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What If Bengal emerged as a unified nation post 1947 ?

Following the dissolution of the British Raj, Should Bengal have emerged as an independent nation ?

  • Yes, Bengal should have emerged as an independent nation held together by Bengali Culture.

    Votes: 19 63.3%
  • No, as history has shown, Muslims & Dalits couldn't have lived with the abusive landowning brahmins.

    Votes: 11 36.7%

  • Total voters
    30
  • Poll closed .
And it was india, tried to prevent Bangladesh independence. Lets see how many buy into your wise crack.
Things are not as simple as you calculate often . However almost no one will buy this idea . And that's the reason there are things a thing name deep state and some other theory . If people start to buy the deep state theory , then deep state concept will be collapsed . So let such theories and other theories remain as conspiracy theory for common people.
 
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Imagining what could have a been a strong, vibrant, democratic state

In 1947, the Partition of British India was essentially the partition of the presidencies of Bengal and Punjab and people of these two provinces suffered the most due to the bifurcation.

In the run-up to the dates of independence with the suspense of the pending disclosure of Redcliffe line, mass riots broke out across Punjab forcing 1.5 million people from east to west and vice versa within the province before, during and immediately after August 14 and 15.

A kind of violent population exchange took place, and almost all the Muslims were dispatched to Pakistan from Indian Punjab, and similar things happened to Sikhs and Hindus from Pakistani Punjab in the reverse direction.

Punjab or, at least the Western part of it, was central to the idea of Pakistan; whereas Bengal, or the eastern part of it, a much bigger area by population, wasn’t.

Punjab was also a core issue for the Sikhs -- almost all of whom lived in that one province where they had the heartland of their short-lived, independent empire, before the British colonial occupation of it in mid-19th century.

Also, not much violence took place in Bengal, at least during the actual Partition. But because of the partition, the Hindus of East Bengal who were sizeable and economically well-off suffered a lot.

A momentum to migrate from their ancestral homes in the East Bengal for West Bengal, Assam, and Tripura developed gradually, induced by both pull and push factors of migration over the next two decades.

A vast and relatively well-off settled population slowly and quietly got uprooted from the land, where their forefathers lived since time immemorial.

But it was the majority of the Bengali-Hindu leadership of the then Bengal who pitched for the Partition of Bengal to salvage a smaller than half-Bengali Hindudom in the western part of the province for the community.

A flawed understanding

But their assessment of Bengali Hindu interests had been highly flawed. The vast Hindu population of the bigger part of Bengal gradually became a refuge after 1947 in neighbouring parts of India, including West Bengal itself. In neither of the places were these mostly penniless refugees welcomed.

A new and almost everlasting social cleavage emerged between the natives and the refugees. Generations went through big struggles and were tormented mentally. In Assam, the Axomiya treated them like unwanted intruders and second class citizens.

As time passed, West Bengal turned from the richest province of India into an insignificant one. The supply of raw materials for jute mills from the east dried up as East Bengal set up its own jute mills.

Before 1947, Kolkata was the capital of the vast province of Bengal and the rich across the presidency had commercial, property, investment, employment, and many other interests and ties in Kolkata. After 1947, not anymore.

What happened to West Bengal?

Now, West Bengal, once the birthplace of the rich modern Bengali culture, has become a state in India increasingly dominated by Hindi culture backed by north and western Indian corporate interests. Unlike Bangladesh, hardly any major capitalist in West Bengal is Bengali, and the loyalty of dominant capitalists in the state of western and north India, mostly of Bania origin, lies elsewhere.

Also, unlike Bangladesh, the market of West Bengal isn’t protected, and West Bengalis aren’t in charge of that. Hasn’t it become more like a colony of north and western India, the way East Bengal was of West Pakistan between 1947 and 1971 ?

In hindsight, one has to ask the question of what the West Bengali Hindu gained by their decision to bifurcate Bengal, especially when there was a hasty yet concrete proposal for an independent United Bengal by important leaders like Suhrawardy, Sarat Bose, Abul Hashim, and Kiran Shankar Roy?

