British Colonialism and Partition of Bengal

[Anubis]

That means it is a land grab. Not just by anybody. But by the (holy cow!) Government!

Okay.....when the partition happened and families left their properties behind what is supposed to happen to those properties...If I am a muhajir from India do I have a right to my ancestral property?

 

[INDIC]

Published in Utkal Historical Research Journal, Vol.XIX, 2006

Partition as a Means of Conflict Resolution: A Case of the Bengal Boundary Commission and the Partition of Bengal, 1947

Bengal: The Parting of Ways

By the end of 1946 it became almost evident in political circle that the Partition of the British Empire was unavoidable. The ‘Undivided Sovereign Bengal Plan’ launched by Sarat Basu in cooperation with Abul Hasim and Suhrawandy failed to strike roots in the Bengali minds. The public opinion was shaped heavily by the horrors of communal riots. The Hindu Mahasabha and the Congress demanded immediate partition of the province and launched a concerted movement in favour of it. At the all India level Congress and Muslim League agreed on a ‘peaceful transfer of power’ at the cost of Partition. When Mountbatten announced his Partition Plan, popularly known as 3rd June Plan, neither Muslim League nor Congress opposed it.

The 3rd June Plan provided the basic guidelines of the partition scheme of the sub-continent and the 1941 Census was accepted as the baseline. The authenticity of the 1941 Census was very much dubious. It even failed to satisfy the Census Commissioner, MWM Yeats. He expressed his dissatisfaction in the introductory remarks of the 1941 Census itself . The Census operation was affected by a number of factors. The War, the poor financial condition of the Government as well as the lack of tabulation facilities, buildings and officers hampered the process. Political condition was strenuous. At that time Gandhi’s civil disobedience campaign was in full swing and all over North India the census, as a governmental activity, incurred hostility. More over, different communities intentionally manipulated the census enumeration for political purpose. Even a British poet W.H Auden in his poem entitled “Partition” alludes to the faulty 1941 Census numbers used by Radcliffe while drawing the boundary lines!

“He got down to work, to the task of settling the fate
Of millions. The maps at his disposal were out of date
And the Census Returns almost certainly incorrect,
But there was no time to check them, no time to inspect the contested areas…”

The Govt. identified some districts of Bengal as Muslim majority districts on the basis of the 1941 Census as an immediate move towards partition. These districts were Chittagong, Noakhali and Tripura of Chittagong Division; Bakerganj, Dacca, Faridpur and Mymensingh of Dacca Division; Jessore, Murshidabad and Nadia of Presidency Division; Bogra, Dinajpur, Malda, Pabna, Rajshahi and Rangpur of Rajshahi Division. The Muslim majority areas were to be included in Pakistan and the Hindu majority areas in India. According to the Plan, the Bengal Legislative Assembly was divided into two parts and they met separately on 20 June 1947 to decide the question of partition. The majority of representatives of the Hindu majority districts voted in favour of the partition of Bengal, while those of the Muslim majority districts voted against it. On the basis of this vote, it was taken that the will of partition had been sufficiently established. The Plan also proposed the formation of a Boundary Commission to draw the final boundary line between the two parts of Bengal.

Drawing the Boundary Line: The Formation of the Bengal Boundary Commission

National borders are political constructs, imagined projections of territorial power. Although they appear on maps in deceptively precise forms, they reflect, at least initially, merely the mental images of politicians, lawyers, and intellectuals. The mapping of the modern borders was a process first perfected in Europe but soon applied all over the world. The border revealed the territorial consolidation of the state as well as the markers of the actual power of that state. It was, in a way, an offspring of the idea of the nation state. The nation state formation in South Asia passed through a tricky process of boundary making. The new borders of India and Pakistan and later Bangladesh were curved out of the unified British Empire.

