a survivor in Noakhali, 1946
LocationNoakhali Region, Bengal (present-day Bangladesh), British India
Date10 October 1946 – early November 1946
TargetBengali Hindus
WeaponsBladed weapons, arson, looting, forced conversions[1]
Deaths285,[2]

~200 (Roy Bucher, Indian Army chief),[3]

~200 (Francis Tucker[4]
PerpetratorsSections of the local Muslim population[5]
DefendersHindus, local leaders, relief organizations
MotiveReligious tensions, retaliation for earlier riots in Calcutta[6]
Part of a series on
Persecution of Hindus
in pre-1947 India
Issues
Incidents
Part of a series on
Persecution of Bengali Hindus
Part of Bengali Hindu history
Discrimination
Persecution
Opposition

The Noakhali riots were a series of semi-organized massacres, rapes and abductions, combined with looting and arson of Hindu properties, perpetrated by the Muslim community in the districts of Noakhali in the Chittagong Division of Bengal (now in Bangladesh) in October–November 1946, a year before India's independence from British rule.[7]

It affected the areas under the Ramganj, Begumganj, Raipur, Lakshmipur, Chhagalnaiya and Sandwip police stations in Noakhali district and the areas under the Hajiganj, Faridganj, Chandpur, Laksham and Chauddagram police stations in Tipperah district, a total area of more than 2,000 square miles.[8]

The massacre of the Hindu population started on 10 October, on the day of Kojagari Lakshmi Puja[9][10][11] and continued unabated for about a week. Around 50,000 Hindus remained marooned in the affected areas under the strict surveillance of the Muslims, where the administration had no say.[12]

Mahatma Gandhi camped in Noakhali for four months and toured the district in a mission to restore peace and communal harmony. In the meantime, the Indian National Congress leadership started to accept the proposed Partition of India and the peace mission and other relief camps were abandoned. The majority of the survivors migrated to West Bengal, Tripura[13] and Assam.[14]

Cause

[edit]

When elections were held in the provinces of India in 1937, the provincial power of Bengal came into the hands of the Muslims. However, during British rule, Hindus had been in control as the zamindars (local rulers). They were also better educated and wealthier. A section of Muslims was looking for an opportunity to vent their old grievances against Hindu zamindars (local rulers). And that was the opportunity they got at the end of British rule in India.[15]

Attempts to bar Hindus from entering jobs, the poor status of Muslims in Hindu-majority provinces, partition of Bengal, and the provocations by the Muslim League led to the event. The relationship between the Hindus and Muslims was very delicate. The Hindu-Muslim riots in Noakhali are believed to have been caused mainly by the resentment of Muslims against Hindus when the British rule was ending and the false claims of a massacre against Muslims in Calcutta.[16] Furthermore, there were rumours that the Jaminder of Ramganj, Rajendra Lal Chowdhury, was going to sacrifice a Muslim boy instead of a goat in a sacrificial event that initiated the event. On 11 October 1946, riots started.[17][18]

Prelude

[edit]

Communal tensions in Noakhali began soon after the Great Calcutta Riots between Muslims and Hindus. Although initially quiet, tensions had been building. During the six weeks leading up to the disturbances in Noakhali, the Eastern Command headquarters in Kolkata received reports indicating unrest in the rural areas of Noakhali and Chittagong districts.[19] Village poets and balladeers composed anti-Hindu poems and rhymes, which they recited in marketplaces and other public gatherings.[20]

Eid al-Fitr violence

[edit]

On 29 August, the day of Eid al-Fitr, tensions escalated into violence. A rumor spread that Hindus had accumulated weapons.[21] A group of Hindu fishermen were attacked with deadly weapons while fishing in the Feni River. One was killed and two were seriously injured. Another group of nine Hindu fishermen from Charuriah were severely assaulted. Seven were admitted to the hospital.[22] Devi Prasanna Guha, the son of a Congressman from Babupur village under the Ramganj police station, was murdered.[23][24] His brother and a servant were also assaulted. The Congress office in front of their house was set on fire.[22] Chandra Kumar Karmakar of Monpura was killed near Jamalpur. Jamini Dey, a hotel worker, was killed near Ghoshbag. Ashu Sen of Devisinghpur was severely beaten at Tajumiarhat at Char Parvati. Rajkumar Choudhury of Banspara was severely assaulted on his way home.[22]

