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Chapter III SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF BANGLADESH

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^ 109 CHAPTER III

SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF BANGLADESH Introduction

It is more than truism to say that a national ideology is always shaped by the real factors in socio-econooiic situ­ ation of that country. If nationalism is viewed as an ideo­ logy, deeper insights in the process of its evolution can be gained only by examining the social structure of that parti­ cular country. An endeavour is made here to analyze the evolution of East Bengal society and also to examine its social structure of present Bangladesh, __ •) b • 70 3 R The Historv of East Bengal : The significant period of the Bengal history was that of Gupta regime. It was during the 5th century A.D. that the various territories were brought under- their control by the Guptas. But it must noted that during the Gupta regime there were various small feudal states which were virtually inde­ pendent. Among the others, Shashankya, who was a aubsurvient ruler, defied the Gupta rule in the early 7th century A.D, and set up his own powerful Kingdom in the territories of Varendra and Gaurah of Bengal. Tne Bengal began to experience a period of political instability in the beginning of the ath century, mainly because of the weakening down of the imperial powers of Guptas. In the prevailing situation the people supp­ orted the Gopala, who was a Buddnlst Chief of Pundravardhan as their King. Gopala and nis dynasaty ruled over Bengal over II. 7oag . 101

four hundred years i.e. 750 A.D. to 1158 A.D, During this period Bengal had stable rule and it became a prosperous society. His dynsaty came to be known as Pala and they were succeeded by the Senas who were ruling over the other parts of Bengal at that time. The year 1201 A.D. marked the beginning of the Muslim rule in the territory of Bengal, In this year, Muhammad-Bin-Khilji a General of the * Slave Dynasty' of Delhi attacked the kingdom of Senas and captured the area of Nadia. Though Laxman Sena was defeated, he conti­ nued to rule a part of Bengal around Vikrampur near Dhaka, for some time. The Delhi based Slave Dynasty was followed by the Khiljis and Tughlugs who ruled the different parts of Bengal for next nearly 150 years. Subsequently, il'akhruddin Mubarak Shah, defied the authority of the Tughlugs and established an independent Muslim kingdom in Bengal in 1338 A.D. and he made Sonargaon in Dhaka area as his capital. But the real founder of Bangala empire was Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah (13^2-1357 A.D.) who unified Mubarak Shah's Bangala and Tughlug's Lakhnauti and assumed the title of 'Emperor of Bangla'. Ilyas Shahi dynasty ruled Bengal in two phases i.e. from 1342 to lAlO A.D, and again from 1442 to 1487 A,D. This period was considered as one of the most prosperous periods in the history of Bengal. A number of dynasties came to rule over Bengal after the fall of Ilyas Shahi viz. Sayyid dynasty Abyssinian dynasty (1487 - 1493 A.D.), Hussain Shahi m dynasty (1493 - 1553 A.D.) and the Afghan dynasty (1553 - 1575 A.D,).During the Mughal period, when Humayun was the emperor of Delhi , Sher Shah, a powerful Afgan Chief who also was a Mughal Jagirdar in South Bihar, fought with Humayun and conquared Bengal and brought it under his control (1539). But later on in 1575 the Mughals established their supremacy by recapturing the lost part of their empire from Sher Shah. However, tney could not bring back Bengal in their fold, mainly because there were some small principali­ ties, ruled over by valiant Bengalee rulers known as *Baro Bhuiyans * (Twelve Bhuiyans), among whom there were both Hindus and Muslims such as Isa Khan, Osman Khan, Pratapaditya, Kedar Roy, Sona Gazi and others. These 'Baro BhuIvans* did not submit themselves to the Mughal imperial rule for about 5 forty years. However, then there came the Mughal Governor Islam Khan who was known for nis military genius and shrewed strategies who conquered Bengal in the early 1612 A.D, It should be noted here tnaL during the i^ioghul days first Ohaka of East Bengal and later Murshidabad of iieat Bengal were the seats of Bengal government. Nawab Mursnid Kuli Khan who was the Moghul Governor of Bengal took the advantage of the weakening of Delhi powers and became an independent ruler in 1717 A.D. However, at the battle of Plassey in 1757 the Muslim rule in Bengal came to an end by the forces of the British East India Company who defeated the Muslim rulers and brought Bengal under their control. In 1858 the 103

administration of Bengal along with that of other parts of India was taken over by the British Governnaent of Queen Victoria from the East India Company. Thus, Bengal became a province of the British-India and remained So till 1947.

The Khlljl was not the first Muslim to enter Bengal. Before him Arab traders were visiting different parts of Bengal since 10th century A.D. With them some religious preachers and saints came to Bengal who spread the message of Islam In Bengal, From 12th century onwards Muslims conti­ nued to rule different parts of Bengal till tne advent of the Britishers in 1757.

In August 1947, the historic partition of the British- India took place and the Eastern part of Bengal was carved out to constitute a part of the newly born Muslim state of Pakistan, and the Western Part of Bengal which comprised of old Gaurah and Rarh was attached to India. The East Bengal which became a part of Pakistan covered Venga, Samatata and Varendra areas. With the formation of Pakistan, the Identity of that area as East Bengal was subdued, and it came to be known as East Pakistan in 1956. However, the people In East Bengal never approved of this change over of nomenclature, After the raid of 50's, the old provinces of the West Pakistan were integrated into 'One Unit'and their old names were dropped out, and by the end of tjO's those names were again 104

revived and the provinces were allowed to be known by their old names. At that time a strong demand came from the East jPakistani people to rename the East Pakistan as Bangladesh. This demand signified the undercurrent of Bengali nationalism, Eventhough this demand was not conceded to,the name 'Bangladesh', in place of East Pakistan began to be used commonly by the beginning of 70*s. This name was recognised officially only after liberation in 1971.

Location of East Bengal :

In the early days of recorded history, what was Bengal Presidency in the British days upto 1905 constituted the 7 territory known as Gangaradai, This large country was divided into many kingdoms and territories. In the course of time, the area in which the Bengali language flourished came to be known as Bengal, which Included the present state of the West Bengal of India and the rest was with the erstwhile Pakistani province of East Pakistan, Beside these, there were small pockets of Bengali speaking population in Assam and Bihar. It should be noted here that, the areas now occupied by Bengali speaking people were broadly divided into five regions from the days of ancient history, Rarh was the area to the West of the Hooghly river covering the present state of West Bengal Just down of I'lurshidabad. Vanga was the area in Southern Bengal covering the district of Faridpur, Khulna, Jessore, Barishal and Patuakhali. Varendra covered most of 195

