indomitable history

8/13/2019 Indomitable History

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University of Dhaka

Department of Marketing

An Assignment on History of Bangladesh


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Topic:Partition of Bengal

Submitted to:Dr. Abul Kalam Azad

Assistant Professor


Uniersit! of D"aka

Submitted b!:#ndomitable $e%agonal

Date of submission:&t" 'oember( )*+*

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7thNovember, 200

Dr! Ab"l #alam A$adAssistant professor


University of Dhaka

Dear %ir,

%"b&e't( %"bmission of a report!

)ith d"e regards *e state that *e are very thankf"l to yo" as yo" assigned

"s this report on History of Bangladesh! +t is a great opport"nity for "s to

a'"ire theoreti'al kno*ledge the history of Bangladesh! )e have tried o"tbest to gather *hat *e believe to be the most 'omplete information

available! -o"r kind a''eptan'e and any type of appre'iation *o"ld s"rely

inspire "s! )e *o"ld al*ays be available and ready to e.plain f"rther any of

the 'onte.t of the *henever asked!

%in'erely yo"rs,

+ndomitable He.agonal

/


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ro"p profile(

ro"p name( +ndomitable He.agonal

ro"p members(

Name roll!1ahid"l +slam 0

2!Md!solaiman 23

/!Hasan Mahm"d 32

3!Md!Asad"$$aman 42

5!Ab" %aleh 70

4!Md! M"rshed"l Alam 72

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Partition of Bengal

One of the mast memorable events of the history of India isthe partition of Bengal. The decision on the Partition ofBengalwas announced on 19 July 1905by then Viceroy ofIndia, Lord Curon. The partition too! effect on 16 October1905. "ue to the high level of political unrest generated bythe partition, the eastern and western parts of Bengal werereunited because of #indu pressure in $%$$

Origin

The province of Bengal had an area of 489,500 km2.and apopulation of over 80 million. &astern Bengal was almostisolated from the western part by geography and poorcommunications. In $'(), the upper provinces were placedunder a lieutenant governor, and in $'*+ the overnor-eneral-In-Council was relieved of the direct administrationof Bengal. In $'+ /ssam, including 0ylhet, was severedfrom Bengal to form a Chief-Commissionership, and theLushai #ills were added to it in $'%'. It was hard to manage

a province as large as Bengal with this large population .

Partition

1artitioning Bengal was first considered in $%2(. There werealso additional proposals to separate Chittagong and thedistricts of "ha!a and 3ymensingh from Bengal andattaching them to the province of /ssam. In a similar way,Chhota 4agpur was to be incorporated with the central

provinces.

The government officially published the idea in 5anuary$%2+, and in 6ebruary, Lord Curon made an official tour toeastern districts of Bengal to assess public opinion on thepartition. #e consulted with leading personalities anddelivered speeches at "ha!a, Chittagong and 3ymensingh

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e7plaining the government8s stand on partition. The idea wasopposed by #enry 5ohn 0tedman Cotton, Chief Commissionerof /ssam $'%)-$%29.

ffecti!ene"" of Partition

The 1artition of Bengal in $%2* was made on October $) bythen Viceroy of India, Lord Curon. 1artition was promotedfor administrative regions: Bengal was as large as 6rance butwith a significantly larger population. The eastern region wasthought to be neglected and under-governed. By splittingthe province, an improved administration could be

established in the east where, subse;uently, the populationwould benefit from new schools and employmentopportunities. #owever, other motives lur!ed behind thepartition plan. Bengali #indus were in the forefront ofpolitical agitation for greater participation in governance:their position would be wea!ened, since 3uslims would nowdominate in the &ast. #indus tended to oppose partition,which was more popular among 3uslims.

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#au"e" of t$e Partition

There are many causes behind the partition of Bengal. Thecauses can be categoried by three sectors are

Political #au"e"< British ruling power is the main influencer of

partition.

They urged for partition for their long range

e7istence in India.

/t the spread of =estern education political

consciousness developed.

There grew nationalistic movement among

mass people.

Calcutta was the centre of all revolution.

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0o another capital was set up in "ha!a for

stopping Calcutta based movement.

%ocial #au"e"< The /ligarh movement awa!ened the 3uslims

with regard of their self interest.

Learning &nglish revive the 3uslim.

There was disparity between #indu and 3uslim

in every sphere.

0o British govt. supported partition for

safeguard 3uslim interest in &ast Bengal.

conomic #au"e"ute mills were established around Calcutta

but raw materials from &ast Bengal.