The properties of six or seven Hindu families in Kanur Char were looted. In Karpara, a Muslim gang armed with deadly weapons entered the house of Jadav Majumdar and looted properties worth Rs. 1,500. Nakul Majumdar was assaulted. The houses of Prasanna Mohan Chakraborty of Tatarkhil, Nabin Chandra Nath of Miralipur, and Radha Charan Nath of Latipur were looted. Five members of the Nath family of Latipur were injured.[22]

The temple of the family deity of Harendra Ghosh of Raipur was desecrated: a calf was butchered and thrown inside the temple. The Shiva temple of Dr. Jadunath Majumdar of Chandipur was similarly desecrated. The household shrines of Nagendra Majumdar and Rajkumar Choudhury of Dadpur were desecrated, and the idols were stolen. The Durga images of Ishwar Chandra Pathak of Kethuri, Kedareshwar Chakraborty of Merkachar, Ananta Kumar De of Angrapara, and Prasanna Mohan Chakraborty of Tatarkhil were broken.[22]

Communal propaganda

[edit]
The Dayra Sharif of Shyampur, the residence of Ghulam Sarwar Husseini.

In 1937, Gholam Sarwar Husseini, a member of a Muslim Pir family, was elected to the Bengal Legislative Assembly on a Krishak Praja Party ticket. However, in the 1946 elections, he lost to a Muslim League candidate. Husseini's father and grandfather were pious Muslims. Their family served as the hereditary khadims (caretakers) at the Diara Sharif in Shyampur, a site revered by both Muslims and Hindus. After the Direct Action Day riots in Kolkata, Husseini began delivering provocative speeches, inciting the Muslim masses to seek revenge for the Kolkata riots.[25][26] In some places, Hindu shops were boycotted. In the Ramganj and Begumganj police station areas, Muslim boatmen refused to ferry Hindu passengers.[26] In the first week of September, Muslims looted Hindu shops in Sahapur market.[26] Hindus were harassed and molested as they returned to their native villages from Kolkata to spend the puja holidays.[26] From 2 October onwards, there were frequent instances of killings, theft, and looting.[27]

Events

[edit]

According to Governor Burrows, "the immediate occasion for the outbreak of the disturbances was the looting of a Bazar [market] in Ramganj police station following the holding of a mass meeting and a provocative speech by Gholam Sarwar Husseini."[28] That included attacks on the place of business of Surendra Nath Bose and Rajendralal Roy Choudhury, the former president of the Noakhali Bar and a prominent Hindu Mahasabha leader.[29]

Violence

[edit]
The destroyed house of Rajendralal Roychowdhury

The riots started on 10 October, the day of Kojagari Lakshmi Puja, when the Bengali Hindus were involved in puja activities. Ghulam Sarwar instructed the Muslim masses to march towards the Sahapur market. Another Muslim League leader, Kasem, also arrived at the Sahapur market with his private army, then known as the Kasemer Fauz.[30][N 1]

On 11 October, the private army of Gholam Sarwar, known as the Miyar Fauz, attacked the residence of Rajendralal Roychowdhury, the president of the Noakhali Bar Association and the Noakhali District Hindu Mahasabha. At that time of attack Swami Tryambakananda of Bharat Sevashram Sangha was staying at their house as a guest. Roychowdhury fended off the mob from his terrace with his rifle for the entire day. At nightfall, when they retreated, he sent the swami and his family members to safety. The next day the mob attacked again.[31] Rajendralal Roychowdhury's severed head was presented to Gholam Sarwar Husseini on a platter.[32] According to Sucheta Kriplani, Rajendralal Roychowdhury had followed the footsteps of Shivaji and Guru Gobind Singh and became a martyr, defending his faith and family honour. He reportedly refused to leave his family home to the Islamists.[33] Acharya Kripalani, a staunch believer in non-violence, held that the resistance offered by Rajendralal Roychowdhury and his family was the nearest approach to non-violence.[33]

Nandigram

[edit]
Surabala Majumdar, the wife of Dr. Pratap Chandra Majumdar, who was killed

In Nandigram, Gholam Sarwar Husseini's private army burnt the Nag residence, the post office, and the school founded by Ramanikanta Nag.[citation needed] The Hindus from the nearby areas had taken shelter in the Nag residence and initially the police protected them, repulsing the first attacks. The attackers then resorted to indiscriminate looting in the village.[citation needed] On 13 October, at 12 noon, a mob of 200 to 250 Muslims armed with deadly weapons attacked the Hindus in Changirgaon. 1,500 Maunds of paddy were burnt and all the temples were destroyed. The Hindu women were stripped of their shankha[N 2] and sindur. The men were forced to perform the namaz.[34]

Ramganj police station

[edit]
A destroyed homestead in Chandpur

On 14 October, Jogendra Chandra Das, the M.L.A. from Chandpur, Tipperah, wrote to Jogendra Nath Mandal stating that thousands of Scheduled Caste Hindus had been attacked in Ramganj police station area in Noakhali. Their houses were being looted and set on fire with petrol, and they were being forcibly converted to Islam.[35]

Freedom fighter Lalmohan Sen was killed by a Muslim mob.