Nothern Bengal, some areas of Rajarshi and Dinajpur of Bangladesh, Maldha, Murshidabad and Jalpaiguri of West Bengal State and some parts of Bihar State.The area in the centre and east of Bangladesh covering tne districts of Dhaka, Tangail, Comilla, Noakhali, Chittagong and presumably Sylhet used to be known as Samatata. There were other names by which various areas were known at various times such as Harikela for Sylhet, Chandradvipa for parts of /arendra and Gauraha and Bangla for Vanga and Samatata. But the demarca­ tions of areas between these five main regions varied from time to time. As said earlier, the Guptas annexed the var­ ious territories of Bengal under one fold during 5th century A.D., but for the first time the Bengal was really unified under the Senas in the 8th century A.D, The early Muslim rulers of Delhi, specially the Tughlug, conquered most parts of Bengal and during their reign Bengal was divided into three provinces under the name of Lakhnaut, Satgaon and Sonargaon and during the mid of l''!tli century Ilyas Shahi rule ^brought about proper unification of Bengal and since their rule until British conquest Bengal gravitated round Vanga and Sama­ tata and during this time the terra ' Bengla' was coined to desi-

Q gnate the whole country, ^seti under the Brtclshers Bengal was again unified and came to b., known as Bengal Presidency the area of which extended from the frontier of Assam to the border of United Province (now Uttar Pradesh). In 1905, this province was partitioned into two provinces i.e. East Bengal and 'Vest t9«

Bengal. However, ttiis plan did not work and ultimately this partition was annulled in 1911. Subsequently, Binar and Orissa became separate'provinces and Bengal became a province of Bengali speaking peoi)le only,

Social Composition : Origin of * Bengalee' Ethnic Unit :

There is very little evidence which throws light on the racial origins of the Bengalee people. Sir Herbert Risely who first investigated into the racial composition and origins of the Indian people, traced the round-headed ele­ ments among the Bengalees to Dravidian and Mongoloid admi­ xture,^ but the Tiodern anthropologists say that, the Bengalees are a mixed group comprising proto-Australoid, Mongoloid and Gaucasoid strains. It is guessed that the Mongoloid strain was introduced by Tibeto-Mongolians, who descended to the Plains of northern and eastern Bengal, from their cis-Himala- yan aboad to avoid extreme cold there.It is also said that the ancestors of the Bengalees belonged to the tribe known as 'Bang', According to some Indian authors this 'Bang' tribe came either from Indonesia or Malaya. However, a large majority of them are of the view that the 'Bang' were from the Dravidian stock and they were pushed out of the original home­ land by the Aryan expansionist? al.-aost one thousand years before the birth of Christ. It is said that the Bangs subsequently migrated towards the south-east and settled in the delta region of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra. There are mentions of Vanga in the Vedas and as well as in Jalna Books."^^ The Aryans used 187

tne word Bengal to mean ttie territory where the Bang tribe used to live in the Vedic period. As said earlier it was during the Gupta period that various territories of this area were brought within an imperial fold and Bengal as territorial unit got its identity around the 5th century A.D. The people of Bengal before Aryanization were descri­ bed as Koma (tribal)?"^

SggJLal $^rft^4f J.

During the 5th century A.D. or so the caste organiza­ tion and the settlement of people on land cultivated with plough developed simultaneously , And between the 12th and 13th centuries both had become stabilized in Bengal society. During the period of CSuptas and afterwards the Hindus were dominant in Bengal, till 13tti century A.D, Tnen the Islam began to spread its wings in the Bengal society. The conver­ sion of the Hindus to Islam can be attributed to the efforts done by the Muslim saints (sufis), who came from the outside of this region to preach Islam in the differents parts of Bengal. Quite a large number of Hindus, particularly those belonging to the lower castes embraced Islam to emancipate themselves from tne restrictions and injustices to which they were subjected by the higher caste people. Apart from this there were some Brahmins and the other upper caste fami­ lies also who Joined the Islam for various reasons, however, some Muslin families from the norttiern part ot India also lOS

migrated to settle down in Bengal but the size of tnis group of migrated Muslins was very small. The Bengalee Muslims considered themselves as belonging to the four hierarchally arranged etnnic categories. Such as, (i) Syed (ii) Sheikh, (iii) Pathan and (iv) .Moghul, ^ The Syeds claimed themselves as the descendants of the Prophet. The Sheikhs are a numerous group. Generally those who belonged to the families of converts, claimed the-aselves as Sheikh, The Sheikas are con­ sidered to be belonging to the families of saints and so command reopect from the other categories of Muslims. The Pathan and .^ognuls came in the same order in social hierarchy.

They claimed themselves to be the descendants of the Pathan and Moghul families, which migrated to Bengal from outside,1 7

In the course of time these various status groups did not remain clearly distinguisaable from each other. Like Sanskritization in Hindu society, a similar process of upward social mobility appeared co have been operating among the 'lusliins also. For example, nariy groups belonging to the lower status groups, such as Fathans and Mughals in the course of time claimed tnomselves to be Sheikhs and tried to elevate tneir status in cne hierarcay. However, by the end of 19th century or so, another form of social stratification began to emerge in the Bengalee i^islims society, The four social clashes that emerged since then were naving 109

economic overtones. They were (i) Aahraf (Nobles), (ii) Atraf Bhalomanu? (Rising middle class gentlemen), (iii) Atraf (Middle class)j and (iv) Arzal (lower class),

(i) AsHraf i This clas is recognized as consisting of the descendants or the ruling dynasties of Arabia, Persia and Afghanistan. The class cons­ ist of mainly the royal families and the rich peasantry. They form a closed circle of them- yc*^ selves and have social intercourse mainly among 1^ themselves, From the late .30s onwards a number of Bengalee families, not of royal origins but of the educated and of those of who have become newly rich began to consider themselves as belonging to this class, (ii) Atraf Bhalomanus t The people with prosperity and high educational attainments describe themselves and are described by others as Atraf Bhalomanus. Among them are included the professionals and white collar, well-paid worsting people, businessman and the like. Their reference point is che class of Ashrafs and the channel of their upward social mobility Js mainly through marital relations with the Ashraf families. (iii) Atraf : Ln the eyes of the Ashraf class, all except the members of their own class are Atraf, The members of the Atraf class cannot claim any foreign ancestry worth mentioning and are not marti ally connected with the Ashraf class. There are various gradations among the members of tnis class, 110

(iv) Arzal : This class was described in the Indian Census Reports, 1901, (Part II, p - 544), Arzal class is the lowest one in the Muslim hierchy and it consiste of the members of the such lower classes as Halalkhor. Abdul and Bediva. with whom upper class Muslims reluctant to associate themselves and the Report further adds that the Arzals were not allowed to enter into the itosque or to use the public burial grounds, which meant for the people of the other classes,

Thus, the Bengalee Muslim society is characterized by a measure of social inequality which is contrary to the teaching of the prophect. However, it must be said that, not many parall can be drawn between the four fold division of the i%8Hm society and that of the Hindu society. The funda­ mental difference between the Hindu caste system and the Muslim ethnic hierarchy is that the former has a religious basis and religious significance while the latter has no systematic mytho­ logical and theological basis. The Muslim classes are less rigid and there has been a greater mobility among the members of this classes. Bengalee Hindu-l^slim Relation : In East Bengal in the pre-partttion days Hindus constituted more than 25 per cent of the total population. However, after the partition the percentage of Hindus in the total population was reduced. The eastern part of Bengal had Muslims Ill

In majority and so that was Included in the Pakistan as its part. The following Table 3,1 indicates the religious composition of the ^ast Bengal from 1901 to 1941.

Table ^.1.