The Bengal Boundary commission was constituted on 30 June 1947. The members appointed in the Commission were Justice Bijan Kumar Mukherjea, Justice C.C. Biswas, Justice Abu Saleh Mohamad Akram and Justice S.A. Rahaman. Sir Cyril Radcliffe was appointed as the Chairman of the Commission. The Boundary Commission was ‘instructed to demarcate the boundaries of the two parts of Bengal on the basis of ascertaining the contiguous areas of Muslims and non-Muslims. In doing so, it will also take into account other factors’. It was also instructed to finalize the report before 15 August. After preliminary meetings, the commission invited the submission of memoranda and representations by interested parties. A large number of memoranda and representations were received. The public sitting of the Commission took place in Calcutta between 16 July and 24 July at a stretch with the exception of 20 July (a Sunday). Arguments were presented to the Commission by numerous parties on both sides. However, the main cases were presented by counsel on behalf of the Indian National Congress, the Bengal Provincial Hindu Mahasabha and the New Bengal Association on the one hand, and on the behalf of the Muslim League on the other. As Radcliffe acted as the Chairman of the Punjab Boundary Commission simultaneously, he did not attend the public sittings in person. After the close of the time of public sittings, the Commission devoted its time for clarification and discussion of the issues involved. The discussion took place in Calcutta.

Problems Faced by Radcliffe

As the Chairman of the Bengal Boundary Commission, Radcliffe faced some serious problems which were mentioned in the Award. These were as follows:
1. To which State was the City of Calcutta to be assigned, or was it possible to adopt any method of dividing the City between the two States?
2. If the City of Calcutta must be assigned as a whole to one or other of the States, what were its indispensable claims to the control of territory, such as all or part of the Nadia river system or Kulti rivers, upon which the life of Calcutta as a city and port depended?
3. Could the attraction of the Ganges-Padma-Madhumati river line displace the strong claims of the heavy concentration of Muslim majorities in the districts of Jessore and Nadia without doing too great a violence to the principles of our terms of reference?
4. Could the district of Khulna usefully be held in a State different from that which held the district of Jessore?
5. Was it right to assign to Eastern Bengal the considerable block of non-Muslim majorities in the district of Malda and Dinajpur?
6. Which State’s claim ought to prevail in respect of the districts of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri, in which the Muslim population amounted to 2.42 per cent of the whole in case of Darjeeling, and to 23.08 per cent of the whole of Jalpaiguri, but which constituted an area not in any natural sense contiguous to another non-Muslim area of Bengal?
7. To which State should the Chittagong Hill Tracts be assigned, an area in which the Muslim population was only 3 per cent of the whole, but which it was difficult to assign to a State different from that which controlled the district of Chittagong itself?

Radcliffe Award

The Radcliffe Award was published on 17 August 1947 two days after the Independence after much speculation. It drew a dividing line between the two parts of Bengal (See Map 1)

1. To East Bengal (East Pakistan) was assigned the whole of the Chittagong and Dacca Division comprising seven districts; the whole of the Rangpur, Bogra, Rajshahi and Pabna districts of the Rajshahi Division and the whole of the Khulna district of the Presidency Division.
2. To West Bengal was assigned the whole of the Burdwan Division; the districts of Calcutta, the 24 Parganas and Murshidabad of the Presidency Division and the Darjeeling district of the Rajshahi Division.
3. The five districts of undivided Bengal viz. Nadia, Jessore, Dinajpur, Jalpaiguri and Malda were, of course, divided between West Bengal and East Bengal (Pakistan).
4. In Nadia districts, twelve Police Stations, viz. Alamdanga, Bhoiramana, Chandanga, Damurhuda, that part of Daulatpur, east of the river Mathabhanga, Gangani, Jilannagar, Khoksa, Kumarkhali, Kushtia and Mirpur were assigned to East Pakistan. These police stations constituted 1352 square miles in area.

5. Jessore largely remained in East Bengal. Only two police stations of the district viz. Bongaon and Gaighata were added to 24 Parganas district of West Bengal which comprised 319.8 square miles in area.
6. In the case of Dinajpur district, ten police stations were included in West Bengal. They were Banshihari, a part of Balurghat, (west of the main north-south railway line), Hemtabad, Itahar, Kaliaganj, Kosmandi, Kumarganj, Rajganj, Sangarampur and Tapan. The remainder of the district went to East Pakistan.
7. The whole of Jalpaiguri district was included in West Bengal except five police stations and some enclaves, south of Cooch Behar State. These five police stations were Bada, Debiganj, Pachagar, Patgram and Tetulia. They constituted 672 square miles area.
8. In Malda district the following five police stations were assigned to East Pakistan. They were Bholaghat, Gomastapur, Nachol, Nawabganj and Shibganj. They accounted for 596 square miles in area. The remainder of the district came to West Bengal.
9. The whole district of Sylhet was transformed from the province of Assam to the new province of East Pakistan, excepting for the four police stations of Patharkandi, Rataleari, Karimganj and Badanpur. These police stations were inhabited mostly by the Bengali speaking Hindus.
10. Murshidabad district did not lose to East Pakistan any entire police station. However, several maujas (village clusters) of a number of bordering police stations were subject to dispute or in de facto possession of East Bengal.