In the remote island of Sandwip, which had no motor cars, petrol was imported from the mainland to set the houses on fire. According to Rakesh Batabyal, the use of petrol and kerosene indicates the premeditated and organised nature of the attacks.[36] In Sandwip, revolutionary freedom fighter Lalmohan Sen was killed when he tried to resist a Muslim mob from killing Hindus.[37][38]

An affidavit attesting to atrocities on Hindu women

Violence broke out in the Ramganj police station area, in the north of Noakhali District, on 10 October 1946. The violence unleashed was described as "the organized fury of the Muslim mob".[39] It soon engulfed the neighbouring police stations of Raipur, Lakshmipur, Begumganj and Sandip in Noakhali, and Faridganj, Hajiganj, Chandpur, Lakshman and Chudagram in Tippera.[40] As per Gandhian Ashoka Gupta's report, at least 2000 Hindus had been forced to change their religion to Islam, six were forced to marry by force, and one person was murdered.[41] However, the official estimate was 200.[42]

Forcible conversions

[edit]

When the news of the killings and forced conversions appeared in the news for the first time, Star of India, a newspaper patronised by the Muslim League, denied any incidents of forcible conversion.[43] However, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, while answering a question from Dhirendranath Datta in the assembly, stated that there had been 9,895 cases of forcible conversion in Tipperah. The exact figure was not known for Noakhali, but it ran into thousands.[43] Edward Skinner Simpson stated in his report that 22,550 cases of forcible conversion took place in the three police station areas of Faridganj, Chandpur, and Hajiganj in the district of Tipperah. Dr. Taj-ul-Islam Hashmi concluded that the number of Hindu women raped or converted was probably many times the number of Hindus killed. According to Justice G. D. Khosla, the entire Hindu population of Noakhali were robbed of all they possessed and then forcibly converted to Islam.[44]

Official developments

[edit]

On 13 October, Kamini Kumar Dutta, the leader of the Indian National Congress in the Bengal Legislative Council, paid a visit of inquiry to Noakhali in his personal capacity during which interviewed Abdullah, the District Superintendent of Police. On 15 October, he met the Minister of Civil Supplies of the Government of Bengal, who was on his way to Noakhali. On his return he communicated with the Home Department of the Interim Government seeking effective remedial measures and stating that it was impossible for anyone from outside to enter the disturbed areas without risking his life. He further stated that the authorities were anxious to hush up the entire episode from public inspection. No force had been sent to the disturbed areas until 14 October.[45]

Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, the Prime Minister of Bengal, held a press conference in Kolkata on 16 October at which he acknowledged the forcible conversion, plunder and looting of Hindus in Noakhali. While insisting that the incidents had stopped, he said he had no idea why the incidents had occurred. He stated that it had become difficult for troops to move in because the canals had been jammed, bridges were damaged and roads blocked. He contemplated dropping printed appeals and warnings from the air instead of rushing in troops.[46] On 18 October, Frederick Burrows, the Governor of Bengal, along with Suhrawardy and the Inspector General of Police for Bengal, visited Feni by plane and flew over the affected areas.[citation needed] Later, the Government of Bengal sent an official team to Noakhali and Tipperah to assess the situation. The team consisted of Jogendra Nath Mandal the newly appointed Member-in-Charge of Law in the Interim Government; Shamsuddin Ahmed, the Minister of Labour in the Bengal Government; Abul Hashim, the Secretary of Bengal Provincial Muslim League; Fazlur Rahman; Hamidul Huq Choudhury; Moazzem Hossain; A. Malik and B. Wahiduzzaman.[35]

On 19 October, Jivatram Bhagwandas Kripalani, the president-elect of the Indian National Congress; Sarat Chandra Bose, the Member-in-Charge of Works, Mines and Power in the Interim Government; Surendra Mohan Ghosh, the President of the Bengal Provincial Congress Committee; Sucheta Kripalani; Major General A. C. Chatterjee; Kumar Debendra Lal Khan and the editor of Anandabazar Patrika flew to Chittagong at the suggestion of Mahatma Gandhi.[47] On the way they had made a brief stop at Comilla, where thousands of Hindu victims reported experiencing atrocities. In Chittagong, they met Frederick Burrows, the Governor of Bengal, who assured them that according to Suhrawardy, the Prime Minister of Bengal, everything was peaceful and orderly. He explained the rape and molestation of Hindu women as natural because they were more attractive than Muslim women.[48]