Percentage Distribution of Population by Religious QrfttfPg An fi^at .Bengal,,, 19Q1 - ^9^1 >

Hindu including Decade Muslim schedule castes, Others

1901 66.07 33.00 .93 1911 67.19 31.54 1.27 1921 68.10 30.57 1.33 1931 69o46 29.36 1.18 1941 70.85 27.97 1.77

Source : Census of Pakistan , Volurae-3, East Bengal Grovernment of Pakistan, Karachi, 1951 > Statement No. 3.4, p. 33.

Immediately after the partition hundreds of Hindu families migrated from East Bengal to West Beni^al and equally large number' of Muslims also migrated from the West Bengal to East Bengal under duress. From the 12th century to the mid of 18th century, the Bengal was ruled by i%islim rulers and tne relations between the Hindus and Muslims were quite cordial. During this time quite a large 112

number of Hindus were employed as state officials and revenue farmers .The communal hartnony was also safe guarded, Tlie Muslim rulers did n,ct discriminate against the Hindus on the ground of religion. Under tHe patronage of the Muslim rulers even the great Hindu epics the ' Ramayana'and the 'Mahabharata', as well as the sacred scriptures like the 20 ' Bhagwata ' were translated from Sanskrit to Bengali. Like­ wise a Hindu Bengalee scholar Babu Girish Chandra Sen, tran- lated the holy Quran in Bengali in 1876, This harmonious relationship between the Hindus and Muslims continued till it was sabotaged by the British rulers for their own benefit. The Britishers followed the policy of ' Divide and Rule ', and they successfully created a great deal of distrust between the two communities about each other. In the first half of this century the relations between the two communities were deteriorated to a very great extent but despite that, both the communities were the co-workers in the nationalist nove- ments for Independence. They were proud of there Bengali identity to such a great extent that at one point the leaders of both the communities demanded the sovereign 'United Bengali However, in between two censuses of 1941 and 1951 the percen­ tage of the Hindus in the East Pakistan population got reduced /o \ to 5.93 per cent. According to the 1951 census the number of \ Hindus in East Pakistan was 22. 04 per cent whereas 113

22 in West Pakistan it was 1,6 per cent. This number subse­ quently dwindled on many accounts. In 1961 tne number of Hindus in East Pakistan was 10.45 per cent and In 'Hest Pakistan it was 1,5 per cent. 25 The above mentioned figures indicate that the percentage of the Hindu population in East Pakistan was much higher than the percentage of the Hindu population in West Pakistan. This had implication for the relationship between the East and West Pakistan Muslims.In the event of the multi-sided exploitation of East Pakistan by the West Pakistan rulers, there developed cordiality and the sense of alliance between the i^islims and the Hindus In the Eastex-n wing of Pakistan, Tnis became a point of irri­ tation for the non-Bengalee Pakistanis. Since the Hindus were a sizeable minority in East Pakistan the relationship between the Muslims and the Hindus at the local level was usually cordial and harmonious. Tnis was also not very much liked by the West Pakistani .Muslims. OJten the East Pakistan Muslims were condemned by their counterpart as 'Kafir' ( infidel ) ,

Relation Between Bengalae Muslims and non-Bengalee Muslims of Pakistan i

Traditionally, the Hindus and Muslims in East Bengal had very harmonious relationship with each other. Except'certain religious peculiarities, their ways of life resembled greatly, 114

Both the communities were proud of their composite Bengali 2k identity. However, as said earlier the policies adopted by the Britishers deliberately created rifts between the two communities. The relations between the Bengalee Muslims and Bengalee Hindus further got strained because of the communal propaganda of the Muslim League and its leaders, The situation later on altered so much that the Bengalee Muslim leaders upheld the two nation theory and supported the cause of Pakistan,

Ififith the formation of Pakistan the Muslims in the East Bengal and those in the itfest Punjab got involved with each other as the citizens of the same state. However, during the partition period and afterwards large number of Hindus migrated from the East Bengal to West Bengal of India, The Bengalee Muslims then hoped that because of tneir numerical dominance in East Pakistan, they would have free and full scope to promote their interests. But this was not destined to be. It should be noted here that the Hindus who migrated to India were mostly business people, high ranking government officials, technologists and tae like. Their migration created a big vacuum in the different spheres of life waicn was soon filled in by the non-Bengalee l^luslims wno migrated from the Central and Northern India and specially from Bihar. These migrated people had business accumen and experience and also 115

they brought with thera their capital. Addedly they also received the Ctovernment assistance in cash and kind. Thus, they started controlling the business and the commercial sectors of the East Pakistan society. The Bengalee Muslims in East Pakistan had to remain contended with their middle and lower class life. Likewise, there was purposeful migra­ tion of the Muslims from the West Pakistan to occupy the superior Positions in the government bureaucracy, armed forces and other government establishments which were offered to them in preferance to the local people. A very few Bengalee Muslims could find access to these positions at that time and later on also. Eventually, the East Pakistan Muslim society got divided into two classes, the dominant one consisting of migrated non-Bengalee I^sliras which became powerful in diff­ erent government and non-governmental sectors and another subordinate class of Bengali-speaking native Muslims living the life in survitude of the dominant class, Tnese two classes differed from eagn other in terras of racial characteristics, cultural heritage, language, style of life and others and there was a single thread that of common religion whioh it was thought would hold them together. But the events which followed, showed that it was a slender thread,

Gradually, there developed the feelings of hatred ani­ mosity and envy in the minds of the local people about the 11«

migrants. The conflict between these two groups remained latent for a long time, because of suppressive tactics followed by the Crovernment. The two groups never got inte­ grated, neitner emotionally nor in any other way.

Economic Structure :

Like tne other parts of British - India, East Bengal was also economically backward region. The agriculture was the main occupation and it still continues to be so. Over 85 per cent of the people live on agriculture directly and indirectly.2 5 The occupational patterns of the Hindus and Muslims resembled each other and botn the communities were involved in such common occupations as weaving, fishing, agriculture, oil pressing and the like. During the first phase of the British rule, the economy of Bengal suffered serious reverses wnich affected the Muslims more than the Hindus. It should be noted that in the late 18th and early 19th centuries the I'luslims were deliberately discriminated against in the field of administration and civic organization as well as in economic activities in the interests of the British East India Company and its officials who were involved, The .4uslims were held in suspicion by the Company officials because they considered them as the direct descendants of the previous rulers. The Muslims sensing the mood of situation kept themselves away from the Company's activities and 117

retreated to obscure stations or dispersed in the country­ side whicn resulted in tne decline oC their social superi- 27 ority whicn once they enjoyed. This vacuum was filled in by trie Hindus who gradully attained socio-economic ascendancy,

