1115 lines
83 KiB
HTML
1115 lines
83 KiB
HTML
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<body translate="no">
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<div class="head">
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<div>
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<header id='title'>Political History of Bengal</header>
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</div>
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<div class="subhead" id='subtitle'>Exported by RanchiMall Content Collaboration on FLO Blockchain</div>
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</div>
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<div class="content" id='sectionmaster'>
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<div class="columns">
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<div class="column" id='section1'>
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<div class="head"><div class="headline hl3">From Murshid to Mamata: A Political History of
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Bengal</div></div>
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<p>Murshid Quli Khan was the first Nawab of Bengal.
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He was originally born a Hindu as Surya Narayan Mishra.
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The city of Murshidabad was named after him.
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He was Nawab of Bengal from 1717 to 1727.
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Unlike other Islamic rulers, Murshid Quli Khan had only one wife, Nasiri Banu Begum, and no
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concubines. He had three children, two daughters and one son</p>
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<p>Murshid Quli Khan Character:
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He took no delight in hunting; He never indulged in wine nor in any intoxicating drugs; neither did
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he amuse himself with singers or dancers. He always kept constant to one lawful wife, and, out of
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excess of delicacy, would not suffer any strange woman, or even eunuchs, to enter the apartments of
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his seraglio - so much so, that any slave girl once out of the harem would not be
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allowed to re-enter it. He possessed very extensive learning, and paid great respect to men who were
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eminent for their piety
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or erudition. He was a brave soldier, a liberal benefactor, upright and just in his dealings, and a
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steady protector of the weak.
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He made no retrenchments in any royal grant, nor in those of any former Subahdar, for charitable
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purposes.
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He despised all the refinements of luxury, particularly in dress; no highly seasoned dishes were
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served on his table.
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He slept but little, and carefully observed the stated times for prayer. From breakfast till noon he
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employed himself in copying the Koran, and in administering justice; and every year he sent Korans
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of his own writing, with valuable offerings, to Mecca, Medina, Najaf, and other holy places.
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FROM: https://murshidabad.net/history/history-topic-murshid-quli-khan.htm</p>
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<p>Bidhan Chandra Roy was the Chief Minister of Bengal from 1948 to 1962 until his death. Dr. Roy was
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awarded with Bharat Ratna on Feb4, 1961.
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He was a renowned Indian doctor, an educationist, a philanthropist and a freedom fighter. He is
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considered to be the founder of five very prominent cities of Bengal; Durgapur, Howrah, Ashoknagar,
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Kalyani and Bidhannagar.
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National Doctor's Day in India is celebrated each year in his memory, as he was the only few people
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from history who obtained a degree in FRCS and MRCP.
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Dr. Roy was born in a bengali family in Bankipore, Patna, with his father working as an Excise
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Inspector and a very pious and social worker mother.
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The partition of Bengal was happening when Bidhan was still in his college, he was emotionally
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touched by this but he controlled his emotions and chose to continue on his education, so he could
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serve the nation better this way.
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One of the example of his strict determination is when he went to St. Bartholomev's Hospital,
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England with only 1200rs and applied for his masters, he was kept being rejected by the Dean because
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he was an Asian. But Dr. Roy didn't stop by this, and after applying 30 times in a row, the Dean had
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to accept his application. After completing his Post Graduate, he became a member of Royal College
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of Physicians and a fellow of Royal College of Surgeons.
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Dr. Roy then believed that Swaraj (the call for India's freedom) would remain a dream if people
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were unhealthy with their body and mind. He taught and contributed at many medical institutions like
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Calcutta Medical College, Campbell Medical School, Carmichael Medical College, Jadavpur TB Hospital,
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Chittaranjan Seva Sadan, Kamla Nehru Memorial Hospital, Victoria Institution, and Chittaranjan
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Cancer Hospital.
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In 1942, when Rangoon fell to Japanese attack, it caused an exodus of people fearing Japanese
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invasion, Dr. Roy was the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calcutta. He there acquired air-raid
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shelters for schools and colleges to have their classes and also provided shelter and relief for
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students, teachers and other employees. He was awarded Doctorate of Science in 1944 for his noble
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and dynamic contributions.
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"My young friends, you are soldiers in the battle of freedom - freedom from want, fear, ignorance,
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frustration and helplessness. By a dint of hard work for the country, rendered in a spirit of
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selfless service, may you march ahead with hope and courage". These was the words he spoke to the
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young crowd at a convocation in University of Lucknow in 1956.
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He was also a friend and doctor of Mahatma Gandhi. Once when Gandhi was going under some fast and
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got unwell, Dr. Roy came with some medicine to treat him and Gandhi refused to take those medicines
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citing they are not Made in India and also told Dr. Roy that why don't he treats the fellow Indian
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citizens free?
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In reply of this, Dr. Roy said to Gandhi "I have come here to treat someone who represents the four
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hundred million people of my country" and Gandhi accepted his medicines.
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Post Independence in India, Congress Party proposed his name for Chief Minister of Bengal, which he
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refused but later accepted after Gandhiji's advice and became the Chief Minister of Bengal on 23
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January, 1948. Bengal was seeing a pool of problems including communal violence, food shortage,
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large flow of refugees in Bengal, unemployment etc. Dr. Roy did an amendable work by reuniting the
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party ranks, worked for every aspects he could and within 3 years normalcy settled down in Bengal.
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Just after receiving the most prestigious award of Bharat Ratna in 1961, one year later he died on 1
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July 1962 on his 80th birthday. He had gifted his house to be run as a nursing home in the name of
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his mother, Aghorkamini Devi. He had also formed a trust for his properties in Patna to carry out
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social service, with Ganga Sharan Singh, a eminent nationalist, being it's first trustee.
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In memory of his excellence, The B. C. Roy National Award was introduced in 1962 and has been
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awarding people for their excellent contributions in the field of medicine, politics, science,
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philosophy, literature and arts, annually since 1976.</p>
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<p>Jyoti Basu, (cofounder of Communist Party of India) who almost became the Prime Minister.
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Jyoti Basu was the Chief Minister of Bengal from 1977 to 2000, for a record 23 years 4 months 17
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days. He is known as the beacon of communism in Bengal. He would be the India's first Bengali and
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Marxist Prime Minister if CPI(M) hadn't decided to not join the government.
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He was born at 43/1 Harrison Road Calcutta (Now Mahatma Gandhi Road). His father was a doctor at
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Bardi village, Dhaka (Now Bangladesh).
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His birth name was Jyotirindra Basu but his father changed his name in school and he became Jyoti
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Basu. He completed his bachelors in English Literature from Presidency College in Kolkata and did
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Law from England.
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Having developed a strong belief in the Communist ideals, Basu returned to India in 1940 and joined
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the Communist Party of India, he also became the secretary of the Friends of the Soviet Union and
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Anti-Fascist Writers’ and Artists’ Association in Calcutta.
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In 1944, Basu started working with trade and railways unions of Bengal. He established the Bengal
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Nagpur Railway Workers’ Union, and became its General Secretary. He was elected to the central
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committee of the CPI Bengal in 1951.
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Communist Party of India knew the loss and corruption done by congress, they formed an anti-congress
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front with Socialist Republican Paarty, Bolshevik Party of India and the Forward Bloc, no doubt
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Jyoti Basu was a member of this front.
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After the India-China War of 1962, differences arose in the CPI, leading Basu co-found Communist
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Party of India (Marxist).
