Thread by @Starboy2079

Direct Action Day (Thread)
Part 1 : Butcher of Bengal

This thread is based on communal riots happened in Calcutta from 16th Aug 1946 to 21st Aug 1946 which led to partition of India

Part 1 will cover events of 16th - 18th August 1946
Part 2 will cover 19th Aug - 21st Aug

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Muslim League (ML) n Congress were two main political parties in Constituent Assembly of India in 1940s

ML had demanded, since its 1940 Lahore Resolution, that Muslim-majority areas of India in the northwest and the east, should be constituted as 'independent states"

The 1946 Cabinet Mission to India for planning of the transfer of power from the British Raj to the Indian leadership proposed a three-tier structure:

- Centre
- Groups of provinces
- Provinces

The "groups of provinces" were meant to accommodate the Muslim League demand.

Both the Muslim League and Congress in principle accepted the Cabinet Mission's plan.

That means there will be special states in India that will be handled by Muslims only n Central govt will take care external functions of country

Till then there was no plan of Partition

10 July 1946, Bombay

Nehru held a press conference n declared that although Congress had agreed to participate in the Constituent Assembly

But it reserved the right to modify Cabinet Mission Plan in future

It made Jinnah furious n now he started to demand partition of India

A separate country for Muslims

Gandhi rejected proposal of Partition

Next day, Jinnah announced 16 Aug 1946 would be "Direct Action Day"

Jinnah - We dont want war. If you want war we accept your offer unhesitatingly.

We will either have a divided India or a destroyed India

And here Gandhi under estimated Jinnah n overestimated his secularism n Hindu Mus1im Unity

He was in misunderstanding that Mslm will never kill Hindus for separate country

In That time there was united Bengal that consist of current West Bengal n current Bangladesh

Calcutta was capital and Huseyn Suhrawardy (Butcher of Bengal) was CM of Bengal n Loyal of Jinnah

Bengal was Muslim-majority province with only 42% Hindus, but Calcutta had 64% Hindus

Bengal was the only province in British India where a Muslim League government was in power

16th Aug 1946 (Direct Action Day)
Calcutta
18th day of Ramzan month

Suhrawardy declared strike on that day.
All Muslims closed their shop.
The meeting began around 2 pm though processions of Muslims from all parts of Calcutta had started assembling since the midday namaj

Congress opposed strike and asked Hindus to open their shops and go on work

Muslim goons were called from all over India

3 ML members were sent to every mosque with a pre written speech to incite people for ki11ings of Hindus

Suhrawardy removed Police for whole day

Muslim Leauge published a notice to all Mslms that said the Direct Action Day was an allegory of Prophet Muhammad's conflict with heathenism and subsequent conquest of Mecca and establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven in Arabia

16th Aug 1946 was 18th day of Ramzan

Large number of the participants were reported to have been armed with iron bars and lathis

After the afternoon namaj, Mob of around 1 lac Mslms attacked Hindus n started to butcher them.

Mob were shouting
“le kar rahenge Pakistan”
“nara a takbeer, allah hu akbar”

Direct Action Day Begins

Armed with weapon, They attacked on Hindi majority area n killed them

A mob attacked on Victoria college

All Hindu girls were raped in classroom, then killed n hung naked on windows

Their naked bodies were hung from hooks at Raja Bazar beef shops

17th August

Second day was even more brutal

A huge armed Mslm mob attacked Kesoram Cotton Mills in the Lichubagan area of Metiabruz. The mill workers used to stay in the mill compound itself. Most of them were Odiya Hindu

Mslm Mob burnt alive 10000 Hindus there

18th August

Massacre of Hindu kept continue on 18th Aug also.

Muslim mob kept coming in groups in Hindu colonies. First they were killing males then they raped Hindu women and then burnt whole colony

By evening of 18th Aug
Dear bodies were scattered on the streets of Calcutta

By evening of 18th Aug, Hindu had accepted their defeat and fleeing from Calcutta

Though Hindu were in majority but most of them were educated and living in gimmick of secularism and non violence

But then one Bengali lionhearted decided to retaliate

His name was Gopal Mukharjee and people used to call him Gopal Patha

He was follower of Netaji Bose and bhakt of Kali

On 18th Aug night, he arranged a meeting

What happened on 19th, 20th and 21th Aug that by 22nd Suhrawardy accepted his defeat ?

Tomorrow in 2nd part

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