The root cause of the economic backwardness of the Bengalee i'^sliras was that tney were essentially an agricul­ turist community^ Tne state of agriculture was very bad in those days in bengal so they were poorer than the iMusliois in other regions of India. The system of Permament Settlement whicn was introduced in 1793 by the British rulers, affected the fate of peasant classes in Bengal more than the earlier za'nindari system. The Permanent Settlement brought into exi­ stence a class of new zamindars. The zamindari passed from traditional zamlndar families into the nands of tne new moneyed class which prospered under the British patronage, Through investment of proprietorsnip of land was in the hands zamindar for perpetuity,the settlement placed the cultivators at the former's mercy. They were virtually reduced to a state of serai-slavary. The majority of the cultivators were Muslims so they were the ones who were severely affected economically by the Act. The zamindars took full advantage of the provisions in the Act and made the cultivators' condition pitable. The situation continued to be more or less the same till the Rent Act of 1859 and the Bengal Tenancy Act of 1985'were passed, 118

But they also offered very little protection to the peasants from tne exploitative practices of the zaTiindara. During this time a class of the maha.ian (money-lender) to whom the culti­ vators turned in financial difficulties, emerged. This another major development was ari indirect result of the terma- !ient Settlement system. In Bengal, droughts, floods, cyclones, epidemics and other kind of diseases frequently caused economic disasters for the rvots (peasants). Moreover, the rising rents charged by the zamindars compelled the rvots to borrow money from the maha.-jan in difficult situations. These maha.iana were often zamindars or a petty tenure holders and belonged to Shah and Marwari communities . These mana.lans took the advantages of the chronic financial difficulties of the peasants and plun­ dered them by charging ever-increasing interest rates, Jiven tne economic interests of the non-official Britishers, i.e. planters of indigo during the early 19th century and those of tea during the late 19th century and early twentieth centuries, also ruined the cultivators.2 9 Several circumstances contributed to make the situation inflammable in the indigo sector. There was a continuous rise of prices of agricultural commodities and agricultural accessories such as bullocks, ploughs etc. But the prices of Indigo were not raised proportionately. So the Indigo cultivation could not be profitable. Growing other commodities were more pcoCitable for the rvots. but tne foreign Indigo 119

planters who had political backing prevented the ryots from doing so by making use of force. The law and the executive authority were in favour of the planters. The suppressed ryots sometimes expressed their grievances or anger through violence, They burnt indigo factories, damaged plants, assaulted factory servants and boycotted those who stood by the planters. The ryotg also agitated against the planters by refusing to pay rent and by destroying the indigo crop,^ Likewise the hand- loom cotton, silk and jute industries, which were once very prosperous were systematically destroyed by the British indu­ strial policy, which aimed at making India a country of consu­ mers and not of manufacturers. In the whole process, mostly tne Muslims suffered. On the whole due to the British industrial policy Bengal's rural handicraft and agricultural economy was brought to shambles.

During the early part of the British regime a new social class emerged which could be called the 'middle class*. This class was placed in the social hierarchy in between the ari­ stocracy and the poor. This middle class consisted of the 31 intermediary tenures between the zamindars and cultivators, They were the .jotedars (landholders, wro used to take land from the zamindars on the lease basts), and bargadarg. (sharecroppers, who paid rent with an agreed proportion of his corps). There were three factors which were largely responsible for the emer­ gence of this class. They were : 120

(i) the system of the Permanent Settlement (ii) the English education and (iii)the development of trade and commerce,

Before trie British rule the zamindars were the only revenue collectors but during the British rule i.e. after the introduction of the Permanent Settlement Act in 1793, the ^.amindars became the landowners and a number of tenures were created between the zamindar and tae actual cultivators. Consequently, a few nev/ social classes and interest groups emerged in the rural Bengal. The jotedars and t'ae bargadars were among these classes.-^^ The .iotedarg.who used tc get land from the zamindars. were either fixed-rent rvots (Peasant) or settled or occupancy holders. The hargadars paid tne land rent with an agreed portion of crops and they were without any tenurial rights. However, the .iotedars gradually became an increasingly prosperous economic class by exploiting the cultivators and bargadars* The wealthy jotedars could send their cnildren to the cities and towns to get the English education, and then to become professionals and the govern­ ment servants. With growing industrialization and also bureau­ cratization of administration a class of professionals emerged in the Bengal society. This class was a part of the emerging I /new middle class. This middle class was mostly composed of Hindus. The emergence of the Hindu dominated influential middle class disturbed the balance of power which was there In Bengal, 121

This happeaed more so in East Bengal, where the i^tislims were in majority. The Hindus who became socio-economically quite powerful usui'ped the available facilities for them­ selves, mostly in the area of education. For numerous reasons even the wealthy Muslims kept themselves away from eduoa-cion, There was snow balling of tne Hindu socio-economic superiority and by 1870s they became quite powerful. The 1872 Census Report says :

Hindus, with exceptions of course, are the principal ^amindars. ^I^alukdars (owners of large subinfcudatary i.e., taluk and lower in social status than the zamindar) public officers, men of learning, money lenders, traders, shopkeepers, and (are) engaging in most active pursuits of life and coming directly and frequently under the notice of the rulers of the countryj while tne Musalmans, with exceptions also, from a very large majority of the cultivators of the ground and of the day labourers, and other engaged in the very humblest forms of mechanic skill and of buying and selling, ax tailors, turban makers, makers of hu.iqasnakes, dyers, wood polishers, oil sellers, sellers of vegetables and fish and few instances attracting the attention of those who don't mix much with the humbler classes of people, or make special inquiry into their occupations or circumstances',-^

However, the Muslim middle class in Bengal, like the middle class among the Hindus began to emerge during the last quarter of the 19th century and specially at the begining of the 122

20th century.3 5 There were two major factors, which were largely responsible for this, Kirst was the development of agrarian economy in Bengal by the end of 19th century, Because of increasing prices of the agricultural commodities, cultivation of land began to be more and more profitable. The Muslims, who were hatting substantial land holdings began to get tnera cultivated by the share-croppers instead of leasing them out to others. By that their econonnic conditions gradu­ ally improved and they began to acquire more and more lands. These people later on became to be known as .jptedars. As Ramkrishna Mukherjee reports, in the East Bengal the large number of .iotedars and other professionals related to the agriculture were Afuslims, Following Table 3.2. will give the picture of economic classes of 19^^6,

Economic Classes in (East) Bengal. 1946

r, . percentage of total C^^^g°^/ tiSiileholds Hindu Muslim Petty zamindar, Jotedar, rich farmer 5 3 Self-sufficient owner, 37 4A cultivator Sharecropper, agricultural 58 53 laborer _ _ ^ Total ICO 100 •*• + Each category contains equivalent and corresponding rural occupations, Source : Ramkrishna Mukherjee, The Dynamics of a Rural Society (Akademic-verlag, Berlin,Popular Prakashan, Bbubay, 1957), p.88, Table.2,1, 123