The Award gave West Bengal an area of 28000 square miles, containing a population of 21.19 million people of which nearly 5.3 million (or 29%) were Muslims. East Bengal got 49000 square miles for a population of 39.11 million, of which 29.1% (11.4 million) were Hindus. West Bengal got 36.36% of the land to accommodate some 35.14% of people, while East Bengal got 63.6% of land to accommodate 64.85% of population.


An Evaluation of the works of the Commission

The Radcliffe Award received severe criticism from almost every corner. People resented certain features of the Award. However, much of the discontents with the Award were specific rather than general: while particular aspects of it were criticized in the strongest terms, the Award as a whole was not challenged. This sort of discontent was voiced chiefly by those who found themselves on the wrong side of the border. The Muslims in Murshidabad and Nabadwip were furious for their inclusion in West Bengal. Five southern thanas of Jalpaiguri protested their inclusion in East Pakistan. So did the Hindus who found themselves in the wrong part of Dinajpur. However, the strongest protest came from Khulna which was a Hindu majority district. “It is fair to say that this sort of criticism of the Radcliffe line was far from being a critique of partition, or even of the Award as a whole. It was the panic-stricken response of people who realized, too late, that they had been shut out of their promised land.”

However there were some general and fundamental problems relating to the Award. Joya Chatterji has pointed out some of them. First of all the Award was surrounded by severe uncertainty. This was chiefly the product of misinformation. Most of the people simply did not have access to the printed document and did not know what it contained. Satinath Bhaduri has portrayed vividly the confusion and uncertainty among the common people regarding the Award in his short story ‘Gananayak (The Champion of the People)’ .Bibhuti Bhushan Mukhopadhyay in his short story ‘Acharya Kripalini Colony’ also portrayed the confusion around the Award particularly in the border regions. In that tensed and confusing situation, land price greatly increased because people residing in the border areas were very eager to secure a safer place for themselves.

Secondly, Radcliffe drafted the border line on the basis of physical or natural markers and pre-existing administrative borders. Parts of it were traced over the boundaries between thanas and districts, other parts followed the course of large rivers and their tributaries. On paper the result was a clear and tidy line. But the picture on the ground was very different. The frontiers between thanas and even between districts were not physically marked out. Actual administrative boundaries could only be established with reference to survey and settlement maps, which were often inaccurate and almost always outdated. Naturally it created so many administrative problems at the micro level. Very often the settlement maps differed from the crime maps used by the local police stations to establish their jurisdiction. Radcliffe accepted the thana as the smallest unit of partition, but he used settlement maps rather than crime maps to mark out the border. Contradictions between the two maps were sought to be exploited by both sides, each insisting on whichever interpretation would give it more territory.

Thirdly, the geographical and natural boundaries did not work much better in providing border posts in Radcliffe’s Award. A number of rivers formed a vital part in Radcliffe’s line. Some of them were fed by the melting Himalayan ice-caps and flowed throughout the year. Others were rain fed, and except for the monsoon months, dried up to a trickle. Moreover, the rivers frequently changed their course. Radcliffe had not given any thought to the possibility of rivers changing course----a serious lapse in a province whose rivers were notoriously wayward. The river chars became a major center of conflict between the two states. These problems could have been avoided, or at least minimized, had Radcliffe and the Boundary Commission done their job with greater care.

The Factors that Sealed the Fate of the Commission

We can identify some of the factors which severely affected the working of the Commission and ultimately sealed the fate of the Commission.



Partition Studies: August 2008

 

[eastwatch]

That means it is a land grab. Not just by anybody. But by the (holy cow!) Government!

You are just twisting the letter and spirit of that Act, by Jove!!! Without a govt interference the land grabbers would have occupied those lands, falsified the documents and recorded them in their names.

Hindus can come back and claim the land and their Passports from the govt any time. A time is coming when our Hindus will come back to their Homeland in Bangladesh. In fact, many are already here in certain areas. It is all because of the continuous economic development of the country.