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When Basu came into power as a Chief Minister of Bengal, it was congress in ruling before him. Basu
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was a hardcore democratic supporter, he ordered probes into many matters which occurred during the
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previous congress govt. such as inordinate increase in prices of essential commodities, release of
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political prisoners, atrocities against anyone done by govt. He abolished the nefarious Maintenance
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of Internal Security Act which gave a full hand to the Congress govt to arrest anyone on mere
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suspicions in the name of security.
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As the Chief Minister, he from the beginning took bold reforming steps for Bengal. He industrialized
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programs for small, medium and cottage industries. Unemployment allowances, stoppage of retrenchment
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of workers, cutting down on the tax of essential commodities.
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When Jyoti Basu started administrating Bengal, within 3years, nearly more than 10 lakh acre more
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ceiling surplus land was identified and three-fourth of this land was distributed within a year.
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This resulted in a distribution of surplus lands to landless people at such a large scale alone in
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Bengal, than that of few states of India combined to date. Bengal was the only state which put a
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ceiling on landholding from the beginning which Basu changed after coming to a ruling position.
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His innovative strategy was to take administration to village levels, where someone with oral
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evidence could challenge the paper evidence in courts, and the powerful landlords could not
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illegally acquired the lands anymore.
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All measures of land reforms were taken together by Basu including distribution of homestead lands.
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It was a golden period for Bengal in 1980s when Bengal was marching ahead with a 4.2% highest annual
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rate of foodgrain growth comparing to other states at 2.5% average.
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According to National Sample Survey, when CPI(M) came in rule with Basu as Chief Minister, it was
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40% of the population of whole Bengal who could not spend enough money to get 1800 calories energy.
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After 15 years to this time, Bengal saw a 17% decrease in this population. This was the biggest
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reduction of extreme poverty anywhere in India over any period.
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In the rural areas it dropped from 67% to 42% in fifteen years.
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After the incident of Babri Mosque demolition, there was a rise of communal violence elsewhere in
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the country including the capital Delhi in 1984, but Bengal remained free of any communal violence,
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which is seen as a major achievement of Jyoti Basu's ruling period.
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He had brought big initiatives in the history of Bengal, such as land reforms, minimum wages for
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agricultural labourers, a three-tier panchayati system, dole for the unemployed and widows, and the
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establishment of a separate department for youth services.
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Basu retired from politics in 2000, though he remained a member of the CPI(M) politburo till 2008.
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</p>
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</div>
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</div>
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<div class="columns">
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<div class="column" id='section2'>
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<div class="head"><div class="headline hl3">Hooghly, Calcutta, 2020, Painting Hooghly with words-Build
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background and bridge to Writers Building</div></div>
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<p>For the traveler with limited time, the best way to explore Calcutta is roughly to trace the route of
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the Hooghly, meandering on and off the main thoroughfares by foot, tram and subway, known here as
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the Metro. This is not a luxury destination. It is more a journey through the grimy layers of time.
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History is inscribed on every lane, like tattoos on a body. Calcutta was once quite a diva.</p>
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<p>On the left side of Calcutta the iron trusses of Howrah Bridge towers over the Hooghly river. The
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pale yellow waters are dotted by Bengali canopy boats and you see occasional steel riverboats
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ferrying passengers from Howrah Railway Station to Fairlie Place in Kolkata side across the river.
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An alighting passenger has to walk just a block across Fairlie Palace, and he will see a grand red
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greco roman styled three storied building that holds keys to the power in West Bengal. On the first
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floor of the building towards the old Calcutta Stock Exchange lies the chambers of the Chief
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Minister.</p>
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<p>The atmosphere in Kolkata is set to turn political as we are inching towards 2021. Most subjects
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being discussed in Nabanna must be concerning the state elections to be held next year. It, however,
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serves as a temporary State Secretariat to West bengal. The original Secretariat is a 150-meter long
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building that covers the entire northern stretch of the iconic Lal Dighi pond in the downtown area
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of B.B.D. Bagh called the Writers’ building or just the Writers. The building with historical
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importance has a distinct Greco-Roman style, with several statues of Greek gods as well as a
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sculpture of Roman goddess Minerva that constitutes the prime attraction of this historical
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heritage.
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The building, as of today, has been under renovation since October 2013.</p>
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</div>
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</div>
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<div class="columns">
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<div class="column" id='section3'>
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<div class="head"><div class="headline hl3">Writers Building, 2020, Calcutta, Painting Writers</div>
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</div>
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<p>The Writers Building is currently under renovation since 2013.
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Next year sometime between April and June in 2021, about 294 constituencies will vote to decide who
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will become the next occupant of the chair in Writers Building</p>
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</div>
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</div>
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<div class="columns">
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<div class="column" id='section4'>
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<div class="head"><div class="headline hl3">Chief Minster Cabin, Calcutta, 2021, Painting the process
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who will sit here-painting Chief Minister Cabin-Bridge to current occupant</div></div>
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<p>Next year in sometime between March and June of 2021, about 67 million registered voters will chose
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294 representations to the state assembly. Writers Building has been under renovation since 2013. If
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the renovation is finished by then, then 294 members of state legislative assembly will decide the
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next occupant of the Chief Minster's chamber in Writer's Building. The chair is currently occupied
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by a frail but fiestly lady who has never married Mamata Baneerjee.</p>
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</div>
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</div>
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<div class="columns">
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<div class="column" id='section5'>
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<div class="head"><div class="headline hl3">Mamata Banerji, Calcutta, 2020, Profile about current
|
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occupant-one interesting fact from her life to trigger - like being unmarried</div></div>
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<p>As a young firebrand 29 year old, she caught attention of political pundits by defeating a stalwart
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of the communist party, Mr Somnath Chatterji in the central parliamentary elections in 1984 in the
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aftermath of sympathy wave generated due to assassination of Indira Gandhi representing Congress
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Party.
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Later in 1997 the veteran leaders in Congress Party could not hold her, and she split to form her
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own party Trinamool Congress which over time became the principle opposition party in West Bengal,
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and by 2011 she entered Writers Building as a Chief Minister. It was kind of a reversal of fortunes
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as she was dragged out forcefully from the same corridors in 1993 during a protest against police
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killings.</p>
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</div>
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</div>
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<div class="columns">
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<div class="column" id='section6'>
|
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<div class="head"><div class="headline hl3">Hooghly-Origin of Calcutta, Calcutta, 1690, go back to
|
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start how Calcutta was created in British times</div></div>
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<p>Establishment of Calcutta, now called as Kolkata in modern independent India, was a long and messy
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ordeal for the British East India Company. Calcutta, as we know it, didn’t exist as a city back
|
||
then. Infact, what we know as Calcutta today was actually formed by
|
||
merging a cluster of three small villages; Sutanutti, Kalikata & Gobindpur. Job Charnok, who was an
|
||
employee & an administrator in the British East India Company, is largely credited for the formation
|
||
of the Calcutta.
|
||
|
||
The British East India company first came to Calcutta in the period of Ibrahim Khan( 1617-1624) the
|
||
Subahdar Governor of Bengal at the time when Mughal Emperor Jahangir was ruling. They first setup
|
||
factories in the city of Surat( 1620) and then later in Agra. Scouts were sent across the area to
|
||
find out more suitable places to setup trade bases, though this plan was soon abandoned due to
|
||
logistical reasons. In January 1644, Emperor Jahangir’s daughter got severely burned in a
|
||
unfortunate incident when a British doctor named Gabriel Boughton was called upon for treatment.