On 21 October, Arthur Henderson, the Under-Secretary of State for India and Burma, read a report from the Governor of Bengal in the House of Commons that stated that the number of casualties was expected to be in the three-figure range.[49] Sarat Chandra Bose challenged the statement, saying that 400 Hindus had been killed in a single incident at the office and residence of landlord Surendranath Bose.[50]

On 25 October, at a mass meeting in New Delhi presided over by Suresh Chandra Majumdar, the managing director of the Anandabazar Patrika and the Hindusthan Standard, a resolution was passed demanding the immediate recall of the Governor of Bengal, the dismissal of the Muslim League ministry and intervention of the centre.[51] At a press conference in Kolkata on 26 October, Lieutenant General F. R. R. Bucher, the GoC of Eastern Command, stated that it was impossible to estimate how long it would take to restore the confidence of the affected people in the government.[51]

Relief operations

[edit]
Swami Abhayananda of Bharat Sevashram Sangha distributing relief at Dalalbazar under the Lakshmipur police station in Noakhali in 1946.

When the news of the events in Noakhali reached the outside world, Indian social, religious, and political institutions came forward for relief and rescue operations. Notable among them were the Bharat Sevashram Sangha, Hindu Mahasabha, the Indian National Congress, the Communist Party of India, the Indian National Army, Prabartak Sangha, Abhay Ashram, Arya Samaj, and Gita Press.[52] Thirty relief organizations and six medical missions participated in the relief work in Noakhali. Additionally, there were 20 camps under Gandhi's "one village, one worker" plan.[53]

On receiving the news of Noakhali, Ashutosh Lahiry, the General Secretary of the Hindu Mahasabha, immediately left for Chandpur. Syama Prasad Mookerjee, Nirmal Chandra Chatterjee, and Pandit Narendranath Das, along with other workers, flew to Comilla and entered the affected area with military escorts. A plane was requisitioned and dispatched to the area with supplies such as rice, chira, bread, milk, biscuits, barley, and medicines. Other consignments of relief supplies were dispatched by train.[54] The affected people who took refuge in Kolkata were given protection in about 60 centers in the city and suburbs.[54] Syama Prasad Mookerjee appointed M/S. P. K. Mitter & Co., a Kolkata-based accountancy firm, to control the collection, disbursement, and audit of funds contributed by the public.[55]

Inauguration of Rajendralal Hospital at Lakshmipur.

Nirmal Chandra Chatterjee, the acting President of the Bengal Provincial Hindu Mahasabha; Debendranath Mukherjee, the General Secretary; and Nagendranath Bose, the Assistant Secretary, proceeded to the affected areas of Noakhali and Tipperah.[56] Chatterjee consulted Larkin, the Relief Commissioner, and determined that zonal settlement was the best method for providing relief and safety, considering the future resettlement of victims in their respective villages. Accordingly, relief centers were opened at Bamni under the Raipur police station, Dalalbazar under the Lakshmipur police station, and Paikpara under the Faridganj police station.[56] M. L. Biswas, the Secretary of the Bengal Provincial Hindu Mahasabha; P. Bardhan, the Medical Secretary; and J. N. Banerjee, the Treasurer, were sent to other affected areas to set up additional relief centers. Each of these centers was equipped with a mobile medical unit staffed by medical officers.[56] Sanat Kumar Roy Chowdhury, the Vice-President of the Bengal Provincial Hindu Mahasabha, inaugurated a well-equipped 25-bed hospital in Lakshmipur in memory of Rajendralal Raychaudhuri. Dr. Subodh Mitra was placed in charge of the hospital.[56] Nirmal Chandra Chatterjee visited Noakhali for the third time and inaugurated a students' home at Bajapati named 'Shyamaprasad Chhatrabas'.[56]

Leela Roy rescued 1,307 Hindu girls.