 

[SarthakGanguly]

We are evil yindoos. Secondly, We have the same Enemy Custodian Act. But we amended it slightly like this - 'Citizens of India are banned from entering any transactions by way of granting development rights, sale/transfer/mortgage of 1/3 of a property'
Besides the law is not applied to existing Indian nationals with shared families. In East Pakistan many Hindu properties were confiscated or requisitioned by force - even when they were citizens of Pakistan.

Okay.....when the partition happened and families left their properties behind what is supposed to happen to those properties...If I am a muhajir from India do I have a right to my ancestral property?

No, sir. If it is followed in true spirit - fine. But the way it was misused before 1971 - you know...

You are just twisting the letter and spirit of that Act, by Jove!!! Without a govt interference the land grabbers would have occupied those lands, falsified the documents and recorded them in their names.

Hindus can come back and claim the land and their Passports from the govt any time. A time is coming when our Hindus will come back to their Homeland in Bangladesh. In fact, many are already here in certain areas. It is all because of the continuous economic development of the country.

 

[LaBong]

Okay.....when the partition happened and families left their properties behind what is supposed to happen to those properties...If I am a muhajir from India do I have a right to my ancestral property?

In India waqf board takes control of such land.

No, sir. If it is followed in true spirit - fine. But the way it was misused before 1971 - you know...

It was (mis)used even after 1971.

 

[INDIC]

It is a misguided conception that in Bangladesh those things happened. There was an Enemy Property Act. But, the purpose was to take hold of the property right by the govt directly so that individual land grabbers cannot touch those. But, you are talking of a good Act with a vengeance. Even today, the land holder's name remains "Khash," meaning under the govt.

OMG you found out our secret law to wipe out Hindus from Bangladesh...did you also find the concentration camps too??

Repeal Enemy (Vested) Property Act for National Interest

Repeal Enemy (Vested) Property Act for National Interest

[The Daily Star, November 29, 1998]

By Dr N C Bhowmik

The continuity of Enemy Property Act promulgated in Pakistan days is still in
force though the existence of the Act itself is inconsistent with the spirit
and values of the liberation war of Bangladesh. The proclamation of
Independence on 10th April, 1971 clearly says that all existing laws (then)
inconsistent with the norms, spirit and idlealogy of Bangladesh liberation war
shall be void. Though the reflection of this declaration was found in the 1972
constitution but this black law was not abolished. Surprisingly enough the
existence of the Act is inconsistent not only with the UDHR but also with the
provisions of the constitution itself.

The main source of production in this part of the world is land. After the
birth of Pakistan on two nation theory, the rulers used land to oppress the
religious minorities. The promulgation of enemy property act gave legal basis
to use this weapon against religious minorities. All democratic parties and
people call it a black law and promise to abolish it, yet it has never been
done. The attitude of the government in power is disheartening not only to the
religious minorities but also the democratic and progressive force of the
country.

Establishment of Pakistan, People's Movement and Communal Oppression

As Pakistan was established on the two nation theory from the very beginning
the rulers were quick to smash any kind of democratic movement. They
deliberately used communal tactics to drive out religious minorities from
their home land and to suppress all kinds of movement. To throw the religious
minority people into difficult economic and social conditions the then
Pakistan Government promulgated many laws and ordinances. Chronologically
they are: The East Bengal (Emergency) Requisition of Property Act (XIII of
1948), The East Bengal Evacuees (Administration of Property) Act (VIII of
1949), The East Bengal Evacuees (Restoration of Possession) Act (XXII of
1951), The East Bengal Evacuees (Administration of Immovable Property) Act
(XXIV of 1951), The East Bengal Prevention of Transfer of Property and
Removal of Documents and Records Act of 1952, The Pakistan (Administration of
Evacuees Property) Act (XII of 1957), The East Pakistan Disturbed Persons
(Rehabilitation) Ordinance (No 1 of 1964), The Defence of Pakistan Ordinance
(No. XXIII of 6th September, 1965), The Defence of Pakistan Rules of 1965,
The Enemy Property (Custody and Registration) Order of 1965, The East
Pakistan Enemy Property (Lands and Buildings Administration and Disposal
Order of 1966. The Enemy Property (Continuance of Emergency Provision)
Ordinance No. 1 of 1969. Bangladesh (Vesting of Property and Assets)
President's (Order No. 29 of 1972). The Enemy Property (Continuance of
Emergency Provisions) (Repeal) Act (XLV of 1974), The Vested and Non-Resident
Property (Administration) Act (XLVI of 1974). The vested and Non-Resident
(Administration) (Repeal) Ordinance 1976 The Ordinance, (No. XCII of 1976).
The Ordinance No. XCIII of 1976.