&ast Bengal was deprived in the field of

education, service, trade and commerce.

1eople of &ast Bengal were sub>ected to the

e7ploitation of the ?amindars, lawyers andbureaucrats of Calcutta.

0o Lord Curon divided the province into two parts.

&e"ult" of t$e Partition


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The results of partition are followed by-

"ha!a was made the capital and centre of

administration of new province.

0chools, colleges and university were grown up in"ha!a and in other places of the province.

Beautiful buildings including #igh

Court,0ecretariat,Curon #all were set up.

@emar!able progress was made in socio-political,

economic and cultural fields.

3uslim society started changing radically.

These are the results of partition.

'o!ement for (nnulment

This created a huge political crisis. The 3uslims in &astBengal had the impression that a separate region would givethem more opportunity for education, employment etc.#owever, the partition was not li!ed by the people in =est

Bengal and a huge amount of nationalist literature wascreated there during this period. Opposition by Indian4ational Congress was led by 0ir #enry 5ohn 0tedman Cottonwho had been Chief Commissioner of /ssam, but Curon wasnot to be moved. Later, Cotton, now Liberal 31 for4ottingham &ast coordinated the successful campaign tooust the first lieutenant-governor of &ast Bengal, 0irBampfylde 6uller. In $%2), @abindranath Tagore wroteAmarShonar Banglaas a rallying cry for proponents of annulment

of 1artition, which, much later, in $%9, became the nationalanthem of Bangladesh.

(nnulment of Partition of Bengal

"ue to these political protests, the two parts of Bengal werereunited in $%$$. / new partition which divided the province

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on linguistic, rather than religious, grounds followed, withthe #indi, Oriya and /ssamese areas separated to formseparate administrative units. The administrative capital ofBritish India was moved from Calcutta to 4ew "elhi as well.

#owever, conflict between 3uslims and #indus resulted innew laws having to be introduced so as to satisfy thepolitical needs of both groups.

)$aka *a+ab family

To e7press 3uslims sentiments government of &ast Bengaland /ssam placed their hopes in an individual who wasthe nominal leader of Bangladesh. #e was 4awab0alimullah, who was by virtue of inherited title, wealth,family status popular among the 3uslims. #e was the

descendant of Ahwa>a /bdul #a!im who fled to Bengalwhen 4adir 0hah sac!ed "elhiin$(%.Though hisancestors traded in hides and gold, further they invest inlands.

4awab 0alimullah had become head of the family iin $%2$with the death of his father /hsanullah. /fter his fathersdeath the family estate had been devided between/hsanullahs eight children and the widow. /n&nglishman managed their estate until $%2+. Then

0alimullah beame the head. But his family memberswere unhappy with him agreed to have another englishmanager #odding.

=hen colonel #odding too! the control in may $%2*, hefound the treasury was empty and the estate hadmodest debt of @s. (22222. the governments annual

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assesment of the estate on the account of land reveneuand cesses was @s. $$*%)+$. the personal debt of0alimullah was more serious than the estates debt. #ehad accumulated an e7tra ordinary debt of @s $)9*222.

.

%alim"llah

ahsanullah

But to save 0alimullah the government arranged for thenawab toborrow the money at ( and (.* per annumthrough the court of wards.


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/ctually &nglishs support towards 0alimullah was thoughtto gain support from 3uslims in favour of of thepartition.

Contributions of Mussalman in the Indian National Congress

)hen the +ndian National ongress *as formed the M"slims too responded

enth"siasti'ally! 8his has never been emphasi$ed by o"r historians! +f at all

they fo'"s on %ir %yed9s attit"de to*ards ongress and his advi'e to

M"slims not to &oin it! B"t this *as a minority opinion of a se'tion of

M"slim elite *ho had intensely s"ffered d"ring the 57 *ar of

independen'e and *anted to make "p *ith the British r"lers! 8here *eres"'h elements among Hind"s too, espe'ially 1amindars, :a&as and

Mahara&as!

Moreover %ir %yed9s attit"de to*ards ongress *as not of hostility b"t of

'a"tion as he *anted M"slims to 'on'entrate on modern ed"'ation and

so'ial 'hange! %ir %yed9s role *as m"'h more 'omple. than has been

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pro&e'ted, espe'ially by ma&ority 'omm"nal elements! Another important

thing to note is that %ir %yed had *orked tireless for Hind";M"slim "nity

and had des'ribed Hind"s and M"slims t*o eyes of bride of +ndia!