|
||
Boughton was successfully able to treat the Emperor’s daughter for which as a reward the British EIC
|
||
were allowed to establish a factory in Pipilli, Oddisha. This was the first time English ships
|
||
arrived at Eastern ports. Boughton’s medical services were availed again by the new Subedar of
|
||
Bengal, and in return the company was allowed to establish factories in Balasore, Odisha and
|
||
Hooghly, Bengal.</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<div class="columns">
|
||
<div class="column" id='section7'>
|
||
<div class="head"><div class="headline hl3">Aurangzeb, Dhaka, 1690, Explain State of Mughal affairs -
|
||
and how Bengal became independent country</div></div>
|
||
<p>Emperor Aurangzeb was the one sitting on throne during the major period of tension and conflict
|
||
between the Mughals and the British East India Company. The EIC wanted to establish a trade base on
|
||
the eastern shore of India because of its strategic trading and military advantages.
|
||
|
||
|
||
In the year 1982 when Shaista Khan, the Governer of Bengal, was going to Delhi the EIC requested him
|
||
to ask the Emperor to give permission to permanently trade in Bengal. Till this point they were
|
||
allowed to open factories in multiple places, but British couldn't be sure of their position. The
|
||
Emperor was pleased to provide them with a Firman and this event was celebrated with 300 gun shots
|
||
in Hoogly. Though one shouldn't be fooled by this happy start to the agreement, this was the start
|
||
of a very long & painful cat and mouse chase between both.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Tensions started arising soon, as the Firman granted wasn't very clear. A conflict with a local
|
||
zamindar ended resulted in a putting a few Englishmen behind bars. Further the EIC requested the
|
||
state to give them a permission to build a fort on the mouth of Hooghly on the grounds of protecting
|
||
their trade. But Shaista Khan didn't trust the intentions of British, he knew letting them build a
|
||
fort right on the mouth of Hoogly would make the Mughals a little more vulnerable. Upon hearing this
|
||
request he immediately turned it down and imposed another 3.5% tax on top of the agreed 3000 rupees,
|
||
breaking the Firni.
|
||
|
||
|
||
The company got very enraged with this situation and requested King James II in the year 1685 to
|
||
permit the use of force against the Mughals. The plan was to attack Chittagong, fortify it and make
|
||
an alliance with the King of Arakan who was against the Mughals. Jon Carmock, who was in the Madras
|
||
division at that time was told to join this expedition along with 400 soldiers from Madras division.
|
||
The plan went awry though; because of high winds and bad weather conditions a lot of the ships ended
|
||
up in Hoogly instead of Chittagong. Upon seeing large number of battle ships on the bank, Governer
|
||
Shaista Khan got alarmed and immediately offered them truce. This didn't last long though, there was
|
||
a dispute between British troops and the Mughal troops which led to an altercation between them and
|
||
the latter beat the crap out of the former. The admiral then opened up fire on the city burning down
|
||
500 houses; a property loss of about 30 lakh rupees. Upon Shaista Khan immediately sent troops to
|
||
drive out the British from the area and capture all their factories and assets.</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<div class="columns">
|
||
<div class="column" id='section8'>
|
||
<div class="head"><div class="headline hl3">Murshid Quli Khan, Murshidabad, 1707-1717, Go upriver to
|
||
Murshidabad-Explain how the richest country in the world is born</div></div>
|
||
<p>The historical city of Murshidabad-the earstwhile nawabi capital –a city founded in the year 1704 by
|
||
Murshid Quli Khan, the Mughal diwan of Bengal. In 1704 Murshid Quli Khan had transferred the capital
|
||
of Bengal from Dhaka to Murshidabad which he named the city after his name .The town is situated on
|
||
the left bank of river Bhagirathi. Under the Nawabs Murshidabad’s glory reached to the highest peak
|
||
in almost all arenas. As a trading centre Murshidabad became famous. Many scholars came here
|
||
,settled and mixed with the local people freely and hence there developed a cosmopolitan culture. By
|
||
the middle of the 18th century Murshidabad became one of the greatest centres of culture and
|
||
education as the nawabs were the patrons of the learned.</p>
|
||
<p>In the Nawabi period Bengali literature also flourished .The learned men of this period made a great
|
||
contribution in Urdu, Hindi, Persian literature. We ought to mention the Sufi literature of this
|
||
period .For the expansion of Islam Sufi litterateurs wrote books in Bengali to make the common men
|
||
understand the Islamic knowledge and education. This proves that the state of education under the
|
||
nawabs was excellent. During this period a different stream of Bengali language,Musalmani Bangla,
|
||
arose which is a mix of Peresian, Urdu and Bengali languages. There was also a different form of
|
||
literature ,mixed languages, which was popular among the lower section of the society. The elite
|
||
were less influenced by this literature. Persian was the official language of the era. The Muslims
|
||
and Hindus both practiced this language which gave them the opportunity for a job in the government
|
||
departments. Under the nawabs Murshidabad gained eminent position in the fields of education and
|
||
culture. Ghulam Hussain gives a long list of learned men, physicians, mathematicians and other
|
||
scholarly persons from this we can assume that educational institutions were there at Murshidabad
|
||
during the period of review .Murshid Quli Khan established a Madrasha for the uplift of the
|
||
education. This institution , Kara Madrasha, as it was used as a guest house and was also maintained
|
||
by the nawab.</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<div class="columns">
|
||
<div class="column" id='section9'>
|
||
<div class="head"><div class="headline hl3">Alivardi Khan, Murshidabad, 1717-1756, continuation of
|
||
Murshid Story-Alivardi was last strong man Britishers feared in Bengal</div></div>
|
||
<p>Alivardi Khan was the last strongman in Bengal whom the foreign powers feared. After his death, in
|
||
1956, the dorrs to the paramount power in Bengal subah reopened.</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<div class="columns">
|
||
<div class="column" id='section10'>
|
||
<div class="head"><div class="headline hl3">Battle Theme- Sheikh Mujibur Rehman-Bangladesh, Bangladesh,
|
||
1971-1975, Creation of Bangladesh and Pakistan role in Bengal till Sheikh Mujibur Rehman was
|
||
assassinated-Bridge to his daugher Sheikh Haseena</div></div>
|
||
<p>While Britishers first entered into India from the west the true expansion and seeds of colonialism
|
||
were sown in the east, particularly from Bengal. It was the year 1775 when a young British governor
|
||
named Robert Clive must return to India as the governor of Fort St. David with a mission to uproot
|
||
French administration from India. However, destiny must pull his attention towards Calcutta (now
|
||
Kolkata), a city that was rivaling Madras as a major trade centre in India. Clive knew the strategic
|
||
importance and opportunities associated with Calcutta which, however, was under the administration
|
||
of Siraj Al-Dawlah, the then Mughal viceroy of Bengal. For decades Britishers have had a mutual
|
||
understanding and cooperation with the Mughals. In order to strengthen British administration in
|
||
Bengal the new governor must make a decision. Clive decides to fortify the city. In response, Clive
|
||
receives a brutal retaliation from Siraj Al-Dawlah who attacked and captured the fort.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Fall of Calcutta was a major setback for the British empire. It was perhaps Clive’s biggest
|
||
challenge to wrest Calcutta back from Mughals and to restore British supremacy in the region. An
|
||
angry and humiliated British governor had decided to establish British dominance in the region and
|
||
restore British honor. An army of 900 Europeans and 1500 Indian soldiers marched towards Calcutta
|
||
and recaptured it on January 2, 1757. The nawab is humiliated and forced to pay compensation and let
|
||
the British fortify the city. Six months later, the humiliated nawab declares war against the
|
||
British popularly known as the Battle of Plassey. However, it was a one sided war where British
|
||
cannons unleashed havoc on the Siraj’s army. Clive overthroned Siraj and replaced him with Mīr
|
||
Jaʿfar, an elderly general secretly hostile to Sirāj al-Dawlah. With Mir Ja’far under his influence,
|
||
Clive virtually became the master of the Bengal province. The event marked the advent of British
|
||
empire in India.