The Rise of Bangladesh and the Enemy Property Act: The Old Wine in New Bottle

After a long struggle and a bloody war of Independence the rise of Bangladesh
naturally conveyed the message to the democratic and progressive forces that
the communally promulgated Enemy Property Act would not continue. The Mujib
Nagar Declaration which speaks to end laws of this kind found reflection in
our original constitution of 1972. But it was a classic irony that newly born
Bangladesh saw the continuation of two mutually opposed things
simultaneously. One a secular democratic constitution and the other the
continuance of the Enemy Property Act though in a new name.

In Independent Bangladesh on 26th March of 1972 Bangladesh (Vesting of
Property and Assets) President's order No. 29 replaced former Enemy Property
Act. In 1974 the Act was practically declared void by promulgating 'The Enemy
Property (Continuance of Emergency Provisions) (Repeal) Act XLV. But
immediately after words another declaration named the Vested and Non-resident
Property (Administration) Act XL VI of 1974 brought the above act into force.

After the take over the power by Ziaur Rahman Order 92 of 1976 was issued
repealing Order 46 of 1974. In 1974 a new oppressive 'Enemy Property'
(Continuance of Emergency Provisions) (Repeal) (Amendment) Ordinance (No. 93)
1976 was promulgated. It was given retrospective effect for 23rd March 1974.
In 1974 Act, the transfer of vested property was made subject to the consent
of the owner. But Ziaur Rahman's Government cancelled the provision and the
Government got absolute power to control or administer properties. It was a
gross violation of succession law of the minority communities and the
successors of migrated religious minorities lost all their rights on vested
property. The principle of secularism which is basis to democracy was
abolished from the constitution in April 1977. And then it was included in
the 5th amendment of the constitution in 1979.

In May 1977 by passing another circular for searching hidden vested property
Ziaur Rahman's Government undertook the power to capture the lands of the
religious minorities. On July 31, 1984 the then President Ershad made a
declaration that no further property would be enlisted and confiscated as
enemy property. From 1965 to 1984 Order No. 45 of 1974 of AL Government and
Ershad's declaration of 1984 may be considered two steps to reduce the level
of oppression. But after the 8th amendment introducing Islam as state
religion these went in vain. After the 8th amendment the insecurity of the
religious minorities was increased. In 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992 large scale
attacks on religious minorities were made and lands were confiscated as enemy
property.

On November 4, 1993 the then BNP Government made another declaration for
scrutiny of the census list of the enemy properties. This declaration was
another initiative to use the 'Act' to harass and oppress the religious
minorities in Bangladesh. In a changed political situation the present govt.
issued two circulars from the ministry of land on November, 14, 1996 the gist
of which is -1. (a) Not to enlist any more property as enemy vested properly.
1. (b) Without prior permission of the land ministry no member of Hindu,
Buddhist, Christian communities shall be evicted out. 2. In land survey the
land property of religious minorities should be properly assessed.

Disastrous Consequences of the Act

The sufferings of minorities in Bangladesh have multiple dimensions such as
economic, political, constitutional and socio-cultural. Their sufferings have
multiplied due to the promulgation of the various black ordinances and laws in
the last fifty years during both Pakistan and Bangladesh period.

In Last March 1996 Professor Abul Barkat and Shafiq Uzzaman showed in a
seminar that the approximate number of families victimised under the enemy
property act. is 10, 48, 390 and the total area of land lost is not less than
10 lakh acres.

A report by Daily Sangbad on 21st March 1977 shows that according to
government census 7,02,335 acres of cultivable land and 22,835 dueling houses
are enlisted as enemy property. Another investigation shows that since 1948,
75% of the land of religious minorities was been usurped, the same has been
done on indigenous and tribal peoples' property.

In ALRD seminar four kinds of method are mentioned. They are: (1) Forceful
dispossession (2) Possession by govt. or lease (3) Possession but not
ownership (4) Always in fear of dispossession. An independent analysis shows
that 80% of the religious minorities can not take any remedial steps because
of weaker social and religious position. 15% of the rest have lost almost
every thing in trying to recover their land. The last 5% could however get
lease in exchange of money.

