Direct Action Day

• 1. The Failure Of The Cabinet Mission

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  On the 10th of July 1946, Jawaharlal Nehru held a press conference in Bombay that shattered the hopes for a united India. He declared that the Congress party reserved the right to modify the Cabinet Mission Plan as it saw fit. This statement effectively rejected the idea that provinces would be obliged to join a group within the proposed three-tier structure. Muhammad Ali Jinnah interpreted this speech as another instance of treachery by the Congress leadership. In response, the Muslim League rescinded its previous approval of the plan on the 29th of July. Jinnah then announced that the League was preparing to launch a struggle and had chalked out a plan. He warned that if Muslims were not granted a separate Pakistan, they would launch direct action. On the next day, he set the date for Direct Action Day as the 16th of August 1946.

• 2. The Calcutta Riots Begin

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  Troubles started on the morning of the 16th of August 1946 before 10 o'clock when Police Headquarters at Lalbazar reported excitement throughout the city. Shops were being forced to close while reports of brawls, stabbing, and throwing of stones filled the air. These incidents concentrated in North-central parts like Rajabazar, Kelabagan, College Street, Harrison Road, Colootola, and Burrabazar. A large number of participants arrived armed with iron bars and lathis or bamboo sticks. Estimates of attendance varied wildly from 30,000 according to a Central Intelligence Officer's reporter to 500,000 according to a Special Branch Inspector. The main speakers included Khawaja Nazimuddin and Chief Minister Suhrawardy. Nazimuddin preached peacefulness but flared tensions by stating all injured persons up to 11 o'clock were Muslim. Suhrawardy appeared to indirectly promise that no action would be taken against armed Muslims. Many listeners began attacking Hindus and looting Hindu-owned shops immediately after leaving the meeting.

• 3. Massacre In The Slums

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  Syed Abdullah Farooqui led a radical mob to kill Hindu mill workers in the compound of Kesoram Cotton Mills in the Lichubagan area of Metiabruz. The death toll of labourers residing in the mills was reported to be between 7,000 and 10,000. Some suggest most victims were Muslims while other authors claim Hindu casualties surpassed the former. On the 25th of August four survivors lodged a complaint at the Metiabruz police station against Farooqui. Bishwanath Das visited Lichubagan to investigate into the killings of the mill labourers. The worst of the killing took place during the day on the 17th of August when soldiers brought the worst areas under control. By late afternoon military forces expanded their hold overnight while lawlessness escalated hourly in slums outside military control. Lorries carrying hardline gangsters with brickbats and bottles attacked Hindu-owned shops down Harrison Road.

• 4. Demographic Shifts And Migration

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  Calcutta had 2,952,142 Hindus and 1,099,562 Muslims in 1946 before the riots caused massive population changes. After independence the Muslim population came down to 601,817 due to the migration of 500,000 Muslims from Calcutta to East Pakistan. The 1951 Census recorded that 27% of Calcutta's population was East Bengali refugees mainly Hindu Bengalis. Millions of Bengali Hindus from East Pakistan took refuge mainly in the city. Around 320,000 Hindus from East Pakistan migrated to Calcutta alone between 1946 and 1950. In the first census after partition the number of Hindus increased while the number of Muslims decreased. The Hindu percentage rose from 73% in 1941 to 84% in 1951 while the Muslim percentage declined from 23% to 12%. During the riots thousands began fleeing Calcutta as the Howrah Bridge over the Hooghly River became crowded with evacuees.

• 5. Regional Pogroms Erupt

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  The Direct Action Day riots sparked off several riots between Muslims and Hindus or Sikhs in Noakhali, Bihar, and Punjab later that year. An important sequel occurred in October 1946 when a massacre in Noakhali and Tipperah districts erupted following news of the Great Calcutta Riot. Rioting in these districts began on the 10th of October under Ramganj police station where violence unleashed described as organized fury of the Muslim mob. Official estimates put the number of dead between 200 and 300 while the neutral death toll figure is around 5,000. A devastating riot rocked Bihar towards the end of 1946 between the 30th of October and the 7th of November. Severe violence broke out in Chhapra and Saran district between the 25th and the 28th of October before Patna, Munger, and Bhagalpur quickly became sites of serious violence. The Statesman estimated deaths between 7,500 and 10,000 while Jinnah claimed about 30,000.

• 6. Controversies Over Responsibility

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  There is still extensive controversy regarding the respective responsibilities of the two main communities in addition to individual leaders' roles. The dominant British view tends to blame both communities equally and singles out calculations of leaders and savagery of followers. In the Indian National Congress version of events the blame tends to be laid squarely on the Muslim League and Chief Minister Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy. Critics blamed Suhrawardy for being partisan and Sir Frederick John Burrows for not taking control of the situation. Prominent Muslim League leaders spent time in police control rooms directing operations while Suhrawardy obstructed police duties. It was also reported that Suhrawardy sacked Hindu policemen on the 16th of August. Supporters of the Muslim League claimed the Congress Party was behind the violence to weaken the fragile government. Historian Joya Chatterji allocates much responsibility to Suhrawardy but points out that Hindu leaders were also culpable.