|
||
|
||
|
||
The same Britishers in 1905, however, partitioned Bengal which came to be known as the first
|
||
partition of Bengal by Lord Curzon, then viceroy of India. The partition was done for territorial
|
||
reorganization of the Bengal Presidency. The partition separated the largely Muslim eastern areas
|
||
from the largely Hindu western areas. The sentiments of a separate state on the basis of religion,
|
||
faith and language were sown.
|
||
|
||
|
||
It's the year 1929, in a primary school in Gopalganj district, a young boy is protesting against the
|
||
removal of his school principal for his hostile behavior against students. He organized a student
|
||
union in order to achieve so. Such protests and rebels against any injustice were soon to become a
|
||
part of his political career ahead for he was to become Bangabandhu Mujibur Rehman, the father of
|
||
Bangladesh.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
“Amar desh tomar desh..Bangladesh Bangladesh”
|
||
“Amar desh tomar desh..Bangladesh Bangladesh”
|
||
|
||
|
||
“My country. Your country. Bangladesh Bangladesh”. Surrounded by a huge mass gathering in Dhaka in
|
||
the year 1971, angered by the negligence and hostility of the West Pakistan army and government
|
||
Mujibur Rehman, this time well popular and experienced is marching towards the podium to address his
|
||
supporters. Since the inception of Pakistan in 1947, west Pakistan had a racist approach towards the
|
||
people of East Pakistan. Pre-independance Mujib supported Jinnah's idea of partition of India on the
|
||
basis of religion. But his hero turned villain when post independence Jinnah forced Urdu as the only
|
||
official language of the whole of Pakistan which included its east counterpart as well. Mujib
|
||
protested.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Mujib’s rebellious behavior against west Pakistan marked a new phase in his political career which
|
||
irked many in the west who were actually in power. From 1947 to 1971, jail became his second home.
|
||
He opposed the biased behavior of his west counterparts towards Bangla people.
|
||
In 1958, General Ayub Khan declared martial law in the country. This period saw a significant rise
|
||
of Islamic fundamentalism and degrading humanitarian rights and law especially towards the people of
|
||
East Pakistan. After almost a decade of violence and distrust against Bangla people, in 1966, Mujib
|
||
gave up the hope of equal status with western counterparts and demanded full autonomy for East
|
||
Pakistan in the form of Our Charter of Survival from West Pakistan. His demands, however, were
|
||
outrageous - a separate stock exchange and army to name few. The charter must have made Pakistani
|
||
Generals either laugh or fume over it. Because Mujib was indirectly asking for a separate country.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Nevertheless, Mujib was again arrested, invoking huge mass protests in East Pakistan for his release
|
||
scaring the Pakistan army of a civil war. They agreed to release Mujib unconditionally. When Mujib
|
||
reached Dhaka he was welcomed by people with great emotions and support for him. Surrounded amongst
|
||
thousands of supporters he was conferred Bangabandhu or the friend of Bangla.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Finally, in 1970, the decade-long martial law was lifted and the general elections were announced.
|
||
The results, however, invited more political unrest in Pakistan. Mujib’s Awami league came
|
||
victorious but were denied to form a government. Tensions between East Pakistan and West Pakistan
|
||
rose to all time high. Under these situations Mujib retaliated by calling for full autonomy and
|
||
independence. He gave the slogan of “Joy Bangla” and declared independence. The ideology of
|
||
Bangladesh was formed.
|
||
|
||
|
||
He was again arrested, this time, on the charges of sedition. To suppress civil support for him
|
||
Pakistan army launched Operation Searchlight which even today is remembered as one of the most
|
||
barbaric and inhuman assaults on citizens. Thousands of people were killed, women raped, children
|
||
crushed on the roads. Streets and houses of Dhaka were painted in red by the blood stains of
|
||
innocent Banglas. The Pakistan army men infiltrated each and every house of East Pakistanis and
|
||
launched fire. To this menace the people had no choice but to evade their homeland and flee to more
|
||
secure neighbouring Indian states.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Thousands of East Pakistani crossed the border to find refuge in east India. It was the largest
|
||
humanitarian refugee crisis of that time. The sudden incursion of refugees alarmed people sitting in
|
||
New Delhi. It was no more an internal issue of Pakistan. In the winters of 1971, Indira Gandhi, the
|
||
then Prime Minister of India, declared war with Pakistan to support the local Bangla freedom
|
||
fighters called the Mukti Vahini. Field Marshal General Sam Manekshaw was given the responsibility
|
||
to liberate Bangladesh from the brutalities of the west Pakistani regime. 13 days later about 91000
|
||
Pakistani soldiers surrendered to India. Yahiya Khan resigned. Under international pressure the
|
||
Pakistan government released Mujibur Rehman on 8th January, 1972. Bangladesh was born and Mujibur
|
||
Rehman emerged as first the President and later the Prime Minister of Bangladesh.</p>
|
||
<p>The same Britishers in 1905, however, partitioned Bengal which came to be known as the first
|
||
partition of Bengal by Lord Curzon, then viceroy of India. The partition was done for territorial
|
||
reorganization of the Bengal Presidency. The partition separated the largely Muslim eastern areas
|
||
from the largely Hindu western areas. The sentiments of a separate state on the basis of religion,
|
||
faith and language were sown.
|
||
|
||
|
||
It's the year 1929, in a primary school in Gopalganj district, a young boy is protesting against the
|
||
removal of his school principal for his hostile behavior against students. He organized a student
|
||
union in order to achieve so. Such protests and rebels against any injustice were soon to become a
|
||
part of his political career ahead for he was to become Bangabandhu Mujibur Rehman, the father of
|
||
Bangladesh.</p>
|
||
<p>The election result of 1971 was not honoured, leading to a civil war on March 26, and Sheikh Mujib
|
||
declared Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan . The declaration coincided with a ruthless show of
|
||
strength by the Pakistani military, in which tanks rolled out on the streets of Dhaka and several
|
||
students and intellectuals were killed.
|
||
A woman only 13, had already learned to fear people around her. She saw her father being to
|
||
death.One day in late afternoon people barged into her house. They snatched her two little brothers,
|
||
tied them to a tree and beat them.She ran out of the front door , but the men caught her. They
|
||
tethered her arms to two trees. They ripped off her earrings and bracelets, and stripped off her
|
||
clothes.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Between 300,000 and 3,000,000 people were killed and around 200,000 to 400,000 women were raped.
|
||
|
||
|
||
India under then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi provided full support to Rahman and Bangladesh’s
|
||
independence movement, resulting in the creation of a sovereign government at Dhaka in January 1971.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p>“Amar desh tomar desh..Bangladesh Bangladesh”
|
||
“Amar desh tomar desh..Bangladesh Bangladesh”
|
||
|
||
|
||
“My country. Your country. Bangladesh Bangladesh”. Surrounded by a huge mass gathering in Dhaka in
|
||
the year 1971, angered by the negligence and hostility of the West Pakistan army and government
|
||
Mujibur Rehman, this time well popular and experienced, is marching towards the podium to address
|
||
his supporters. Since the inception of Pakistan in 1947, west Pakistan had a racist approach towards
|
||
the people of East Pakistan. Pre-independance Mujib supported Jinnah's idea of partition of India on
|
||
the basis of religion. But soon, his national hero and ideal turned villain when post independence
|
||
Jinnah announced Urdu as the only official language of the whole of Pakistan which included its east
|
||
counterpart as well. Mujib protested.</p>
|
||
<p>One of the great grandsons of Mir Zafar was Iskandar Mirza, who assumed the first Presidency of
|
||
Pakistan after giving his country a constitution in 1956, full 9 years after Pakistan's
|
||
Independence. A proud and stout Bengali, he found it difficult to get along with the Prime
|
||
Ministers he appointed. Like a musical game of chairs, he changed four Prime Ministers in his
|
||
Presidency from March of 1956 to October of 1958. His third Prime Minister was Huseyn Suhrawady, an
|
||
influential Bengali Muslim freedom fighter who also once held Prime Ministership of united Bengal
|
||
province during Britsh times.</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<div class="columns">
|
||
<div class="column" id='section11'>
|
||
<div class="head"><div class="headline hl3">Sheikh Haseena, Dhaka-Bangladesh, 2020, Regeneration to be
|
||
the fast growing region in the world-Bridge to Mamata</div></div>
|
||
<p>Sheikh Hasina was sworn in as prime minister of Bangladeh in January 2009. In 2017, in the midst of
|
||
Hasina's premiership, more than 700,000 Rohingya arrived in Bangladesh, fleeing genocide in
|
||
neighbouring Myanmar .