Exodus of Minority

Migration is the ultimate consequence of black laws since 1948, state
communalism, discrimination, persecution and oppression on minorities. The
readers will get an accurate scenario of migration from the following
statistics.

In 1947 the proposition of the religious minorities was 29.7% of the total
population. Before 1971 it was 19.6%, in the 1974 census it was 14.6% and in
1991 it was 11.7%. The average number of family member in Bangladesh of
Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and Christian is 5.7, 5.5, 5.9, 5.4 respectively. The
statistics shows that 1 crore 25 lakh people migrated in the Pakistan period
and 1 crore in the Bangladesh period-from 1971 to the present. Even
government statistics admit that the number is around 50 lakh. The weekly
Holiday showed in 1991 that from 1974 to 1991 29 lakh 50 thousand people left
the country. C.C. H.R.B statistics show that in the last 50 years 2 crore
Hindu citizens left the country. If the Buddhists and Christians are added it
will be 2 crore and 25 lakh.

Movements against the E.P. Act and Political Commitment

The whole nation protested against undemocratic, anti people and arbitrary
black laws and ordinances in the Pakistani period in a body. Our glorious
liberation war also upheld the promise to abolish all kinds of black laws.
Though immediately after liberation war the term 'enemy' was replaced by
'vested' in the post '75 period it became most aggressive and oppressive. In
1979 a committee protesting against the Enemy Property Act was formed. The
1990 declaration of the three principal political groups clearly promised to
abolish all black laws and to establish the spirit and values of the
libertarian war. Before the June Election of 1996 the ruling party (AL)
council promised to abolish the Act. Speakers of both the 1991 and the 1996
parliaments clearly said that the Act was black and demanded its abolition.
It is notable that the honourable Speakers of the 1991 and the 1996
parliament were BNP and AL candidates respectively. People of the
pro-liberation and progressive patriotic front saw the act and its
consequences as against national integrity, human rights, democratic norms
and the rule of law. [The Daily Star, November 29, 1998]

 

[Anubis]

In India waqf board takes control of such land.



It was (mis)used even after 1971.

Our beloved socialist BAKSHAL confiscated Ramna Kali Mandir(The land..the temple was bulldozed on 27 March 1971) and gave the land to Dhaka Club.There are multiple temples around its boundary now...some more are being built but it is unlikely the Hindu community will get the original land back from the club of the Social Elites.

 

[eastwatch]

1) We are evil yindoos. Secondly, We have the same Enemy Custodian Act. But we amended it slightly like this - 'Citizens of India are banned from entering any transactions by way of granting development rights, sale/transfer/mortgage of 1/3 of a property.' Besides the law is not applied to existing Indian nationals with shared families.

2) In East Pakistan many Hindu properties were confiscated or requisitioned by force - even when they were citizens of Pakistan.

3) No, sir. If it is followed in true spirit - fine. But the way it was misused before 1971 - you know...

1) I am not sure of the India law but I hope it is applied genuinely. The purpose seems to be to stop Muslims from leaving India at any pretext.

2), 3) I think, BD Hindus were too eager to leave the country after 1947 not because they were persecuted. They felt their former lifestyle or positions they held during British time are no longer there in the new society. It was shocking and disappointing for them. Many left. But, WB locals are known as miser and are not compatible with BD Hindu lifestyle. I believe, they are still suffering there. They lost lands in BD and did not get much in exchange in WB.

 

[jetti]

You are just twisting the letter and spirit of that Act, by Jove!!! Without a govt interference the land grabbers would have occupied those lands, falsified the documents and recorded them in their names.

Hindus can come back and claim the land and their Passports from the govt any time. A time is coming when our Hindus will come back to their Homeland in Bangladesh. In fact, many are already here in certain areas. It is all because of the continuous economic development of the country.

are you asterix or a roman?

 

[SarthakGanguly]

1) I am not sure of the India law but I hope it is applied genuinely. The purpose seems to be to stop Muslims from leaving India at any pretext.

2), 3) I think, BD Hindus were too eager to leave the country after 1947 not because they were persecuted. They felt their former lifestyle or positions they held during British time are no longer there in the new society. It was shocking and disappointing for them. Many left. But, WB locals are known as miser and are not compatible with BD Hindu lifestyle. I believe, they are still suffering there. They lost lands in BD and did not get much in exchange in WB.