These Muslim .iqtedars also like tueir Hindu counterparts could send tneir children for education of the type which was required for such profession as : medical, law, teach­ ing, as well as for business, government service and the like. Thus, by the 1920s,the sons of the rural .iotedars increasingly began to becomerae.'.ibera of the urban middle 37 class, ' The second factor which was responsible for the emergence of the Bengalee Musliir middle class was the incr­ eased opportunities offered to them in the beginning dt the 20th century, itfith the first partition of Bengal in 1905 the Kuslims became numerically and socially dominant community in the iiast Beiigal that helped tnera to i.^iprove tlieir condi­ tion to soae extent. The Muslims of the British India had been dtjmanding special concessions and facilities as well as reservation in Jobs, These were granted to them by the Montagu- Ohalmsford Reforms of 1919. They accelerated the process of the formation of Muslim middle class. However,it must be said that the Muslims by and large belonged to the lowest socio-economic stratum in the Bengali society. Despite of the factors mentioned above very few of them could experi­ ence upward social mobility. Consequently, the Muslim middle class that emerged was of a much smaller size. Among the Hindus the members of the middle class were the torch bearers of social reforms and so new reformist kind of social 124

consciousness emerged among them, and side by side also the political av/akening. This kind of alertness did not emerge among the Muslims. The tiny i^luslim middle class could not give effective leadership to the re'nalnlng Muslims. So the Muslim leadership always remained with the landed gentry and other traditional aristocratic elites. Tnls leadership had to use strongly the religious idioTis for the political mobi­ lization of the masses. Naturally, tnis give rise to nationa­ lism of the religious kind among the i'luslims, where as the Hindu nationalism was secular in its nature with certain religious underpinning.

As said earlier during the British period as well as during the pre-liberation period, the main source of liveli­ hood for majority of people in Bangladesh (i.e. East Bengal or East Pakistan) was land. During the pre-British period the ^amindars were only revenue collectors but as the Britishers introduced the Permanent Settle nent Act in 1793, the ^a^ilndarg became the owners of the land and this zamlndari system prevailed in the whole of Bengal, In East Bengal most of the z ami radars were Hindus. After the oartition of the British- India a large number of them migrated to India. In 1930, the Government passed the East Bengal Land Acquisation and Tenancy Act of to 1930. The Act fixed up maximum limit of 125

33 acres of land holding per head. Due to this Act, the remaining Hindu zaminda^s or big landlords in East Pakistan as well as the Muslim zamindar were relieved of tneir excess land holdings. The surplus land was redistributed a.-nong others. The picture of the land distribution which we get during the 60s, from the following Table 3,3, shows that about 61 per cent land owners were having less than 7,5 39 acres of land each. But this measure adopted by the govern­ ment did not ensure the eradiction of rural poverty. In the country~side there were few rich land owners but the bulk of population was poor. Table 3.5. Distribution of Lar^dwonersnip in £ast Pakistan Size of Holding Percentage Percentage iAcres2 ^^Q£ES 2£_i§G^-2ii2£^ East Pakistan 0,0 to 0,4 13 1 0,5 to 0,9 11 2 1.0 to 2.4 27 13 2,5 to 4,9 26 26 5.0 to 7.4 12 19 7.5 to 12.4 7 19 12,5 to 24,9 3 14 25.0 to 39.9 — 3 40,0 or above — 2 Source : |*$iki§tan CensusLol M ^ri culture, East Pakistan Volume 1, Table 3, p-35, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Government of Pakistan. 12§

As will be seen in a later Chapter the industrial development in East Pakistan remained meagre mainly due to tne negligence of the Central governuent towards the economic development of the East wing, >tost of the industries were owned by the Muslims of the non-Bengalee origin. In 1959 only 3.5 p^r cent of private i%slitfl firm assets were owned by the Bengalee Muslims, whereas tneir percentage in the total population was 43. The provery which East Pakistan people experienced, probably explains the popular support which the leftist movement under the Moulana bhashani got, particularly in the rural areas. With a view to counter the increasing influence of the Ifeftist leadership which was causing threat to the Ayub regime, the President in the early oO's decided to create a native bourgeois class. A good deal of money was injected in the urban economy of East Bengal for this purpose. Hamza Alvi points out that two groups of people i.e. contactors and contractors were benefitted from the gene- rous offers made by the Central government.4 1 The money came from two financing units, e.g. the Industrial Development Bank of Pakistan (IDBP) and East Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation (fiPIDC), The contractors were tnose who were having intimate links with the influential bureaucrats; from wnich they could get permits and licences. Afterwards they could 127 sell them at good pre.niums to cne interested business parties. Side by side a few of tiiem started taeir own industries also, Ttie contractors were given contractii at inflatated rates and they accumulated a lot of aoney out of tne sHady deals. These two groups constituted tne new class of tne native Bengalee bourgeois. The middle and the lower middle class in xiiast Pakistan society which started emerging in the early part of this century began to enlarge in its size after the independence, It consisted of petty government ofiicials, professionals, service people in the private industrial and business concerns, Besides, there were also teachers, factory workers and others, Even though these people lived in urban places, they came mostly froin the rural areas, and tney were on the same wave length as that their of kith and kin in the rural areas. It must be stated here that the Bengalees in bureaucracy were mostly working on the lower positions and the higher positions were usually given to non-Bengalee i>4uslims. In the industrial units and also in the factories, the managerial and other impo­ rtant position were given to the non-Bengalees because the non- Bengalee enterpreneur class had no faitn in the Bengalee ^iuslilna, Gradually the growing Bengalee bourgeois in the East wing began to realize that they would not be able to get their due share in the industrial development or in xhe higher positions in the civil and military bureaueracies because of the dominance of the West Pakistanis there. 128

Political Situation :

With the advent of the British people in India, a process of social transformation set in. During the process a new class v/hlch came to be known as the middle class, which emer­ ged in the sub-continent. This new class initially emerged among the Hindus. It did not emerge among the Muslims till the last quarter of the 19th century. During this period quite a few protest movements directed against the Britishers. There were also peasant risings, reference must be made to the indigo revolts which were directed against the British oppression. These indigo revolts were led by the Fakir-Sarinvasi (Muslim- Hindu saint respectively). The rising Hindu middle class often acted as a buffer between these agititing section of population and the British government. The leaders of these agitations such as Fakir Majnu Shah, Karam Sriah, Titu Mir, Haji Sharla- tullah and his son Dudu Mian opposed the British land reforms, which only strengthened the position of the zpamlndars who neld land under tne Permanent Settlement Act of 1793, and this ^aiqlnday class was acting as agent of tne British ruler prote­ cting their interests. However, by tne end of 30's of the 19th century, the British suppressed these revolts witn a heavy hand. It Should be noted here that, these revolts by the peasants or Fakir-Sannvasis were not only revolts against the British. They manifested a sense of nationalism not religious revival or reform.^ Later on in 1857, this sense of nationalism again revived among the native soliders 129

under tne British. This revival was known asf the first ' A'ar of Independence' or the 'Revolt of 185?'. The Revolt of 1337 did not affect Bengal to the extent it did in northern India,

However, the above mentioned events awakened the Hindu middle class to their rights and aspirations. Gradually they began to criticize tne Britisn rule and the criticisoi soon took the form oi" millitant Indian nationalis.n symbolized by the founding of the Indian National Congress in 1885, I was the iirst political party of ail conaiunities in this sub­ continent. Later years wnen tne Coni^ress was launcning natio­ nalistic movements, the British for their own interest thought it necessary i.e. Hindus and Muslims to disintegrate the unity between the two main communities. Henceforth, the British aban­ doned their policy of nostility towards the y.uslim community perticular towards tne I'iuslin upper classes and the potential sections of the i^uslim population from wnich the Muslim middle class could be formed. At this stage Sir Syed Ahmed Khan came forward to conciliate with the British in the northern India, In Bengal persons like Justice Syed Ameer All, Nawab Abdul Latif, Nawab All Ghodhury, Nawab Abdul Ghani and Nawab Salimu- llah came forward to conoilitate with the British, They could establish prof)er equation witn the British goverrrnent and in the favourable atmosphere that pievailed then the .luslim League the first political party of .^sltms was establish in 1906. 130