|
||
The Bangladesh government provided refuge and assistance, however, it did not grant refugee status
|
||
and worked to repatriate the Rohingyas on a voluntary basis.
|
||
Hasina's government received praise both internationally and domestically for helping the Rohingya.
|
||
In past years Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is in discussion with West Bengal Chief
|
||
Minister Mamata Banerjee to discuss a range of bilateral issues.
|
||
The Teesta river water sharing issue was discussed by the two leaders and New Delhi and Dhaka both
|
||
are keen to seal an agreement on it since September 2011.
|
||
Sheikh Hasina has time and again acknowledged the friendly and cordial relation between the two
|
||
countries to continue and flourish.</p>
|
||
<p>Under Hasina, Bangladesh has made significant strides towards educating girls and giving women a
|
||
greater voice, both in the household and the public sphere whose efforts have translated into
|
||
improvements in children’s health and education, such that Bangladeshis’ average life expectancy is
|
||
now 72 years, compared to 68 for Indians and 66 for Pakistanis.
|
||
The Bangladesh government deserves credit for supporting grass-roots initiatives in economic
|
||
inclusion which includes Bangladeshi adults with bank accounts, 34.1% made digital transactions in
|
||
2017, compared to an average rate of 27.8% for South Asia.
|
||
Hasina’s government has offered a better environment for manufacturing firms to achieve economies of
|
||
scale and create a large number of jobs, and though Bangladesh still needs much stronger regulation
|
||
to protect workers from occupational hazards, the absence of which curtails labour-market
|
||
flexibility has been a boon for job creation and manufacturing success.</p>
|
||
<p>Mamta Banerjee has also extended her support to Sheikh Hasina by protesting Modi's govt on CAB and
|
||
NRC Bill.
|
||
Mamta's stand on the above issue explains why the bilateral relation between Hasina and her is going
|
||
to last long.</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<div class="columns">
|
||
<div class="column" id='section12'>
|
||
<div class="head"><div class="headline hl3">Mamata Banerji, Calcutta, 2020, Another aspect of her life-
|
||
a short event - Bridge to her political predecessor system Communism and Jyoti Basu</div></div>
|
||
<p>The dynamics of democratic politics in West Bengal, a major state of eastern India had taken its own
|
||
shape despite some aberrations due to the politics of violence in the sixties. Whenever there has
|
||
been any communication gap between the ruling party and the people, as it occurred during 1964-66
|
||
and again during 1974-76, the electorate democratically registered its protest at the next available
|
||
opportunity by rejecting the imperious attitude of the ruling party .Such a gap has been very much
|
||
bridged by the direct and personal type of leadership adopted by the left politicians ideological
|
||
slant of the political process in West Bengal has, in general, prevented the growth of regional
|
||
patriotism or politics Of parochialism, except for the minor political impact left by Ghisingh and
|
||
his GNLF movement. It is one of the sings of politics in West Bengal.</p>
|
||
<p>The elected Leftist coalition since 1977 (often described as sound ‘political stability’), but also
|
||
because of its widely acknowledged successes in fertility transition, execution of re-distributive
|
||
land reform and political decentralization programmes. Ironically, yet, the state, in almost all
|
||
comparative assessments of social, human and infrastructural developments occupies a lagged position
|
||
vis-à-vis many other states, especially in the south and even against all-India records. A
|
||
well-disciplined grassroots political mobilization network, and the machinery of the Left Front
|
||
parties, have been highly instrumental for comparatively fast declines of fertility and population
|
||
growth and for lasting political stability in an otherwise ‘dilatory’ development regime. However, a
|
||
government geared to ensuring mass electoral support overwhelmingly via a grassroots mobilization
|
||
network but, with a relative neglect of social movements, economic infrastructure and human
|
||
development, is likely to suffer adverse consequences in the longer term.</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<div class="columns">
|
||
<div class="column" id='section13'>
|
||
<div class="head"><div class="headline hl3">Jyoti Basu-Communism, West Bengal, 1977-2000, Impact of
|
||
Communism in Bengal-Bridge to Cornwallis Permanent Settlement</div></div>
|
||
<p>The ripple effects of Russian revolution in 1917 reached British India that was fighting against a
|
||
similar “class” ideology. Consequently, in 1925 the foundation of communism was set in Kanpur.
|
||
However, due to weak leadership and dominance of Gandhian philosophy, communism in India was finding
|
||
it difficult to sustain its roots in Indian politics. 20 years later, a young Jyoti Basu was
|
||
attending the lectures of Harold Laski, a prominent member of the British Labour Party turned
|
||
Marxist. This small event was going to change everything in Basu’s ideological philosophy as well as
|
||
Indian politics in future. In the years that followed, Basu’s activities in politics significantly
|
||
increased and, in 1939, selected as the General Secretary of the London Majlis he came into contact
|
||
with prominent Indian political leaders like Nehru and Bose. He returned to India in 1940 and joined
|
||
the Communist Party of India.</p>
|
||
<p>At the time of independence, all of India from north to south was governed popularly by one party,
|
||
the Indian National Congress. Bengal was no different. Basu realized that if he had to establish
|
||
communist ideology in Bengal he must establish communications with the lower sections of the society
|
||
especially with farmers and peasants. He got this opportunity in the form of Te-Bhag movement under
|
||
which small farmers united against the zamindars or the landlords with the demand to only give
|
||
one-third of the land tax. The movement was heavily supported by CPI led by Jyoti Basu. Over the
|
||
years he established various worker unions and also played a pivotal role in uniting various
|
||
communist parties (like the Forward Bloc, the Socialist Replublican party and the United Socialist
|
||
party) all across India to build an anti-Congress front. However, after the Sino-India war in 1962
|
||
CPI split into two parts - CPI(Marxist) and CPI(Maoist) following ideological differences.</p>
|
||
<p>The influence of CPI(M) in Bengal gave a stiff competition to Congress and in 1977 when CPI(M) came
|
||
to power Jyoti Basu served a (then) record 23 years as the Chief Minister of Bengal. The prime
|
||
reason for such a long tenure of communism in Bengal can be found in its basic ideology which stands
|
||
up for the rights of workers class. Under his long 33 years tenure Jyoti basu made several landmark
|
||
reforms for the deprived class. Empowering villages from grassroot level by empowering the Panchayat
|
||
System, boosting labour reforms and land reforms were among few of them which tightened his
|
||
political grip on the socially backward class. His secular personality further improved his image
|
||
amongst people of all backgrounds and race.</p>
|
||
<p>Operation Barga was a land reform movement throughout rural West Bengal for recording the names of
|
||
sharecroppers (bargadars) while avoiding the time-consuming method of recording through the
|
||
settlement machinery. It bestowed on the bargadars, the legal protection against eviction by the
|
||
landlords, and entitled them to the due share of the produce. Operation Barga was launched in 1978
|
||
and concluded by the mid-1980s.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Introduced in 1978, and given legal backing in 1979 and 1980, Operation Barga became a popular but
|
||
controversial measure for land reforms. The ultimate aim of these land reforms was to facilitate the
|
||
conversion of the state's bargadars into landowners. To date, Op Barga has recorded the names of
|
||
approximately 1.5 million bargadars. Since then, it has been marked as one of the more successful
|
||
land reforms programs in India.</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<div class="columns">