+t sho"ld also be noted that %ir %yed *as not a mass leader! He *as trying to

infl"en'e the North +ndian M"slim elite as the leader of so'ial and

ed"'ational 'hange! Also, the M"slim elite too *ere not "nited behind %ir

%yed! a$al

#ahirabadi @tho"gh there is some 'onf"sion *ith person of similar name,

*hi'h had no parallel of his in North +ndia then!


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'onspira'y in *hi'h Hind"s and M"slims had hat'hed to defeat Britishers

thro"gh passing on messages to others in +ndia for "prising! Besides

Ma"lana Mahm"d"l Hasan several other Ulama and ordinary M"slims took

part in this C'onspira'y9!

Another great intelle't"al and poet *ho made great sa'rifi'es for 'omplete

freedom of +ndia *as Ma"lana Hasrat Mohani, an eminent Urd" poet and

great revol"tionary! Ma"lana *as great admirer of Bal angadhar 8ilak *ho

gave slogan that Cfreedom is my birth right9! He *as "sed to address him as

8ilak Mahara&! 8ho"gh a Ma"lana, he *as also one of the fo"nders of the

omm"nist party of +ndia in 625!

Ma"lana *as repeatedly &ailed *as often given harsh p"nishments like

grinding one ma"nd @30 kilo of ra* grains in the month of May! B"t the

Ma"lana never gave in! His attit"de to*ards 'omplete freedom of +ndia *asnon;negotiable! ?ven andhi&i, in the long term interest *anted to a''ept

Home :"le for a transit period! )hen this resol"tion for Home :"le *as

moved in the Ahmedabad in 622, Ma"lana had to be kept a*ay for

arranging a m"shaira @poeti' gathering so that he does not oppose the

resol"tion for Home :"le! %"'h *as Ma"lana9s 'ommitment to 'omplete

freedom!

8he #hilafat movement also has been grossly mis"nderstood! +n fa't it *as

very intelligent move on the part of Mahatma andhi to dra* M"slim

masses in the freedom movement! Unfort"nately the elite look at it fromtheir o*n perspe'tive! B"t the fa't is that d"e to this movement millions of

M"slims took part in freedom str"ggle! +t is another thing that the #hilafat

movement 'ollapsed d"e to #amal Ata 8"rk9s revol"tion overthro*ing the

Uthmani khilafat!

Ali Brothers i!e! Ma"lana Mohammad Ali and %ha"kat Ali *ere prod"'t of

this #hilafat movement! Both of them played very 'r"'ial part in reali$ing

freedom of +ndia! 8heir mother *as e"ally 'ommitted to freedom

movement! )hen their mother heard the r"mo"r that her sons M"hammad

and %ha"kat Ali are thinking of tendering apology to 'ome o"t of &ail @it *as

only a r"mor she, a lady observing p"rdah @veil 'ame on the p"bli' stage

and said if they ever do that mean "nka doodh m"9af nahin kar"ngi i!e! +

*ill never pardon them till + die! Ma"lana M"hammad Ali had developed

sharp differen'es *ith andhi&i to*ards end of his life b"t *hile dying he

said b"rry me in =er"salem as + do not *ant to die in slave +ndia!

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D"ring #hilafat movement some M"slims de'lared +ndia to be Dar"l Harb

@abode of *ar "nder the British and began migrating to Afghanistan to form

an interim government to fight British for freedom!


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8oday an average Hind" thinks that M"slims divided o"r 'o"ntry and looks

"pon them *ith s"spi'ion! 8he ongress has made no efforts to 'orre't this

sit"ation! + "rge "pon their leaders to properly pro&e't M"slim minority9s

'ontrib"tion at least in this 25th year of fo"ndation of +ndian National

ongress! +t *o"ld greatly serve the 'a"se of national "nity and integration!

M"slims and 8heir ontrib"tion to the >ormation of ongress

Formation of Muslim League

The Muslim League

8he fo"ndation of +ndian National ongress in 5 *as an attempt to

narro* the Hind";M"slim divide and pla'e the gen"ine grievan'es of all the

'omm"nities in the 'o"ntry before the British! B"t %ir %ayed and other

M"slim leaders like Ameer Ali pro&e'ted the ongress as a representative

body of Hind"s and th"s, th*arted the first gen"ine attempt in the 'o"ntry

for Hind";M"slim "nity! oor parti'ipation of M"slims in ongress proves

it! E


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s'ript and Hindi as an offi'ial lang"age of United rovin'e no* Uttar

radesh in pla'e of ersian in 600 by Gie"tenant overnor A! Ma'donnel

*as another signifi'ant development to stir the M"slims on 'omm"nal line!