The i'lusli.n middle class grew and tnis class became tne dominant factor in the politics of Bengal. By this time terrorist orga­ nizations like ' Anushilan' and ' Jugantar' were also set up by the middle class people consisting mostly Hindus. These orga­ nizations continued their activities through terrorism or assa­ ssination by Which the Britishers became very nuch frightened to move freely and this also helped to get the independence quickly. It anould be noted here i:hat same kind of terrorism and political assassination by the Bengalee freedom fighters in 1971 broke-down the morale of the Pakistani army and also helped to get independent within a short time.

The decade between 1937 to 19^7 was full of political excitement and in this period there ware some new developments, The cooperative moveim?nts and the peasant movement under the leadership of the Communist i^arty of India emerged stronger than" before, i'4eanwhile the Muslim middle class leader A.K, Fazlul Haq formed the Kx'ishak Pra.ia i^arty (i^easants and People's Party), whose activities were limited within tne Bf'ngal and it specially served as the mouth piece of the .jotedar interest in Bengal's economy and politics, -^ The Hindu middle class, however, was solidly entrenched in Bengal's economy. The corresponding Muslim interest could not compete with it even though it held political power from 137. The urban population, the 131

eduoated community, the landed interests and the bureauoracy of Bengal were still predominently Hindu, Regionally, more­ over West Bengal (with its Hindu stronghold) held East Bengal (with its Muslim stronghold) as its hinterland. In these circumstances, the Bengali t-fuslim (diddle class envisaged a quicker and easier way to further its interests by responding to the call of the AH India f^usli-u League which bejame the sole mouthpiece of Indian MUSHTIS ^vhijh subsequently demanded a separate homeland for Muslims. They expected to secure a territory and government of their own, as well as their own market for goods and services. Therefore, instead of pursuing a single party (i.e. Krishak Pra.ja Fart^), i%slim leaders first aligned themselves and later joined the Muslim League, These Muslim Leaguers mobilised the Muslia-i peasentry (especially in the East Bengal) through the influence they wielded in the countryside as .jotedars and other variants of the rural elite.

The Congress party, with its core leadership representing the iiindu landed and business interest, was regai'ded by the MuslLiis as a Hindu Organization. Tne Communist Party and other left-wing parties were not strong enough to eneck the comjiiuAai drift. As a result, influenced b> tne supra- Bengal course of religious aeparation in Indian society as a wnole the differing regional and religious identities o£' the 'Bengalee' 132

people won over their combined ethnic and national identity, Nation building and state formation in Bengal took unprecen- dented turn in 1947, when ttae two regions of Bengal were awarded to the two newly created states ^est Bengal to the Indian Union and East Bengal ( East Pakistan ) to Pakistan,

After the partition of the British India, the political situation in the East Pakistan bejame too fluid and complex to describe in a generalized statement. There emerged a crop of political parties in East Pakistan immediately after the partition. The pre-partition Muslim League had its vestiges in the East wing. This party was largely supported by the older generation, who were politically active during the pre­ paid ition days. During this time there were three major factions in the Muslim League which were headed by the three PriTie Ministers of the United Bengal, the Dhaka or Nazirauddin faction; the Fazlul Haq faction, and the Suhrawardy faction, The Dhaka faction, led by men like Khawaja Nazimuddin and Akram /< y Khan, was an essentially traditional and conservative faction that represented the landed interests. Moreover, its leadership r was nonvernacular and had little popular support in the country- side. The Fazlul Haq faction was vernacular and rural based. It was organizationally weak but had mass support because it cham­ pioned the popular socio economic causes like the abolition of landlordism and the settlement of rural debt, as well as , 133

Muslim social c-iuaes. The Sutirawardy faction was mostly raodernist and urban based, primarily in Calcutta. Many of its -tire members, including Suhrawardy himself, were non-verna­ cular, Tneir main assetwere tnexr organizational strength and tneir nold over the mobilized urban literate groups, especially the students,

After the partition, the Nazinuddin faction, captured power in East Pakistan, This faction was supported by the central Muslim League party bosses who were also in power at the centre. The central ruling elites were mostly non- Bengalees especially refugees from India, and so they had no following in East Pakistan, These ruling elites of the East wing were opposed by the Haq-Suhrawardy factions. The non-Bengalee Muslim League leaders played the politics of co-option. They occommodated tne aspiring Bengalee political elities within their fold tc some extent to neutralize their opposition. However, not all the aspirants could be accommo­ dated, This caused the emergence of the native vernacular couaterelites. The native vernacular counterelites got them­ selves politically organized by establishing a political party namely the Awami League in 1949, This party was the first opposition party that was formed in East Pakistan, and this party was led by the Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani, 134

who was earlier the President of the Assam Provincial Muslim League and was politically very active in the pre-i artition days. Moreover, Bhasani was very popular among the rural peasants and nad a very strong political base there. This party also included aspiring political leaders from the urban areas. Its three Vice Presidents, Abul Mlansur Ahmed, Ataur Rahman Khan, and Abdus Salam Khan all were small town lawyers with little active political experience. The party's both General Secretary and the Assistant General Secretary, Sharasul Haq and Sneikh Mujibur Rahman respectively, were in the lime light during the 19^8 language demonstration. Thus, the Awami League's leadership was dominated by tne small town lawyers

/ students and vernacular professionals or potential professlo- l^ nals. Apart from this, the party had a strong contingent of leftist in it and they accepted Bhasani as tneir leader because the latter lead the peasants agitations against the oppressive ^amindars of Assam and Bengal in the 20a of this century, Bnasanl had the socialistic attitudes but he was not acquinted with the Marxist literatures as such. However, his intimate contact with the peasants and tneir problems gained him deep insignts into the nature of class struggle. The Communist stood behind the vernacular elites in the 1952 language move­ ment and also In the first general election of 195^. The Awami League leader H,S, Suhrawardy ( At the time of formation of 135

the Awarai League, Suhrawardy became the convener of the All-Pakistan Awaml-League and Bhasani became the President of East Pakistan Awami League) became the Prime Minister of Pakistan in the 1956. Tne Communists and tneir sympatnisers in the Awam. League then criticized Suhrawardy for defending Pakistan's friendly relations witii the West and also for opposing the issue of full autonomy for East Pakistan. 48 The left oriented people ultimately broke their ties with the Awami League and established a new political party in 1957, namely the National Awarai Party (NA&), under tne leadership of Bhasani. Gradually, the Awami League evolved its ideology and programatio orientations in terms of secularism and Bengali nationalism. They also deiianded full regional auto­ nomy for East Pakistan and supported the cause of socialist reforms. After the death of Suhrawardy, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman became the President of the Awami League in 1964. With the exist of Bhasani from the party, the Awarai League lost a part of its rural base. Sensing the mood of the people Sheikh iMuJib followed the policy of supporting the cause of Bengali nationalism and the demand for total autonomy for East Paki­ stan, and won over the mass support. His Six Point programme which he declared in 1966 also gained Awami League a massive rural support. It can be said tnat tne Awami League gener­ ally represented the Bengali middle class members vfto were 13S

aspiring for employment, business oppurtunities, promotions and the like, Awami League's popularity tnrough out the country was evidenced in the last general election of the United Pakistan in 1970, in which the party secured 72,57 per cent of votes, 50