|
||
<div class="column" id='section14'>
|
||
<div class="head"><div class="headline hl3">Cornwallis, Bengal, 1790-1800, Permanent Settlement System
|
||
and how it impacted West Bengal</div></div>
|
||
<p>From time Immemorial the State in India has claimed a certain proportion of the produce of every
|
||
bigha or acre of land. The laws of Manu declare that a king is entitled to an eighth, a sixth, or a
|
||
twelfth of the gross product. according to the difference of the soil and the labours necessary to
|
||
cultivate it: in times of emergency, even a fourth. Alauddin Khilji levied a tax equal to half the
|
||
gross produce of the lands in his kingdom. Under Sher Shah and Akbar the share of the State was a
|
||
third; thereafter the demand increased, reaching up to a half.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Land Revenue was the chief source of public income in India till 1916.</p>
|
||
<p>The word Zemindar means literally a land-holder. In Bengal the Mughal conquerors used the term to
|
||
denote those persons, drawn from almost every level of society, whom they employed to collect the
|
||
revenue from the land. In lieu of salaries, these zemindars were given grants of land free from
|
||
revenue, and allowed to retain a specified portion of the collections, to levy transit duties, and
|
||
to dispose of the waste lands. In origin, ilierefore, the zemindari tenure in Bengal was an official
|
||
one. Its sole foundation was the sanad, or charter of appointment. Its essential feature was the
|
||
collection and transmission of public revenue. In the heyday of Mughal ride sanads were often
|
||
revoked on failure to render prompt payments. Some zemindars, it is true, succeeded in stabilising
|
||
their position, and claimed a customary and prescriptive right to collect the revenue. But this in
|
||
itself did not divest the zemindari tenure of its official character; for under the Mughals all
|
||
offices tended to become hereditary.</p>
|
||
<p>Ijarah System was introduced in Mughal empire under Jahandhar Shah by Zulfiqar Khan.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Under this system the government gave the right to collect tax revenue on production to a third
|
||
party (middle man) and in return got an assured sum from the third party. The third party could levy
|
||
any percentage of tax on the people.
|
||
|
||
|
||
This was different from the earlier system as incase of the older system tax was collected at a
|
||
fixed rate (fixed by the state) and could not be arbitrarily changed by individuals/tax officials.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Ijarah system exposed the population to a tyrranous tax system because they were left at the mercy
|
||
of the middlemen who continuously exploited them.</p>
|
||
<p>Revenue system of Mauryan Empire was devised by the Minister of Chandragupta Maurya, Kautilya. The
|
||
principal items of revenue in town and country have been listed by Kautilya while describing the
|
||
duties of the Samaharta (collector-general).
|
||
|
||
|
||
The main heads of revenue were: A share of land output. Other dues and cesses levied on land
|
||
including a water-rate. The water rate varied according to the nature of the land and crop and tax
|
||
on houses in towns. Income from crown lands, from forests, from mines and manufactures, some of them
|
||
monopolies like salt, undertaken by government Customs at the frontiers and tariffs, tolls and
|
||
ferry dues in the interior levied on merchandise in transport Profits of coinage and gains from
|
||
trade operations carried on by the government Fees for licenses of various kinds to be taken out by
|
||
artisans, craftsmen, professionals and traders Fines levied in law courts and Miscellaneous
|
||
receipts like presents like transferred possession. In
|
||
emergency 'benevolences' were resorted to and the rich had to pay considerable amounts to the state
|
||
under. Mauryas introduced images with a view to gain gold. Granting exemptions from payment of
|
||
revenue was common particularly land-revenue to Brahmins and religious institutions and to
|
||
state-officials. A register of such remissions and assignments was maintained.
|
||
Industries were taxed, using a vast mix of techniques, all of which
|
||
were derived from the original land revenue tax system. This entire system was the creation of
|
||
Kautilya, the prime minister of Chandragupta Maurya. As the taxation system developed the government
|
||
had money to further develop the kingdom. The government also introduced state owned farms where the
|
||
king owned the land and his subjects were employed for its cultivation. The government had the
|
||
resources to organize the procedure and once the land was ready it would employ the cultivator to
|
||
work on the land. The Mauryas had developed
|
||
extensive trade relations. There were many foreign traders who took up residence in Mauryan cities.
|
||
There were a variety of goods being exported thereby generating revenue. The exports were items of
|
||
luxury like fine muslin cloth. The development of trade became profitable for the empire and
|
||
eventually a separate department looked after trade and commerce. Land revenue of Mauryan Empire
|
||
Land revenues from the rural areas were appropriated in the form of crown
|
||
lands (sita), land revenue (bhaga) from cultivators, taxes on orchards, ferry charges and so on.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Different types of taxes that were imposed on rural population are:
|
||
(i) Bhaga - It was levied at the rate of one-fourth to one-sixth. Sharecroppers and other
|
||
agricultural support by the state had to pay half of the produce to the state. \(ii) Pindikara -
|
||
It was a tax levied on groups of villages and paid by farmers. This was customary. Often the
|
||
villages were supposed to supply provisions to the royal army when they pass through their
|
||
respective territories.
|
||
(iii) Hiranya - It was a tax paid in cash.
|
||
(iv) Bali - This was popular in the Vedic times and continued under the Mauryas.
|
||
(v) Pranaya - This literally means a gift of affection. It was levied imposed by the state during
|
||
emergency. This was first mentioned by Panini, it was elaborated upon for the first time in
|
||
Arthashastra. Pranaya amounted to one-third or one-fourth of the produce according to the nature of
|
||
the soil.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Export-Import Tax:- Import tax was 20 per cent, but there is no
|
||
definite knowledge about the export tax. Import tax was called prabeshya, while export tax was
|
||
called nishkramya. Sales Tax:- The Sulkadhyaksha collected toll tax on every item
|
||
before it was sold or purchased. There were three rates of toll tax or sale tax: 9.5 per cent on
|
||
iteIns sold on the basis of calculation; 5 per cent on the iteIns sold on the basis of measurement;
|
||
and 6.5 per cent on items sold on the basis of weight. Income Tax:-
|
||
The following taxes were imposed on the sources of income in cities: (i) wine manufacturing tax;
|
||
(ii) salt manufacturing tax; (iii) taxes on ghee, oil and edible oil; (iv) taxes on animal
|
||
slaughterers; (v) taxes on artisans and artists; (vi) taxes on gamblers and gambling houses; (vii)
|
||
taxes on prostitution, (viii) taxes on the income of temples; and (ix) taxes on additional incomes
|
||
of the wage earners.</p>
|
||
<p>Taxation in Gupta Empire
|
||
|
||
The Economy during the Gupta period was moving from 18 sources or types of Taxes levied on the
|
||
peolple; the greater part of it was spent on works of public welfare. Land revenue was the main
|
||
source was generally fixed at one-sixth of the produce.</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<div class="columns">
|
||
<div class="column" id='section15'>
|
||
<div class="head"><div class="headline hl3">William Bentick, Bengal, 1828-1835, Bentick social
|
||
reforms</div></div>
|
||
<p>Lord William Bentinck was born in London, the second son of the 3rd Duke of Portland. He was educated
|
||
at Rev. Dr Samuel Goodenough's school in Ealing, before moving on to Westminster School. After
|
||
completing his education, he embarked on a military career, moving swiftly up the ranks on account
|
||
of his family's influence and his ability to purchase commissions.
