Direct Action 1946

The Cabinet Mission Plan setback to the Muslim League's demand for a separate Pakistani state.
Jinnah found that the British Government and the INC had been unjust to the Muslim League's
demands. In protest, Jinnah proclaimed August 16, 1946 the Direct-Action Day.
Its key motive was to demonstrate how far the Muslim community would go to get its demand
accepted.
On the morning of August 16 news of slashing, pelting stones and brickbats began to arrive from
various places of Bengal. Based on the original plan, people began to assemble in Howrah,
Hooghly, Metiabruz and 24 Parganas and started rallying. By 12'O Clock, everybody entered the
Ochterlony Monument.
At 2'O Clock, the crowd gathered again. According to the newspaper 'Star of India' – more than 1
Lakh people gathered to hear the fiery speeches of Khwaja Nazimuddin and Chief Minister H.S.
Suhrawardy. After this, Mob was charged with attacking, and then the communal riots triggered.
Six thousand people were killed within 72 hours of the declaration of direct action. More than
20,000 people were seriously injured, and nearly 1 lakh fled and became homeless. The case of
the Day of Direct Action is often called the "Great Calcutta Killing."
Communal abuse began on August 16, was still going on until August 21 when the Viceroy Rule
was enforced in Bengal. Five British Battalions, along with four Gurkha Battalions, were
deployed to monitor this mess. As a result, the City's activities slowed down by the end of
August 22, 1946.
Partition 1947:
The Partition of British India into two independent states of India and Pakistan on 14-15 August
1947 was the "last-minute" process by which the British could obtain an agreement on how
independence would take place.
When Britain took India to World War II without consultation in 1939, Congress opposed it.
Major protests followed, culminating Quit India campaign in 1942. For their part, Gandhi and
Nehru and thousands of Congressional workers were jailed until 1945.

Meanwhile, the British necessity for local allies during wartime provided the Muslim League
with an opportunity to offer its support in exchange for future political safeguards. In March
1940, the Pakistan Muslim League's resolution called for the development of "separate state" to
accommodate Indian Muslims.
After the world war, Britain economy could not cope with the over-extended empire's expense.
The Cabinet Mission was sent to India in 1946 and gave a deadline for the transition of power in
June 1948. But the Mission failed because it was rejected by both the Congress and the Muslim
League.
Community abuse has been escalating all the time. In August 1946, the Great Calcutta Killing
killed some 4,000 people and left a further 100,000 homeless.
March 1947, Lord Louis Mountbatten, arrived in Delhi to find a quick way to put the British Raj
to an end. On June 3, he declared that independence would be forced forward to August of that
year for formatting two states separately.
Pakistan, its eastern and western parts were separated by 1,700 kilometers of Indian land
celebrated independence on August 14 of that year and India did so on the following day.
Partition caused protests, massive deaths, and an enormous wave of migration. 14-16 m people
may have been displaced. Post-Partition death toll figures vary from 200,000 to two million.
Women have also been abused as objects of group dignity, with up to 100,000 raped or
kidnapped.
Muslims remained the largest minority community in independent India which was 10% of the
population. The two states clashed over the disputed Jammu and Kashmir territories in 1947-8.
The relationship between the two countries is far from good at the present day. Kashmir
remained a flashpoint; both countries are nuclear-armed. Seven decades on, well over a billion
people still live in the darkness of Partition.

References:
Jaideep Mazumdar, “The Butcher Of Bengal And His Role In Direct Action Day.” (August
5,2017) Retrieved from swarajyamag.com: https://swarajyamag.com/politics/its-a-crying-shame-
that-the-butcher-of-bengal-has-a-road-named-after-him-in-kolkata
Misha Ketchell, “How the Partition of India happened – and why its effects are still felt today.”
(August 10,2017) Retrieved from theconversation.com: https://theconversation.com/how-the-
partition-of-india-happened-and-why-its-effects-are-still-felt-today-81766