No s"'h aggressive resistan'e *as made *hen the British repla'ed ersian

*ith ?nglish in late thirties of nineteenth 'ent"ry! %ir %ayed Ahmed died in

6 b"t his follo*ers in defense of Urd" lang"age la"n'hed agitation

against the de'ision of the representative of British po*er in United

rovin'e!


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some M"slim leaders *ithin ongress like Ali +mam, Hasan +mam,

Ma$har"l Ha"e @All Barristers from Bihar and Hami Ali #han @Barrister

from G"'kno* *ere in'l"ded in the 'ommittee! Mohsin;"l;M"lk and

iar;"l;M"lk *ere &ointly made the se'rearies! After the death of Mohsin;

"l;M"lk in 607, iar;"l;M"lk *as in f"ll 'ontrol of the Geag"e! >irst

session of the Geag"e *as held at #aran'hi on De'ember 26 I /0, 607

*ith Adam&ee eerbhoy as its resident!

Mohammad Ali =innah, a prominent leader of the ongress did not &oin the

A+MG till 6/ tho"gh, he s"pported the Geag"e movement for separate

ele'torate for M"slims! He even s"''essf"lly 'ontested against the Geag"e

'andidate for the ele'tion of i'eroyFs Gegislative o"n'il! )ithin the

ongress he ho*ever al*ays tried to bargain for one;third reservation for his

'omm"nity!

Formation of All India Muslim League:

8he formation of A+MG *as a ma&or landmark in the history of modern

+ndia! 8he first formal entry of a 'entrally organi$ed politi'al party

e.'l"sively for M"slims had the follo*ing ob&e'tives(

8o promote among the M"slims of +ndia, feelings of loyalty to the

British overnment, and remove any mis'on'eption that may arise as

to the instr"'tion of overnment *ith regard to any of its meas"res!

8o prote't and advan'e the politi'al rights and interests of M"slims of

+ndia, and to respe'tf"lly represent their needs and aspirations to the

overnment! 8o prevent the rise among the M"slims of +ndia of any feeling of

hostility to*ards other 'omm"nities *itho"t pre&"di'e to the afore;

mentioned ob&e'ts of the Geag"e!

+nitially A+MG remained a po'ket organi$ation of "rbani$ed M"slims!

Ho*ever, the s"pport of the British overnment to the politi'al +slamists in


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&"dged by *hat fe* of its people do! ?ven priorities and programme differ

from people to people!

+t sho"ld s"rprise many that most enth"siasti' s"pport for the +ndian

National ongress from amongst M"slims 'ame from the a$al

#ahirabadi @tho"gh there is some 'onf"sion *ith person of similar name,

*hi'h had no parallel of his in North +ndia then!


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non;negotiable! ?ven andhi&i, in the long term interest *anted to a''ept

Home :"le for a transit period! )hen this resol"tion for Home :"le *as

moved in the Ahmedabad in 622, Ma"lana had to be kept a*ay for

arranging a m"shaira @poeti' gathering so that he does not oppose the

resol"tion for Home :"le! %"'h *as Ma"lana9s 'ommitment to 'omplete

freedom!

8he #hilafat movement also has been grossly mis"nderstood! +n fa't it *as

very intelligent move on the part of Mahatma andhi to dra* M"slim

masses in the freedom movement! Unfort"nately the elite look at it from

their o*n perspe'tive! B"t the fa't is that d"e to this movement millions of

M"slims took part in freedom str"ggle! +t is another thing that the #hilafat

movement 'ollapsed d"e to #amal Ata 8"rk9s revol"tion overthro*ing the

Uthmani khilafat!

Ali Brothers i!e! Ma"lana Mohammad Ali and %ha"kat Ali *ere prod"'t of

this #hilafat movement! Both of them played very 'r"'ial part in reali$ing

freedom of +ndia! 8heir mother *as e"ally 'ommitted to freedom

movement! )hen their mother heard the r"mo"r that her sons M"hammad

and %ha"kat Ali are thinking of tendering apology to 'ome o"t of &ail @it *as

only a r"mor she, a lady observing p"rdah @veil 'ame on the p"bli' stage

and said if they ever do that mean "nka doodh m"9af nahin kar"ngi i!e! +

*ill never pardon them till + die! Ma"lana M"hammad Ali had developed

sharp differen'es *ith andhi&i to*ards end of his life b"t *hile dying he

said b"rry me in =er"salem as + do not *ant to die in slave +ndia!