Women's Relief and Recovery

[edit]

On 20 October 1946, at a meeting of the Chattogram Mahila Sangha, the Chittagong branch of the All India Women's Conference, presided over by Nellie Sengupta, a resolution was passed to prioritize the relief and recovery of abducted Hindu women during the Noakhali riots.[57] The Noakhali Relief Committee was subsequently formed to provide rehabilitation to these women.[58]

Beginning on 26 October, groups of volunteers led by Ashoka Gupta made weekly trips to Noakhali, where they assisted in locating abducted women, providing relief to refugees at railway stations, and compiling lists of affected villages based on survivors' testimonies.[59] Leela Roy led a significant rescue mission, walking 90 miles from Chaumohani to Ramganj on 9 December 1946.[citation needed] She and her team successfully rescued 1,307 girls who had been abducted during the riots. Roy’s organization, the National Services Institute, also established 17 relief camps in the affected region.[60] In December, the Srihatta Mahila Sangha dispatched additional volunteers, including Kiranshashi Deb, Leela Dasgupta, Saralabala Deb, and Suhasini Das, to assist with the ongoing relief work.[61] Several Congress leaders, including Satish Chandra Dasgupta, Dhirendranath Dutta, Trailokya Chakrabarti, and Bishwaranjan Sen, played leading roles in coordinating relief efforts.[62]

Mahatma Gandhi himself was involved in the relief of abducted women. He sent four rescued Hindu girls to Sujata Devi, the daughter-in-law of Chittaranjan Das, for rehabilitation. Sujata Devi established the Bangiya Pallee Sangathan Samity, which provided rehabilitation services and operated a free school to educate the rescued girls.[63]

Government Relief Measures

[edit]

The Government of Bengal appointed a Special Relief Commissioner with magisterial powers to oversee the distribution of funds to refugees.[64] A Government Order dated 10 February 1947 announced a relief grant of Rs 250 to each affected household for rebuilding, and an additional Rs 200 was promised to each affected weaver, fisherman, and peasant to buy new tools, such as looms, ox carts, or fishing equipment, upon furnishing proof of loss. Relief workers criticized the government's decision to treat an entire joint family as a single unit, contending that Rs 250 was insufficient for rebuilding a homestead. On 11 February 1947, Ashoka Gupta met Akhtaruzzaman, the Additional District Magistrate of Noakhali, on behalf of the relief workers and obtained clarification on the order to ensure that no families were excluded from receiving aid.[65]

Gandhi peace mission

[edit]
Gandhi in Noakhali, 1946

Gandhi played a role in cooling down the situation. He toured the area with his aides, and was mostly telling Hindus not to retaliate with violence.[41]

On 18 October, Bidhan Chandra Roy personally communicated with Gandhi, appraising him of the massacre of Hindus in Noakhali and the plight of the Hindu women in particular. At the evening prayer, Gandhi mentioned the events in Noakhali with concern. He said, if one-half of India's humanity was paralyzed, India could never really feel free. He would far rather see India's women trained to wield arms than that they should feel helpless. On 19 October, he decided to visit Noakhali.[50] Before leaving, he was interviewed on 6 November by Dr. Amiya Chakravarty at the Abhay Ashram in Sodepur, near Kolkata. After the interview, Dr Amiya Chakravarty said that the most urgent need of the hour was to rescue the abducted Hindu women who obviously could not be approached by the military because, after being forcefully converted, they were kept under the veil.[66]

Gandhi started for Noakhali on 6 November and reached Chaumuhani the next day. After spending two nights at the residence of Jogendra Majumdar, on 9 November he embarked on his tour of Noakhali, barefoot. In the next seven weeks, he covered 116 miles and visited 47 villages. He set up his base in a half-burnt house in the village of Srirampur, where he stayed until 1 January. He organized prayer meetings, met local Muslim leaders, and tried to win their confidence. Mistrust between Hindus and Muslims continued to exist, and stray incidents of violence occurred even during his stay in Noakhali. On the evening of 10 November, two persons were reported to have been murdered while returning home after attending Gandhi's evening prayer at Duttapara relief camp.[67]

Gandhi's stay in Noakhali was resented by the Muslim leadership. In January 1947, in his talks with villagers of Fatehpur, Gandhi asked, "It is the easiest thing to harass the Hindus here, as you Muslims are in the majority. But is it just as honourable?"[68] On 12 February 1947, while addressing a rally at Comilla, A. K. Fazlul Huq said that Gandhi's presence in Noakhali had harmed Islam enormously.[69] The resentment against Gandhi's stay in Noakhali grew day by day. Towards the end of February 1947, it became vulgar. Gandhi's route was deliberately dirtied every day and Muslims began to boycott his meetings.[69] Fazlul Huq further wondered how the Muslims of Noakhali and Tipperah were tolerating Gandhi's presence.[70]

Refugees

[edit]