Eventhougn there was considerable poverty in East Pakistan, the National Awami Party which projected its leftist orientation could not becoTie popular with the Ben­ galee masses. This was mainly because its supported China's allince with Pakistan's dictatorial government. In 1967, the National Awami Party got divided into two factions, one was pro-Beijing which was led by Bh&sani and other was pro- Moscow, led by Khan Abdul Wali Khan, This split was the result of ideological rifts between the leaders. In addition to these three major parties whicn were having progressive, secular, liberal ideological orientations, there were also small parties such as Jamat-I-Islami, Pakistan Democratic Party, three groups of the Pakistan i^slim League (i.e. (i) Convention, (ii) Council, and (iii) Quayyum ), Jamiate - Ulema - e - Islam and the Nizam - i - Islam. These parties had conservative ideologies and were not in favour of Bengali nationalism but Islamic nationalism and also for a strong central government. As we will see in the next Chapter it was the Awami League .which cook the leading part ii\ the 137

liberation struggle against the domination and suppression of the non-Bengalees of Pakistan.

Cqltural Situp-tiont :

To have a clearer understanding of the undercurrents in the socio-cultural life of the pre-partition and post- partition Bengal it is necessary to take into consideration the role of Bengali language in tne formation of socio-cul­ tural identity of the Bengalee Muslims. The history tells us that a large bulk of the Bengalee Muslims were converts and for generations together the Bengali language had been their mother-tongue. The Muslims who came from the outside of the Bengal to establish their rule tried to impose their language i.e. Persian on the local people. Till the British took over the power in Bengal, the court language in many places of Bengal was Persian, However, it did not become the language of the common people. Both Hindus and Muslins considered Bengali as their mother tongue and tried to preserve it against on slaught by Persian earlier and Urdu later. The Bengalee Muslims always identified themselves with the Bengali language and tne Bengali culture. The history shows us that the Bengalee Muslims always resorted to the cultural and ling­ uistic reivalism whenever they experienced the threat from the outside. They always cherished the Bengali language as part of 138

their socio-cultural identity. Tiie efforts were always made to affirm that the Bengali was their Matri-Bhasa (Mother Language). For example, in 1915 ^loiiainfflad Yakub Ali Choudnury a Bengali litterateur proclaimed : that Bengali was the Matrj-Bhasa of Bengali Muslims was as true as sunlight ... and instead of trying to make this language 'Musalmani' (i.e. Muslim), it would be hundred ti^nes better to make effo­ rts to establish 'Musalraani' lii'e and spirit (i.e. Islamio ideas and inspirations) in the real of Bengali literature .-^

Atleast till the beginning of 20th century at no time the Musliais in Bengal appeared to believe that they could define tueir socio-cultural identity excepting in terms of the Bengali language and the Bengali culture. On the other nand there was strong trend among tiie Bengalee Muslims to take pride in the Bengali language and its literature. In 1928, tiiere was a suggestion to make Urdu a compulsory subject for the Muslim students in the Calcutta University. But that invoked strong protest from ttie * Monammadi' and 'Sikha' , which were the prominent periodicals of tne Bengalee Muslims at that time. 52 It appears that tnere has always been a conflict in tne minds of Bengalee .4ualims, as to whetner tney should cnerish, nourish and share witii Hindu, tae identity as tne Bengali speaking people or should taey evolve and nave their distinct identity as the Bengalee Muslitos, the identity 139

distinct from the pan-Indian Islamic identity, sans the Bengali language. Buc at the same time it was difficult for them to maintain their ethnic identity distinct from that of the Hindus while sharing the common Bengali language witn them. It can be recalled that at the time of the second partition of Bengal in 1947, there was a strong group among the 'luslims, who joined tne Hindus to demamd sovereign United Bengal, However, there is enougn historical evidence to show that the Bengalee Muslims were strongly inclined to have tneir identity not as Bengali speaking but also as Bengali speaking Muslims and so they welcomed almost whole heartedly tne partition of 1905, envisaging their dominance there as a major community. Eventhough, Bengalee Muslims and Hindus shared the Bengali language,still that factor did not bring about lasting integration between the two communities, Though, the language of the two commualties were the same, still each community had its distinct literary orientation.v/hile tne dominance of the Britishers began to increase in Bengal in the last part of the 19th century , the Hindus began to resist it. The Hindu Bengalee writers began to glorify the Hindu history and the Hindu tradition. But while doing so, quite often they dipicted Muslims as bad characters in their dramas, novels and other literary products. Tne writing of such well known Hindu writers as, Kavi Nabin Sen's Palasir I'tO

Yudhya (1875), Durga Chand»s Maha Mugnal Kabya, 5 parts (1877) Bakim CHandra Chatterjeefe.Durgesnnandini (1866), Dinabandhu Mitra's Suradhani (1871) and others. This Hindu Bengali liter­ ary orientatioPx continued through the first quarter of the 20th century also. But this inadvirertantly, alienated tne Bengali-speaking Muslims from tne Hindu. The Hindu Bengali literature did not reflect tneir problems and aspiration. Iney had an option to continue to use Persian, wnicn was once the court language at many places in Bengal, But tne Persian always remained the language of the elite classes and it had no acce­ ptance among the masses. So, this option was not workable, Tney could have also accepted Urdu as tneir language, wnicn nad already become a part of ethnic culture of the Woslims else­ where in the northern India, But tnis they did not cncoseto do for the reasons discussed in the earlier paragraphs.