'former lifestyle or positions they held during British time are no longer there in the new society.' - To maintain their former lifestyle and position, they left everything and came to live in refugee camps in luxury with nothing but their clothes and sorry lives - right?

'The purpose seems to be to stop Muslims from leaving India at any pretext' - Why should we prevent them from going out?

 

[ExtraOdinary]

We the then Indians fought for 200 years to get independence. So, NE will take a few more years. It will quicken only if BD cooperates with the movement covertly. BD is here to retain the status quo, however, it is not helpful to the NE people or to the Indian economy.

Only BD can support NE economic and development aspirations. Why does not India give that land a limited autonomy to deal directly with BD on trade matters? It will take away their frustration with Delhi.

Have you ever interacted with a NE people?? I have, because there are plenty of them in our metro cities, working, studying in colleges, yes no doubt NE was neglected but things are changing for the good. You don't find much separatism in that place these days.

 

[INDIC]

2), 3) I think, BD Hindus were too eager to leave the country after 1947 not because they were persecuted. They felt their former lifestyle or positions they held during British time are no longer there in the new society. It was shocking and disappointing for them. Many left. But, WB locals are known as miser and are not compatible with BD Hindu lifestyle. I believe, they are still suffering there. They lost lands in BD and did not get much in exchange in WB.

Migrating means living like a refugee.

 

[PlanetSoldier]

Half knowledge is always dangerous, specially at the disposal of dimwits.

1. HDI: If you go by the HDI, which Sen helped Mahabub-ul-Haq launch, Bangladesh ranks ten places below India.

2. IMR and Child Mortality Rate: Once you correct for the differences in still births, India actually does better. India has been far more successful in bringing down still births than Bangladesh, which has in turn left its IMR and CMR higher.

3. Life Expectancy: Three points here: (i) Differences if any are tiny; (ii) In part, the lower IMR (which is itself the result of higher still births) contributes to higher life expectancy; and (iii) at independence, Bangladesh began with about five years of lead over India. That a very significant head start, which persists over time. The 1971 war led to a significant drop in life expectancy in Bangladesh but it then returned to the past trend. Such a return also makes it look like Bangladesh made speedier progress than India.

4. Maternal Mortality: On this score (as one one expect from stillbirth rates), Bangladesh does much more poorly than India. One has to wonder why the civil society in Bangladesh whom we instinctively applaud has failed in this hugely critical area.

5. The right comparison is with West Bengal: Because of its sheer size, various parts of India vary big time in history and geography. Hardly any two parts of Bangladesh are likely to exhibit the differences that Uttar Pradesh and Kerala exhibit on this score. So one has to ask what part of India is most comparable to Bangladesh. To my mind, it is perhaps West Bengal. Again, one must recognize that Bangladesh is much poorer than West Bengal. But its health indicators are not superior to those of West Bengal.

Bangladesh India Comparison
@Roybot @INDIC @nonsuperstitious

india stands 10/12 positions below Bangladesh on life expectancy I've managed to collect by my half knowledge. There are many sources in the world used to get the picture at a glance, posting a scribd link doesn't satisfy this dimwit.

Life expectancy that people 1st look at to get average idea about a country:

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2102rank.html
List of countries by life expectancy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Life expectancy at birth - total (years) 2013 country comparisons, ranks, By Rank

Mortality rate:

Mortality rate, under-5 (per 1,000 live births) | Data | Table
List of countries by infant mortality rate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Infant mortality rate - Country Comparison

And finally every Bangladeshi here will love it :

'73 pc rural households defecate in open' - Indian Express

 

[LaBong]

india stands 10/12 positions below Bangladesh on life expectancy I've managed to collect by my half knowledge. There are many sources in the world used to get the picture at a glance, posting a scribd link doesn't satisfy this dimwit.

Life expectancy that people 1st look at to get average idea about a country:

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2102rank.html
List of countries by life expectancy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Life expectancy at birth - total (years) 2013 country comparisons, ranks, By Rank

Mortality rate:

Mortality rate, under-5 (per 1,000 live births) | Data | Table
List of countries by infant mortality rate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Infant mortality rate - Country Comparison

And finally every Bangladeshi here will love it :

'73 pc rural households defecate in open' - Indian Express

Please read my post again, this time slowly. My post already addresses the issue of life expectancy and infant mortality rate(if we also consider the still birth, bangladesh actually does worse than India).