Why did the Bengali Hindu leadership get so carried away by the words of Mountbatten, Nehru, Kripalini, Kalipada Mukherjee, Syamaprashad, and so on, who never had either a genuine insight of the intricacies of Bengal or who had a default agenda in contradiction with the interest of all Bengalis?

On part of the Muslim League, some important leaders like Khawaja Nazimuddin and Maulana Akram Khan opposed the idea of United Bengal fearing the perpetuation of Hindu domination in Bengal, and with the prospect of Dhaka’s not becoming the political nerve centre replacing Kolkata.

But in the end, it was an emotion swayed Bengali Hindu call that resulted in the division of the presidency. The All India Congress leadership never understood the uniqueness of Bengal as Kripalini brutely put it, that they have to get as many territories as possible for India. The interest of the common people, and a better future for a big presidency were never on their focus.

Jinnah initially supported the idea of United Bengal, but as he saw no progress, he backtracked later. Gandhi gave it a patient hearing, but was powerless to do anything.

Inclusivity and fairness

The United Bengal proposal had a few important points which indicated a move towards inclusivity and fairness. Proportional representation and a confessional system with rotational premiership and presidency were implied. Parliamentary representation would have been proportional to the population, and government jobs were to be half for the Muslims and half for the non-Muslims, comprising general Hindus, schedule castes, and other minorities.

Within the Hindu pie, a fair chunk was kept for the scheduled caste. For Bengal’s constituent assembly, 16 Muslims and 14 Hindu members were proposed. The interim government would have had a Muslim prime minister and Hindu home minister. Had the negotiation got a real start with all the major Congress and Muslim League factions of Bengal on board, further details would have come out in this promising five points line.

Ironically, the Bengali Hindus vehemently opposed the 1905 division of Bengal and their mobilization, agitation, and revolutionary acts forced the British to annul the first partition of Bengal in 1911. In 1947, the same group went ahead for the partition of the presidency. Many Bengali Hindus tried to justify the 1947 division of Bengal with Kolkata and Noakhali riots of 1946.

There were a few thousands deaths, and in these two places and perhaps in some other places too, people were worried for some time. But these were no way even near to the bloodbath of Punjab or Jammu massacre.

Bengalis could have lived with the memories of these isolated incidents, and time would have healed that. There would have been a gradual shift towards a fair Hindu-Muslim equation in Bengal without much hardship for any community. A joint Bengali Hindu-Muslim society and culture would have flourished. But that was not to be.

A great prospect for the people

A United Bengal would actually have encouraged the entire northeast to join the independent state and make something like the third grouping of Cabinet Mission plan.

The Bengali and Assamese language and cultures are very close anyway, and Assam, a faraway place from Delhi, would not have any direct land connection to northern India due to the presence of big Bengal in between. Neither did it have any direct access to the sea.

Overall, an independent United Bengal would have been a great prospect for the people of the presidency, or even the entire eastern part of the sub-continent. It would have combined the energy of the rising Muslims with the knowledge and expertise of already advanced Hindus to a great effect.

It also would have reduced the suffering of people who migrated, by retaining them in their native places. It would have allowed the growth of a very promising independent democratic state in the eastern part of the sub-continent and, by now, that state would probably have been a major continental power in Asia.

But that one emotional call to divide Bengal in a historically watershed moment has jeopardized a lot of things of immense prospect.



Source



To help put this into perspective :

Population :

WB : 91 Million
BD : 164 Million

GDP (Nominal) :

WB : 180 Billion USD (19 - 20)
BD : 347.9 Billion USD (19 - 20)

GDP per Capita :

WB : 1500 USD
BD : 2065 USD


Bear in mind, West Bengal was historically the more well developed part of Bengal and had a more affluent and educated upper and middle class.
That was the orginal plan per 1940 resolution and 1945-6 cabinet division /mission (3 units, 1 federation with each unit having right to leave union if wanted)

But nehrus wife ruines that all as mount batten had a boner for her
 
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This is an interesting thread
Let’s say independent bengal
How would have india been divided if it wasn’t along lines of Muslim/hindu
Independent bengal
Punjab
Gujrat
Tamil nadu etc
 
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I don't think there was any point undoing 1911 partition of Bengal. But East Bengal should have been independent state at time of 1947 partition but this wasn't suitable for congress as it would have set precedent for other states going independent and Hindustan would have remain limited to cow belt.

the best thing which happened to us indians was creation of pakistan . our problems lessened after muslims opted for separate country , otherwise it was impossible for us to stay with 45 percent population of muslims with 55 percent hindus .
jinnah sahab did a great job for indians .
 
