Bengal Divided - The Unmaking Of a Nation (1905-1971)

Author: Nitish Sengupta
Publisher: Penguin/Viking
Year: 2007
Language: English
Pages: 260
ISBN/UPC (if available): 067099913X

Description

In 1905, the people of Bengal rejected the British-directed division of their land and fought against it. Yet just four decades later, in 1947, they asked for a partition between Muslim majority and Hindu majority areas.

The roots of alienation of two communities that spoke the same language went deep. Was it because socially the Bengali Hindu bhadralok looked down upon their Muslim neighbors? Or that the great intellectual awakening in Bengal in the nineteenth century left the Muslim community largely untouched? Why did things come to suit a pass that when the British partitioned the province in 1905, while Kolkata protested vigorously, there was celebration Dhaka?

The underling sentiment of the book is a desire to see – even if political separation continues- much greater interaction in terms of common culture, shared history and geography and economic complementarity. By offering insights into the Bengali psyche, Bengal Divided holds out hope for a less fractious future.

Contents

Preface

PART I
ONE BENGAL: LAST PHASE
1. 1.Genesis of Separatism
2. From Camaraderie to Conflict
3. Unmaking of a nation
4. Parting of Ways (1937-45)
5. United Bengal: Last Hour
6. Bengal Decides on Partition

PART II
TWO BENGALS: A SPLIT FAMILY
7. Bengali or Urdu (1947-54)
8. Towards Ayub’s Martial Law
9. Crystallization of the Bangladesh
Concept
10. From Martial Law to Independence
11. The West Bengal story (1947-77)


Epilogue

References

Select Bibliography

Index