Survivors fled Noakhali and Tippera in two distinct phases. The first batches of refugees arrived in Kolkata after the massacres and forced conversions. The refugee flow subsided when the Government announced relief measures and the relief organisations started working in Noakhali and Tippera. However, in March 1947, when the Congress agreed to the Partition of India, the relief camps were abandoned and a fresh refugee influx took place in Tripura, Assam and the region that was to become West Bengal. Around 50,000 Hindu refugees who were sheltered in temporary relief camps were subsequently relocated to Guwahati in Assam.[71]

Aftermath

[edit]

According to historian Rakesh Batabyal, the situation never returned to normal.[72] Sporadic incidents of violence continued and even the police were not spared. In one incident in early November, reported by Frederick Burrows to Frederick Pethick-Lawrence, a senior ICS officer and his police party were attacked three times while escorting Hindu survivors to a refugee camp. The police had to open fire; seven people were killed and ten wounded.[73] The Bengali periodical Desher Vani published in Noakhali quoted a relief worker in the Ramganj police station area who stated that even after four months people had not returned to their houses.[28]

Investigation and cover-up

[edit]

On 29 September 1946, the Government of Bengal passed an ordinance prohibiting the press from publishing information regarding any communal disturbances. Any statement, advertisement, notice, news or opinion piece was prohibited from mentioning: the name of the place where the incident occurred; the way in which the victims were killed or injured; the name of the community to which the victim or the perpetrator belonged; and the destruction or desecration of places of worship or shrines, if any. According to Ramesh Chandra Majumdar, the promulgation of the ordinance was the main reason that news of the incidents was not published in the press for a week.[74]

The Government of Bengal appointed Edward Skinner Simpson, a retired judge, to investigate the incidents in Noakhali. His report was covered up by the government. After arriving at Kolkata, on his way to Noakhali, Gandhi sought a copy of the report from Prime Minister Suhrawardy. The latter had initially agreed to provide him with a copy. However, the Governor and the secretaries strongly objected to such a proposition and Suhrawardy declined to hand over the report to Gandhi. A copy of the report was with Mathur, the secretary to Suhrawardy, who secretly provided a summary to The Statesman. The editor published a censored version on 13 November 1946. In the report, Simpson mentioned that for a proper investigation into the happenings in Noakhali, at least 50 senior officers would need to be engaged for a period of six months.[75]

Noakhali on the eve of Partition

[edit]

Although the massacres and mass conversions had stopped in October, persecution of the Hindu population continued in Noakhali, even during Gandhi's stay there. A week after Gandhi's departure from Noakhali, A. V. Thakkar wrote from Chandpur on 9 March before leaving for Mumbai that lawlessness was still persisting in Noakhali and Tipperah. Even five months after the riots in October, there was no sign of it stopping.[citation needed] On the contrary the withdrawal of some of the temporary police stations was encouraging the criminal elements.[76] On 19 March 1947, the Muslims held secret meetings in various places. They threatened the Hindus with mass slaughter.[77] Ghulam Sarwar convened a huge meeting at Sonapur under the Ramganj police station on 23 March. The day was to be celebrated as Pakistan Day, and the day's programme was a general strike. Thousands of Muslims would gather at the meeting, which had been announced in the village markets on 20 March by the beating of the drums. At the announcement of the meeting, the Hindus began to flee, fearing further oppression. The Choumohani railway station became packed with Hindu refugees.[78]

Relief workers from the Gandhi peace mission requested the District Superintendent of Police, the Additional District Magistrate and Abdul Gofran, a minister, not to allow the meeting to be held. The DSP, however, stated that the meeting would be held and the police would adopt adequate security measures. The relief workers reported the matter to Gandhi and Suhrawardy, and the latter wired a government order to the Noakhali SP on 22 March prohibiting meetings in public places, processions and slogans. However, meetings could be held in private places like madrasas and mosques.[79] Rehan Ali, the Officer-in-Charge of the Ramganj police station, said that the meeting would be held at the Amtali ground, which was a private place as it was adjacent to a mosque, and therefore the government order would not be violated.[79] The Muslim League leadership resolved to hold the meeting at any cost. Muslim League leaders Mohammad Ershad and Mujibur Rahman enlisted minister Abdul Gofran as one of the speakers at the meeting.[80] On 23 March 4,000 to 5,000 Muslims marched in a procession from Ramganj to Kazirkhil and then back to Ramganj, chanting slogans, and gathered for the meeting.[81] Addressing the gathering one of the speakers, Yunus Mian Pandit, criticised the Hindus for the practice of untouchability and lack of a purdah system and justified an economic boycott on them.[72]