|
||
|
||
|
||
In 1799, Lord William went to Italy, where he served for two years as liaison officer with the
|
||
Austro-Russian forces. In 1801 he embarked for Egypt to command the cavalry, but saw no active
|
||
service. His star continued to rise with his appointment, in 1803, as Governor of Madras. The
|
||
appointment had been secured largely by the lobbying of his father, but was not popular with the
|
||
East India Company and the Board of Control. Lord William had a number of significant achievements
|
||
in India, but his work was largely overshadowed by the mutiny at Vellore in July 1806. He left his
|
||
post in 1807.
|
||
|
||
|
||
In 1808 he served in the Battle of Corunna and by 1811 had been appointed envoy to the Court of the
|
||
Two Sicilies. From here, he promoted plans for an independent and united Italy, until he was
|
||
recalled to Britain in 1815.
|
||
|
||
|
||
After a period at home in Britain when he served as a commissioner for drainage and navigation in
|
||
the fens, he returned to India in 1828 as Governor General - a post which he then held until 1835.
|
||
In this role he undertook sweeping social, economic and political reforms which, it has been argued,
|
||
laid the foundations for modern India.</p>
|
||
<p>He refused reappointment to the governorship of Madras in 1819, waiting to attain his real
|
||
ambition—the appointment as governor-general of Bengal, which came in 1827. Bentinck’s immediate
|
||
instructions were to rescue India from its financial difficulties; at this time the government in
|
||
India operated on an annual deficit of about £1.5 million. Bentinck soon succeeded in turning the
|
||
deficit into a surplus of about the same amount. The result of his efforts was the renewal of the
|
||
East India Company’s government by the Charter Act of 1833, whereby Bentinck became the first
|
||
governor-general of India. He next turned to personnel reforms, which included making more
|
||
administrative and judicial positions available to Indians and improving the salaries and status of
|
||
Indian judges. Bentinck also made English, instead of Persian, the language of the higher courts and
|
||
of higher education and arranged for financial aid to colleges, which were to be adapted to the
|
||
Western models.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bentinck showed great courage and humanity by his decision to abolish suttee (sati), the Hindu
|
||
custom of burning widows alive with the corpses of their husbands. Previous governors-general had
|
||
shrunk from prohibiting the custom as an interference in religion and one particularly likely to
|
||
upset the Indian army, but Bentinck cut through these hesitations without facing much open
|
||
opposition. He was also responsible for the measures taken to suppress the murder of unwanted
|
||
children, human sacrifice, and the thags—bands of robbers, bound together by oaths and ritual, who
|
||
murdered unsuspecting travelers in the name of the goddess Kālī. Flogging in the Indian army was
|
||
also abolished, long before it ended in the British army.</p>
|
||
<p>At his tenure Governor General of Bengal became Governor General of India. He was responsible for
|
||
introduction of English as a language of instruction in India. He reformed the finances, opened up
|
||
judicial posts to Indians, and suppressed such practices as suttee, or widow burning, and thuggee,
|
||
or ritual murder by robber gangs</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<div class="columns">
|
||
<div class="column" id='section16'>
|
||
<div class="head"><div class="headline hl3">Lord Dalhousie, Bengal, 1857, events leading to first war
|
||
of independence</div></div>
|
||
<p>Lord Canning 1858 to 1862
|
||
|
||
|
||
The Government of India Act, 1858
|
||
System of Budget introduced
|
||
Formation of Imperial Civil Services
|
||
Indigo Revolt in Bengal in 1859-60
|
||
Enactment of Indian Penal Code in 1860
|
||
Establishment of Archaeological Survey of India</p>
|
||
<p>He reorganised Calcutta Secretariat and appointed a Lieutenant Governor for Bengal to relieve the
|
||
administrative burden of the Governor General. He laid down the main lines of development of railway
|
||
system in India. Telegraphs were setup and the postal system was reformed.</p>
|
||
<p>The Santhal rebellion (sometimes referred to as the Sonthal rebellion), commonly known as Santhal
|
||
Hool, was a rebellion in present-day Jharkhand, in eastern India against both the British colonial
|
||
authority and zamindari system by the Santhal people. It started on June 30, 1855 and on November
|
||
10, 1855 martial law was proclaimed which lasted until January 3, 1856 when martial law was
|
||
suspended and the movement was brutally ended by troops loyal to the British. The rebellion was led
|
||
by the four Murmu Brothers - Sidhu, Kanhu, Chand and Bhairav</p>
|
||
<p>The insurrection of the Kolarian Santals of Bengal against the extortions of landlords and
|
||
moneylenders had been severely repressed, but the causes of the insurrection had still to be
|
||
reviewed and a remedy provided. By removing the tract of country from local rule, enforcing the
|
||
residence of British officers there, and employing the Santal headmen in a local police, he created
|
||
a system of administration which proved successful in maintaining order.</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<div class="columns">
|
||
<div class="column" id='section17'>
|
||
<div class="head"><div class="headline hl3">Lord Curzon, Bengal, 1905, partition of Bengal</div></div>
|
||
<p>Partition of Bengal, (1905), division of Bengal carried out by the British viceroy in India, Lord
|
||
Curzon, despite strong Indian nationalist opposition. It began a transformation of the Indian
|
||
National Congress from a middle-class pressure group into a nationwide mass movement.</p>
|
||
<p>Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa had formed a single province of British India since 1765. By 1900 the
|
||
province had grown too large to handle under a single administration. East Bengal, because of
|
||
isolation and poor communications, had been neglected in favour of west Bengal and Bihar. Curzon
|
||
chose one of several schemes for partition: to unite Assam, which had been a part of the province
|
||
until 1874, with 15 districts of east Bengal and thus form a new province with a population of 31
|
||
million. The capital was Dacca (now Dhaka, Bangl.), and the people were mainly Muslim.