You guys seems to be real fan of Indian social phenomenon of open defecation, however it's not considered as social index, at best it affects other indices. May be I should help your fetish by posting some youtube links which shows sanitary condition of Bangladesh.

 

[eastwatch]

You guys seems to be real fan of Indian social phenomenon of open defecation, however it's not considered as social index, at best it affects other indices. May be I should help your fetish by posting some youtube links which shows sanitary condition of Bangladesh.

Bold part: Indians are so used to this open defecation phenomenan that it does not even touch their nerve if a foreigner criticizes it. It shows how low the standard of hygiene is in India and the mindset of Indians.

Below is a news that shows how even the street cleaners, who happened to be toilet cleaners before, are demanding piped water in their houses, and the newspapers and responsible govt people are trying to heed to their demand. But, Indians do not care even about their disgusting open defecation.

This news proves how equal our society is. We do not really boast about GDP growth the way indians do. But, we are proud of our social achievements and non-presence of disregard for a person born in lower Hindu Caste. For us all are same. Their children are equal students in the schools.

No legal water connection to sweeper colony

No legal water connection to sweeper colony
Children face malnutrition for poor sanitation at Ganaktuli
Sajia Afrin

There is no legal supply water for the Sweeper Colony at Ganaktuli, home to people who are engaged in cleaning the city, causing poor sanitation and malnutrition especially in children.
The people living in the six four-storey buildings in the colony run by the Dhaka South City Corporation told New Age that they were buying water from a nearby pump house through an illegal outlet by paying Tk 300 a month to linesmen concerned.

The city corporation’s chief engineer Zahangir Alam told New Age on Friday that the city corporation had asked the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority for the water supply to the colony on several occasions, but the authority paid no heed to the requests.

‘Perhaps they think that why these poor would get water supply,’ he said.

The Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority managing director, Tasqem Khan, said, ‘The colonies in the city are run by different authorities such as the Public Works Department and usually those authorities get the water supply connection from us.’

He, however, said that the city corporation did not get any pipeline for the supply of water to the colony.

The colony residents said that they were getting water through the illegal channel only once a day.

There are a few washrooms at one end of each floor of the buildings without any water supply line.

The residents collect water trough the illegal channel once a day and store it in their rooms and they have to bring water to the washroom.

‘It hampers hand washing of our children after defecation,’ said a resident Rima Rani.

Another resident, Jolly Rani Kesh, mother of a two-year boy Kanak, said, ‘It is not possible for me to monitor whether my child is washing his hand after toilet, as water is not available at the defecation place which is also far from my room.’

The residents also said that they did not wash the hands with soap even before having food due to lack of water, as it would need more water which was not available to them.

They said that usually they washed the hands with only a little water without any soap before preparing food for their kids.

Health experts said that such a situation exposed the residents to many waterborne diseases such as diarrhoea and pneumonia that usually caused child malnutrition.

‘Hand washing practice is very important along side with the proper breastfeeding and complimentary feeding,’ said Ferdusi Begum, associate professor at Sir Salimullah Medical College and Mitford Hospital.

She said that poor sanitation and poor feeding were the main causes of stunting, wasting and underweight of the children.

A study (Sowa B health study-midline report, November 2009) in 2009 shows that less than 5 per cent of mothers and caregivers wash hands with soap and water before preparing child foods and child feeding.

Mothers in Ganaktuli Sweeper Colony also said that they usually did not keep their babies on absolute breastfeeding for the first six months.

They cannot do so as they have to remain busy, they said adding that they usually fed the babies with boiled rice after a few months of their birth.

According to health experts, the first two years of a baby is the critical window for the promotion of good health, growth and behavioural and cognitive development.

Bangladesh Breastfeeding Foundation’s ‘ secretary general Soofia Khatoon said that only breastfeeding could reduce 13 per cent and proper complimentary feeding can reduce 6 per cent child death.

SM Mustafizur Rahman, programme manager of National Nutrition Services of Institute of Public Health and Nutrition, said that sanitation and hygiene was the ignorant part of people in the country.

The natural growth of a child would be affected if the child suffers from diseases, he said.