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the best thing which happened to us indians was creation of pakistan . our problems lessened after muslims opted for separate country , otherwise it was impossible for us to stay with 45 percent population of muslims with 55 percent hindus .
jinnah sahab did a great job for indians .
Wow it looks you are an unique species among Indian who is thanking Jinnah for the creation of Pakistan ! Well at least I appreciate your honesty !
 
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Wow it looks you are an unique species among Indian who is thanking Jinnah for the creation of Pakistan ! Well at least I appreciate your honesty !

yes what i said is true , our problems would have been thousands of times more what we have today , if we had an united india with roughly equal no of muslims .

indians should thankful to jinnah sahab for what he did for us .
 
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Another on of your cloud nine imagination....oh well.
Let say your wise crack wisdom was to be true. In that case, all heinous crime Jamat had been accused of actually indian instigation and doing. And it was india, tried to prevent Bangladesh independence. Lets see how many buy into your wise crack.
A political conflict between two or three flows in BD is created by India that ultimately serves Indian interests. My dear @idune, do not you think so? Now, you better think who is behind Talibanic/terrorist bombings in Pakistan and Afghanistan? Is it not your India?

Why some people throw bombs and kill innocent Muslims? It is because some Mullah promises the bomber an eternal Paradise. Whose money talks from the mouth of this Mullah? Obviously, it is Indian money. But, that preacher Mullah does not know where from the brain washing money has come to him. He receives money, promises the bomber a Happy Paradise and sends him to a market place to blast an Islamic bomb. India is behind this.
 
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we liberated them that is all . let them stay there .
Wrong. WE gave a very definite win over any of your neighbors. India should rather thank us. Only 1,300 IA troops were killed in the eastern war. We know how nervous was IA troops to enter a Muslim dominated land. They asked Mukti Bahini to go ahead and themselves fought PA troops from behind the Muktis with big guns.

No wonder, only 1,300 IA troops were killed in action.
 
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the best thing which happened to us indians was creation of pakistan . our problems lessened after muslims opted for separate country , otherwise it was impossible for us to stay with 45 percent population of muslims with 55 percent hindus .
jinnah sahab did a great job for indians .

Yes - You Hindustani should also thank Mr. Jinnah - because if it wasn't partition then British Raj would have fallen apart into multiple states like it has always been in most of history of sub-continent.
 
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Yes - You Hindustani should also thank Mr. Jinnah - because if it wasn't partition then British Raj would have fallen apart into multiple states like it has always been in most of history of sub-continent.

all india thanks jinnah sahab .
 
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Wrong. WE gave a very definite win over any of your neighbors. India should rather thank us. !,300 IA troops were killed in the eastern war. WE know how nervous was IA troops to enter a Muslim dominated land. They asked Mukti Bahini to go forward and fought the PA troops from behind the Muktis with big guns.

No wonder, only 1,300 IA troops were killed in action.

soldiers sacrifice their lives in battlefield .
 
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Well I voted No. Obviously cuz of The issue of communal tensions. I think Bengal being a part of Pakistan was sumwhat of a necessity for the realisation of Bangladesh as it is now . And that realisation wudve translated into sumthing else nd not the Bangladesh that we know now if Bengal were to be a separate independent state in 1947.
 
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soldiers sacrifice their lives in battlefield .
And, it was not a million soldier sacrifice. India lost only 1,300 IA troops in the east but won a war that changed the geo-politics of South Asia. Now, tell me how would you have won such a war without us helping you?

India should thank us for awarding such a win almost without no loss of manpower.
 
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