D"ring #hilafat movement some M"slims de'lared +ndia to be Dar"l Harb

@abode of *ar "nder the British and began migrating to Afghanistan to form

an interim government to fight British for freedom!


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=innah too and proved from "r9an and hadith that t*o nation theories have

no +slami' san'tion! 8his book has re'ently been translated into ?nglish also

by =ami9at al;Ulama;e;Hind and many more people 'an benefit from it!

Ma"lana H"sain Ahmed *as ab"sed and greeted *ith garlands of shoes by

M"slim leag"e a'tivists!

And of 'o"rse *ho 'an forget the yeoman servi'es of Ma"lana A$ad and

%arhadi andhi #han Abd"l haffar #han to the 'a"se of freedom of +ndia!

Both remained 'ommitted to +ndia9s freedom till they breathed their last!

#han Abd"l haffar #han *as the only leader *ho never re'on'iled *ith

the partition of the 'o"ntry and 'onsistently opposed it in the ) even

*hen leaders like Nehr" and %ardar atel a''epted it as fait a''ompli!

Ma"lana A$ad9s statement *hy he is against partition is one of the finest one

+ have 'ome a'ross!

8hese M"slim leaders deserved better attention in o"r freedom movement9s

history! B"t thanks to 'omm"nal attit"de of many of o"r a'ademi'ians,

historians, te.t book *riters and above all politi'ians these ri'h 'ontrib"tions

to the 'a"se of freedom movement by M"slim minority has been forgotten

or very '"rsorily mentioned in the te.t books! )hen + visited andhi

M"se"m in Mad"rai *hi'h is 'onsidered the best @or one of the best #han

Abd"l haffar #han *as represented by only one photograph! +t *as so sad

and + pointed o"t to the dire'tor of the M"se"m the serio"s fla*! He

promised me to re'tify it!

8oday an average Hind" thinks that M"slims divided o"r 'o"ntry and looks

"pon them *ith s"spi'ion! 8he ongress has made no efforts to 'orre't this

sit"ation! + "rge "pon their leaders to properly pro&e't M"slim minority9s

'ontrib"tion at least in this 25th year of fo"ndation of +ndian National

ongress! +t *o"ld greatly serve the 'a"se of national "nity and integration!

M"slims and 8heir ontrib"tion to the >ormation of ongress!

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Tippera peoples Association :

8he lo'al pro;'ongress organi$ation *as the 8ippera people9s asso'iation !

+ts have five bran'hes J

!have been a'tive in the boy'ott movement

2!have been setting "p defen'e asso'iation in the villages

/!to prote't people from poli'e oppression

3!a 8ippera distri't 'onferen'e *as held *ith o"t serio"s in'ident at omilla

5!are a'tively resenting the oppression of the boy'otters and had been

holding meetings

iolen'e in omilla(

8he first violen'e *as in omilla in 607,in order to prote't the boy'ott

movement and the distri't 'onferen'e ! 8he pro;partition M"slims de'ided to

organi$e a bran'h of the All +ndia M"slimsl leag"e at omilla!

Na*ab Ali ho*dh"ry arrived in omilla from Dhaka for this p"rpose! 8heNa*ab of Dhaka met abo"t 400 M"slims at the rail station !they es'orted in

pro'ession in the main ba$aar !the pro'ession in'l"ded /0;30 m"slims

vol"nteers *earing askans and pa&amas! And sho"t in marhaba and Allah;ho

KAkber !

A hind" thre* a bri'k at the Na*ab angry members in the pro'ession

for'ibly entered the 'loth shop of =ogiram pal ! A gang of m"slims ret"rned

to the Ba$ar to avenge the bri'k and broke into some more shops

Hind"s in omilla *ere alarmed by the M"slims atta'ks in the ba$aar andby the fail"re of the olil'e and the distri't ma&istrate to respond effe'tively!

Conclusion:

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Definitely partition of Bengal is one of *orth mentioning 'hapter! +t *as

nothing b"t a step to*ards the independen'e of Bangladesh! Apparently the

M"sllims *ere benefited !b"t the Hind"s really opposed it m"'h! As a res"lt

of it partition of Bengal *as dismissed

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