|
||
|
||
|
||
The Hindus of west Bengal, who controlled most of Bengal’s commerce and professional and rural life,
|
||
complained that the Bengali nation would be split in two, making them a minority in a province
|
||
including the whole of Bihar and Orissa. They regarded the partition as an attempt to strangle
|
||
nationalism in Bengal, where it was more developed than elsewhere. Agitation against the partition
|
||
included mass meetings, rural unrest, and a swadeshi (native) movement to boycott the import of
|
||
British goods. The partition was carried through despite the agitation, and the extreme opposition
|
||
went underground to form a terrorist movement.</p>
|
||
<p>In 1898 it was announced that he would succeed Lord Elgin as viceroy of India, and, in September of
|
||
that year, he was created Baron Curzon of Kedleston. He was the youngest viceroy of India in
|
||
history, and he cherished the prospect of it, for it was an office filled with the pomp and ceremony
|
||
he loved. India was the most-treasured jewel in Queen Victoria’s crown, and, after the pageantry of
|
||
his arrival in Calcutta on January 3, 1899, Curzon wrote: “I suddenly saw what had come into my
|
||
hands, and what prodigies of energy and inspiration would be needed on my part to guide them.” He
|
||
demanded obedience and a bent knee from the rajas, maharajas, and provincial governors he now ruled,
|
||
but there was no doubt of his sense of mission toward the Indian people. He initiated commissions of
|
||
inquiry into education, police, and civil services; he reduced taxes; he ordered immediate
|
||
punishment of any Briton (including members of the army) who ill-treated Indian nationals. In
|
||
external affairs he paid special attention to India’s frontiers, toured the Persian Gulf, and sent a
|
||
successful mission to Tibet to frustrate Russian ambitions there. On his return from what he called
|
||
a “triumphal” tour of the Indian provinces, he ordered the restoration of the Taj Mahal, which was
|
||
decaying, and thereafter took a personal interest in India’s artistic and cultural heritage.</p>
|
||
<p>At the end of his first five years in India, his successes were recognized by the government at home
|
||
by a renewal of his term, but, in fact, the period of blazing glory was over and now came political
|
||
tragedy. At Curzon’s personal request, the job of commander in chief of the Indian army and military
|
||
member of the viceroy’s cabinet had been given to England’s military hero of the day, Lord Kitchener
|
||
of Khartoum. Curzon believed that to have such an illustrious soldier on his staff would embellish
|
||
his own image, though his friends in England warned him repeatedly that Kitchener was, in Lord
|
||
Esher’s words, “an uncouth and ruthless man.” It was a clash of personalities, and the two were soon
|
||
unscrupulously intriguing against each other. A final confrontation between the two men, which ended
|
||
in Curzon’s bursting into tears, brought matters to a climax. Curzon, confident that the government
|
||
would take his part, cabled that either his views must be accepted or he would go. On the morning of
|
||
August 16, 1905, he received a cable from King Edward VII telling him that his resignation had been
|
||
accepted. He delayed his return to England, and, by the time he was once again in London, the Tories
|
||
were out of office, and his Indian achievements had been forgotten. He was not even given the
|
||
earldom usually awarded to retiring viceroys.</p>
|
||
<p>In 1911, the year that the capital was shifted from Calcutta (now Kolkata) to Delhi, east and west
|
||
Bengal were reunited; Assam again became a chief commissionership, while Bihar and Orissa were
|
||
separated to form a new province. The aim was to combine appeasement of Bengali sentiment with
|
||
administrative convenience. This end was achieved for a time, but the Bengali Muslims, having
|
||
benefitted from partition, were angry and disappointed. This resentment remained throughout the rest
|
||
of the British period. The final division of Bengal at the partitioning of the subcontinent in 1947,
|
||
which split Bengal into India in the west and East Pakistan (later Bangladesh) in the east, was
|
||
accompanied by intense violence.</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<div class="columns">
|
||
<div class="column" id='section18'>
|
||
<div class="head"><div class="headline hl3">Writers Building-Bidhan Chandra Roy, Calcutta, 1950,
|
||
explain his contribution in governing West Bengal</div></div>
|
||
<p>B.C. Roy was a great planner for the improvement of education and culture of West Bengal. Due to the
|
||
efforts of B.C. Roy Viswa Bharati, established by Rabindra Nath Tagore in 1921 was elevated as Viswa
|
||
Bharati University under the Governance of the Government of India in 1951. It may be noted here
|
||
that the planning for the establishing of the above mentioned Kalyani University was initiated by
|
||
B.C. Roy in 1954. It was B.C. Roy who took the special drive for the passing of the Jadavpur
|
||
University Bill in the Legislative Assembly in 1955. As a President of the National Education
|
||
Council, B.C. Roy himself moved the Jadavpur University Bill in the month of September 1955.
|
||
Jadavpur University was occasionally opened by Dr. Sarvapally Radhakrishan, the then Vice- President
|
||
of India on 18th March 1956 for opening up a new era in the history of the higher education in India
|
||
particularly in West Bengal. ‘Academy of Dance, Drama and Music’ was established in 1955. As a
|
||
result of B.C. Roy’s vision for commemorating to Gurudev Rabindra Nath Tagore a plan was formulated
|
||
for establishing Rabindra Bharati University in 1959. He was also the founder President of Indian
|
||
Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management in Calcutta.</p>
|
||
<p>Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the first Education Minister of free India, was also the personal friend of
|
||
Bidhan Chandra Roy, the Chief Minister of West Bengal. In course of discussion between the two the
|
||
former approached the later to locate a site for setting up one of the five regional engineering
|
||
colleges sometime in the year of 1950-51. The Chief Minister B.C. Roy accepted the offer at once and
|
||
selected Hijli at Kharagpur in the district of Midnapur which is a distance of 100 miles from
|
||
Calcutta for the purpose of setting up engineering college. Due to the insistence of Maulana Abul
|
||
Kalam Azad prior to the approval of I.I.T. Kharagpur B.C. Roy agreed to take overall charge of the
|
||
Institute as its Chairman in his personal capacity. With the help of his personal sagacity and
|
||
indomitable spirit for doing something for the betterment of the state, B.C. Roy selected Jnan
|
||
Chandra Ghosh, an eminent scholar and scientist as its first Director.</p>
|
||
<p>His Bihar Bengal merger scheme with Srikrishna Sinha failed</p>
|
||
<p>One of the main causes behind the shortage of food was the partition of the country which gave almost
|
||
20 million acres of excellent rice-growing paddy fields to the East Pakistan and thereby rice became
|
||
comparatively unavailable and more expensive in West Bengal. In addition the influx of lakhs of
|
||
refugees from East Pakistan to West Bengal, diversion of 200,000 acres of rice growing lands to jute
|
||
cultivation and damage of crops due to natural calamities - collectively resulted in a yearly
|
||
deficit of 200,000 tons food grain in the state.</p>
|
||
<p>Zamindari Abolition Bill There were some important Bills relating to the land system passed during
|
||
the chief ministership of B.C. Roy. In the ‘Bargaders Acts’ of 1950 some provisions were there to
|
||
protect the share croppers. According to the Acts a ‘share croppers conflict –removal board’ was set
|
||
up. Not only that ‘Zamindari Accusation Acts, and ‘Land Reforms Acts’ were passed in 1953 and 1955
|
||
respectively. According to the ‘Zamindari Accusation Acts of 1953, the permanent settlement and
|
||
Zamindari systems were declared null and void. There were provisions to give compensations to the
|
||
Zamindars. However, on and from 1st Baishak, 1362 (Bengali Callender) i.e.1955 155 the accusation
|
||
of Zamindari was started by the Government of West Bengal. The shares of the share-croppers were
|
||
fixed 60% instead of tebhaga i.e. 2/3. It was circulated that the owner of the vested lands would be
|
||
allowed to retain 25 acres of cultivable lands and 15 acres of housing as well as garden lands.
|
||
Measures were taken to distribute the surplus lands among the share croppers and landless peasants.
|
||
The abolition of Zamindari system by the West Bengal Government in 1953, marked the beginning of one
|
||
of the most revolutionary measures in the history of the land reforms in the country to stop
|
||
exploitation of peasantry by the landlords.173With the passage of the Bill the power and prestige of
|
||
the landed aristocracy began to decline steadily. The Zamindars started selling their palatial
|
||
buildings which they could no longer maintain. In that connection, the State Government was advised
|
||
by the Central Government to examine the cases and purchase such properties for utilization of
|
||
nation- building purpose.</p>
|
||
<p>As Chief Minister of West Bengal, he laid the foundation of five cities, namely, Durgapur, Kalyani,
|
||
Bidhannagar, Ashokenagar and Habra.</p>
|
||
<p>In the obituary to Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy, the British Medical Journal wrote, “… at his professional
|
||
zenith, he may have had the largest consulting practice in the world, news of his visit to a city or
|
||
even railway station bringing forth hordes of would-be patients.”</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
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|
||
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