On 13 May 1947, William Barret, the Divisional Commissioner of the Chittagong Division, submitted a top secret report to P. D. Martyn, the Additional Secretary to the Department of Home, Government of Bengal detailing the persecution of the Hindus.[76] He reported that groups of Muslims sometimes searched Hindus and took belongings which caught their fancy. In some cases the Hindus had their daily shopping snatched away. Coconuts and betel nuts were forcefully taken from Hindu homesteads. Cattle were stolen. Corrugated iron sheets and timber were taken. Paddy plants were uprooted from Hindu-owned land. Efforts were made to close down Hindu-owned cinemas. Demands were made that the Muslims should have 50% of the loom licenses although the vast majority of weavers were Hindus belonging to the Yogi caste. Efforts were made to rid the marketplaces of Hindu merchants and shopkeepers. Hindus who had rebuilt their homes were told to leave the district. Hindu complainants at the police station were threatened by Muslims and compelled to agree to their cases being compromised. Hindus were openly addressed as malauns and kafirs.[82] It was reported on 13 May that a Hindu woman of Dharmapur village had been rescued while being abducted by Muslims.[83] On 16 May abduction was unsuccessfully attempted on two Hindu women.[84]

Repercussions in Bihar and United Provinces

[edit]
Main article: 1946 Bihar riots

As a reaction to the Noakhali riots, riots rocked Bihar towards the end of 1946.[85] Severe violence broke out in Chhapra and Saran district between 25 and 28 October.[86] Patna, Munger and Bhagalpur also became the sites of serious turbulence. Begun as a reprisal for the Noakhali riot,[citation needed] this rioting was difficult for authorities to deal with because it was spread out over a large area of scattered villages, and the number of casualties was impossible to establish accurately: "According to a subsequent statement in the British Parliament, the death-toll amounted to 5,000. The Statesman's estimate was between 7,500 and 10,000; the Congress party admitted to 2,000; Mr. Jinnah [the head of the Muslim League] claimed about 30000."[87] However, by 3 November, the official estimate put the number of deaths at only 445.[40] Writing in 1950, Francis Tuker, who at the time of the violence was General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command, India, estimated the Muslim death toll to be between 7,000 and 8,000.[88]

Severe rioting also took place in Garhmukteshwar in United Provinces, where a massacre occurred in November 1946 in which "Hindu pilgrims, at the annual religious fair, set upon and exterminated Muslims, not only on the festival grounds but in the adjacent town" while the police did little or nothing; the deaths were estimated at between 1,000 and 2,000.[89]

See also

[edit]

Footnotes

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  1. ^ Kasemer Fauz literally means Kasem's army.
  2. ^ Shankha (Bengali: শাঁখা) is a bangle made of conch shell, traditionally worn by married Bengali Hindu women as a mark of their married life.

