The then, British Prime Minister Clement Attlee sent a three-member Cabinet Mission to India to discuss the transfer of power from the British Raj to the Indian leadership. They held talks with the representatives of the Indian National Congress and the All India Muslim League, the two largest political parties in the constituent assembly of India. On 16th May 1946, the Mission proposed initial plans of the composition of the authority of India and its Government. On 16th June 1946, under pressure from the Muslim League headed by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the Mission proposed an alternative plan to arrange for India to be divided into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. The Princely state of India was permitted to join either dominion or attain independence. Muhammad Ali Jinnah had accepted the Cabinet Mission proposal of 16th June. But Congress rejected it.
On 10th July 1946, Jawaharlal Nehru held a press conference in Bombay declaring that Congress had agreed only to participate in the Constituent Assembly and regarded itself free to change or modify the Cabinet Mission Plan as it thought best. Fearing Hindu domination in the Constituent Assembly, Jinnah denounced the British Cabinet Mission and decided to boycott the Constituent Assembly to try to put pressure on Congress and the British, by resorting to “Direct Action”.
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In July 1946, Jinnah held a press conference at his home in Bombay where he declared his intention to create Pakistan. He had decided to boycott the Constituent Assembly. He rejected the British plan for the transfer of power to an interim government that would combine both the Muslim League and the Indian National Congress. He said that if the Muslims were not granted Pakistan then he would launch “Direct Action”. On the next day, Jinnah announced 16th August 1946 would be “Direct Action Day” for the purpose of winning the separate Muslim state. Muslim League Council Meeting held during the period 27–29 July 1946 passed a resolution declaring the Direct Action Day was intended to unfold “direct action for the achievement of Pakistan”.
Following Jinnah’s declaration of 16th August as the Direct Action Day the then Chief Secretary of Bengal, the Muslim League Chief Minister of Bengal, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy requested Governor of Bengal Sir Frederick Burrows to declare a public holiday on that day. Governor Burrows agreed. As a counter-blast to Muslim League, Mr. Prafulla Chandra Ghosh, leader of the Congress Party in the Bengal Legislative Assembly, addressing a meeting at Ballyguange on the 14th August, urged the Hindus to keep their shops open and to continue their business as usual and not to submit to the hartal.
16th August, 1946
Troubles started on the morning of this day. Even before 10 o’clock Police Headquarters at Lalbazar had reported that there was excitement throughout the city, that shops were being forced to close and that there were many reports of brawls, stabbing, and throwing of stones and brickbats. The League’s rally began at Ochterlony Monument at 12 o’clock exactly. The gathering was considered the largest ever Muslim assembly in Bengal at that time. The meeting began around 2 pm though processions of Muslims from all parts of Calcutta had started assembling since the midday prayers. A large number of the participants were reported to have been armed with iron bars and lathis. The main speakers were Khawaja Nazimuddin and Chief Minister Suhrawardy. Nazimuddin in his speech preached peacefulness and restraint but rather spoilt the effect by asserting that till 11 o’clock that morning all the injured persons were Muslims and the Muslim community had only retaliated in self-defense.
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Further Riots
The Direct Action Day has sparked off several riots between Muslims and Hindus/Sikhs in Noakhali, Bihar and Punjab in that year. An important incident following Direct Action Day was the Noakhali and Tippera district massacres in October 1946. The Noakhali–Tippera riot was a direct sequel to the Great Calcutta Riot and therefore, believed to be a repercussion of the latter. So the seed for Noakhali riots was planted on Direct Action Day on 16th August, 1946. Also towards the end of 1946 between 30th October and 7th November, a devastating riot-hit Bihar. At the end of these riots around 5000 people were dead and 10,000-15000 were wounded.
Role Of Mahatma Gandhi In The Noakhali Riots
In contrast to expectations, Mahatma Gandhi’s visit to Noakhali was a delicate balancing act. The Muslim League’s desire for a separate nation had reached an untenable crescendo by the mid-1940s. Unfortunately, the Indian National Congress refused to accept this and attempted to wean the Muslim population away from Jinnah’s two-nation theory.
The Muslim League’s “Direct Action Day” was first held in 1946. The Direct Action Day was an open call to the Muslim masses to riot, loot, rape, and inflict mayhem against non-Muslims. It was officially opened by Shaheed Suhrawardy, the Chief Minister of Bengal in Calcutta at the time. Muslims went on a killing spree in that megalopolis, killing thousands of Hindus and Sikhs as part of their mission. The pillaging went on for days before the Hindus and Sikhs were able to gather their wits and organize their response.
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The resistance turned into a massive retaliation. The thugs began their mission to inflict heinous vengeance on Calcutta’s Muslims. That’s when Suhrawardy became concerned and asked Gandhi to intercede. Gandhi was a hugely popular figure among Hindus. He arrived in Calcutta, shared a room with “Shaheed Sahab,” and deployed his tried-and-true tactic of a hunger strike to appease Hindus. It worked, and rioting in Calcutta’s streets abated when Hindus surrendered their guns in order to persuade Gandhi to end his fast.
The Hindus’ “revenge” enraged the Muslims of Noakhali, who tried to exact their vengeance on members of the Hindu population, which constituted a minority in the area. There erupted one of the most heinous outbreaks of violence in history. Under the protection of his beloved “Shaheed Saheb,” the Mahatma proceeded to Noakhali in the face of Hindu right-wing criticism.
To put it another way, the rioters, contrary to the expectations, were amused by the presence of this Great Soul among them. Gandhi’s crew included a goat whose milk he consumed on a daily basis. The goat was kidnapped, slain, and devoured by the Noakhali people. Instead of saving lives, the non-violence apostle ended up triggering the death of a goat.
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