References

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  1. ^ Chandra, Dinesh (1984). Bengal 1946: The Great Calcutta Killings and Noakhali Genocide. Penguin. ISBN 9780143066134. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: checksum (help)
  2. ^ ROY, Sukumar (1947). Noakhalite Mahatma (নোয়াখালীতে মহাত্মা) (in Bengali). Calcutta: Orient Book Company. p. 14.
  3. ^ Hajari, Nisid (2015). Midnight's Furies : The Deadly Legacy of India's Partition. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 69.
  4. ^ Tucker, Francis (1950). While Memory Serves. London: Cassell and Company Ltd. p. 174.
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  6. ^ "Noakhali Riots: Background, Events, Aftermath and Relief Efforts". 23 February 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  7. ^ "The Bengal Conundrum: How Noakhali Riots Set Template for Anti-Hindu Violence in East Bengal". News18. 9 June 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
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  9. ^ নোয়াখালীতে গান্ধী: সাম্প্রদায়িক হত্যাযজ্ঞের রক্তাক্ত অধ্যায়. BBC Bangla (in Bengali). 2 October 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  10. ^ হিন্দু-মুসলিম দাঙ্গা থামাতেই নোয়াখালী আসেন মহাত্মা গান্ধী. Somoy News (in Bengali). 2 October 2019. Archived from the original on 8 October 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  11. ^ ROY, Sukumar (1947). Noakhalite Mahatma (নোয়াখালীতে মহাত্মা) (in Bengali). Calcutta: Orient Book Company. p. 11.
  12. ^ Sinha, Dinesh Chandra; Dasgupta, Ashok (2011). 1946: The Great Calcutta Killings and Noakhali Genocide. Kolkata: Himangshu Maity. pp. 278–280. ISBN 9788192246406.
  13. ^ Dev, Chitta Ranjan (2005). "Two days with Mohandas Gandhi". Ishani. 1 (4). Mahatma Gandhi Ishani Foundation. Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
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  15. ^ সাম্প্রদায়িক সম্প্রিতি এবং ভারতে হিন্দু মুসলিম দন্দ্বের ইতিহাস। Page 242
  16. ^ সাম্প্রদায়িক সম্প্রিতি এবং ভারতে হিন্দু মুসলিম দন্দ্বের ইতিহাস। Page 306-351
  17. ^ "দাঙ্গা বন্ধে নোয়াখালীতে ছাগল হারান মহাত্মা গান্ধী". banglanews24.com (in Bengali). 24 October 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
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  19. ^ Tuker, Francis (1950). While Memory Serves. London: Cassell. p. 170. OCLC 937426955. Reports received at Command H.Q. during the six weeks before the trouble started certainly indicated tension in the rural area, particularly Noakhali and Chittagong.
  20. ^ Mukherjee, Kali Prasanna (2003). দেশ বিভাজনের অন্তরালে [Behind The Partition Of The Country] (in Bengali). Kolkata: Vivekananda Sahitya Kendra. p. 36.
  21. ^ Mukherjee, Kali Prasanna (2003). দেশ বিভাজনের অন্তরালে [Behind The Partition Of The Country] (in Bengali). Kolkata: Vivekananda Sahitya Kendra. p. 35.
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  27. ^ Batabyal, Rakesh (2005). Communalism in Bengal: From Famine to Noakhali, 1943–47. New Delhi: Sage Publications. p. 280. ISBN 0-7619-3335-2. From 2 October, there were frequent instances of stray killings, snatching of goods, and lootings throughout the district.
  28. ^ a b Mansergh, Nicholas; Moon, Penderel (1980). The Transfer of Power 1942-7. Vol. IX. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-11-580084-9. cited in Batabyal 2005, p. 277.
  29. ^ Batabyal, Rakesh (2005). Communalism in Bengal: From Famine to Noakhali, 1943–47. Sage Publishers. p. 277. ISBN 0-7619-3335-2. This included an attack on the 'Kutchery bari of Babu Suerndra Nath Bose and Rai Saheb Rajendra Lal Ray Choudhury of Karpara' ... the erstwhile president of the Noakhali Bar and a prominent Hindu Mahasabha leader in the district.
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  42. ^ Mansergh, Nicholas; Moon, Penderel (1980). The Transfer of Power 1942-7. Vol. IX. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-11-580084-9. cited in Batabyal 2005, p. 273.
  43. ^ a b Batabyal, Rakesh (2005). Communalism in Bengal: From Famine to Noakhali, 1943–47. New Delhi: Sage Publications. p. 282. ISBN 0-7619-3335-2. H. S. Suhrawardy... while answering the question of Dhirendranath Datta on the floor of the Bengal Legislative Assembly, gave a figure of 9,895 cases of forcible conversion in Tipperah, while that for Noakhali was not known, 'but (which) ran into thousands.'
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  71. ^ Ghosh, Partha S. (2013). Refugees and Migrants in South Asia: Nature and implications (PDF). Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. ISBN 978-81-87614-70-8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2014. Retrieved 17 September 2013.
  72. ^ a b Batabyal, Rakesh (2005). Communalism in Bengal: From Famine to Noakhali, 1943–47. New Delhi: Sage Publications. p. 276. ISBN 0-7619-3335-2. The situation never returned to normal ... The entire area was ablaze with tension throughout the next few months ... [In] 1947, Yunus Mia Pandit while presiding over the meeting in Khilparato to celebrate Pakistan Day on 23 March, criticized untouchability and absence of Purdah system among the Hindus and justified their boycott by the Muslims.
  73. ^ Mansergh, Nicholas; Moon, Penderel (1980). The Transfer of Power 1942-7. Vol. IX. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. pp. 98–99. ISBN 978-0-11-580084-9. cited in Batabyal 2005, p. 275.
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  78. ^ Maksud, Syed Abul, ed. (2011). নোয়াখালী গান্ধী মিশন ডায়েরি [Noakhali Gandhi Mission Diary] (in Bengali). Kolkata: Katha. p. 52. ISBN 9789380476070.
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  88. ^ Tuker, Francis (1950). While Memory Serves. London: Cassell. p. 182. OCLC 937426955. The number of Muslim dead ... was about seven thousand to eight thousand. The Muslim League tried to put the figure at between twenty and thirty thousand. Our reports show this to be a considerable exaggeration but, equally on the other side, was it false to assess the casualties at some two to three thousand dead or even less.
  89. ^ Ian Stephens, Pakistan (New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1963), p. 113.
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