As said earlier since tne beginning of this century the Musli.-ns in Bengal venemently made efforts to develop Bengali as tneir mother tongue. This is evidenced by the fact that during the period of 1900 to 1935, tnere were scores of perio­ dicals published in Bengali language by the Bengalee Muslims and tne Bengali literary world was almost stormed by what may be described as the Bengalee Muslim literary movement. The writing published in these Journals apparently had two obje­ ctives to achieve,first was to glorify Islam and the islamic 141

tradition. This was the kind of reaction to what the Hindu writers were doing. Papers like ' Islam Pracharak' , ' Islam' and 'El-Eslani'(1915) belonged to tnis group, ' The second was to create literature which would reflect the problems aspiraticns, opinions and views of thva Bengalee Muslims. To put it briefly, it can be said that both Hindus and 1^31 ins used the medium of the Bengali language to evolve separate 54 cultural etaos for themselves. it Is however, undeniably true that the Muslims and Hindus enjoyed the literary creat­ ions of the writers and tne poets ot both communities, Rablndra Sangeet was quite popular even after the partition of the British-India and still continues to be 30. Similarly Kazi Nazrul Islarn was probably more popular among the Hindus than among the l^lusllms. But this mutuality was on the level of literary appreciation only. Later on in the 1940s wnen tne political polarization took place on the communal lines both the communities used their periodicals for the promotion of their political interest. The crisis of identity caught the Bengalee Muslim mind all through the 19th century till the emergence of Bangladesh. The event of the emergence of Ban^jlaiesh can be described as lone of dissoluslon of this conflict. The crisis was whether to A unifrllne th(=^ Identity ag a Muslim or as a Bengalee. It started with the compalgn of Islanization in Bengal in the 142

19tii century. Still the life styles of the Bengalee i*Iuslims and Bengalee Hindus were identical to a very great extent, The Bengalee Muslims nad the Bengali names and surnames, which were the saiie as those of Hindus, such as Thakur, Dewan, Choudhury, Talukdar, Mallick, Tarafdar, Sarker, Biswas, Maju.ndar, Sikdar, Prodnan and etc., Even tht? nag la a^ nama (manuals of religions Instruction often In verse, for tne seralliterate and Illiterate. Their contents vere often chanted out to rural audiences by the local Maulavl - a Muslim religious scholar)j also included such words as Sri Haq, Sri Iswar, etc., i'lost of the Bengalee ftusli.ns. were in the rural areas and tneir rcl tit ions .vlth their' rlindu counter­ parts were so intimate that they hardly ccnslderad tMeiusel'/es as distinct from each other.^-^ Ho'^rever, in the 19th century the y,lamag. (scholars in Islamic jurisprudence, Alim) started 56 Strengthening the Islamic identity of the Bengalee iiusliins. They wantea the Bengalee i^slims to cast off tneir Bengalee identity and become a part of pan-Indian Tsla:nlc comrcuaity, But the language was the main barrier in this process. So, tney started eradicating the Bengali language from the Huslim socio-culture ethos. They declared that tne Bengali was not suitable for Islamic religious discourses. The Bengali wordg are more akin to Hindu culture and so in their place Arabic and Persian words snould be used, for example, they started liS

saying that the Bengali word Iswar has not the same meaning as the Arabic word Allah, They therefore, started writing the new r^aalhat-nama which Included Arabic, Persian and San- 57 skrit . words. ' They were considered as Islamic. This lingu­ istic rvjvolution which was started as :aeans of Islamization found Tioro supporters among the elites than the masses. The process of Islaraization got accentuated with the formation of All-India Haslim League in 1906. Thereafter, the Interest of yjemas coincided with those of Muslim political leaders, who wanted to organize the Muslims aa distinct and separate cominunity for their political purposes. Since the Ulemas had the contacts with the Muslim masses, the f^islim political elites found it necessary to befriend the Ulemas. With the backing of ine political elites the Ulemas rejuvenated tneir efforts to strer^thon the Islamlo identity of the Bengalee Muslims in the flrct quarter of this century,^® The various Muslim organisation emerged vlurlrifr this period. Later on these organisations attempted to generate consciousness of a separate identity in the ralnds cf Muslims, SiiTiultaneously, the yiemas also played a great role in artioulating and propagating the 'two-naticn theory', which was put forth in support cf the demand for a separate homeland for the Muslims5. 9 It must also be pointed cut that the new nasIhat-namasi which Included ;nany Arabic, Persian and Urdu words could not be lU

come popular among the masses, wno were not familiar with those words. So, simultaneously tiiere was strong demand from the rural Muslim masses to translate religious scri­ ptures in simple Bengali wnicn could be followed by the illiterate masses,

Tne rural masses and the Urban people began to take interest in this matter. This renewed interest of the Urban people was not inspired exclusively by religious consider­ ation. The rich and educated Muslims of urban areas were inter­ ested in political mobilization of the masses and they thought that the religious communication in Bengali could be useful to them in this respect. Many religious books written in Bengali came out during this period. Likewise many I'tislim Journals published in Bengali were started to create the Islamic consciousness among tne masses. Tnis revival of Bengali as a medium of religious expression resulted into confrontation between the Islamic identity and tne Bengali identity of the Bengali Muslims. As said earlier, tnis iden­ tity crisis pervaded the socio-cultural and political life of the Bengalee i^slims, particularly, during the British period. It can be argued that this crisis had its share in spoiling the relations between the Eastern and Western sect- ors of Pakistan and it got dissolved only with the emergence of Bangladesn. It is the formation of Bangladesn, that made 115

possible for the Bengalee Muslims of the East Pakistan to reconcile their Bengali identity along with the identity as Muslims, minimising the straiw arising out of this confrontation.

Our objective of the discussion of the social structure of Bangladesh has been to show as to how the East Bengalees had evolved a distinct socio-cultural identity of tneir own which was quite a variance with that of the Muslims of West Pakistan, It was when this identity was threatened that the tide of nationalism among the East wing Muslims reached its he ight. Itp

NOTES AND Rhli^'hRhNGiiiS

1. R.C, Majumdar, History of Ancient Bengal. Calcutta, 1971, P - 49. 2. Ibid., pp 161 - 62. 3. Sir Jadu Nath Sarkar (ed.), The History of Bengal. Patna, 1973, p - 32. 4. for detailed of this account see, Ibid. 5. A.M.A. Muhit, Bangladesh-Kmergence of a Nation. Dhaka, 1978, pp. 5-6. 6. References are found in the writings of Arab geographers. For details see, 'Early Muslim Contact with Bengal* in The Proceeding? of Pakistan Historical Conference. Karachi Session, Karachi, 1951. 7. The Gangaradai is also ntioned by ti' oraan Poet Virgil in his 'Georgics? (about 30 B.C.). For details see, R.C, Majumdar, Classical Accounts of India. Calcutta, 1960, pp. 454-55. 8. For detailed of this account see. Sir Jadu Nath Sarkar, op, cit, 9. For details see, Sir Herbert Risely, (i) The Peop] > of India. London, 1915. (ii) The Tribes and Castes of Bengal. 2 Vols., Calcutta, 1891. 10. Rounaq Jahan, Pakistan : Failure in National Integration. Dhaka, 1973, p - IB n. 11. Kamruddin Ahmed, A. Socio-Polltlcal History of Bengal and the Birth of Bangladesh. Dhaka, 1975, P- '/I. 12. Ibid . 13. Rarakrisna .»lukherjee, 'The Social Background of Bangladesh' in Kathleen Gough and Hari P. Sharma (eds.) Imperialism and Revolution in South Asia. New York, 1973, p - 399. 14. Nihar Ranjan Roy, Bangalar Itiaas. (in Bengali), pp. 2'j5t 278. 15. R.C. Mitra, The Decline of Buddaism in India. Viswa Bharati, 1954, pp. 78-79, 81. 16. J.D, Cunningham, A History of the Shiks. Calcutta, 1903, p - 31. 17. Abdul Karim, 'Research into the Social Heritage of the iMuslims in Bengal', in ^'lerre bessaigs (ed.), Social Research in East Pakistan. 19b4, p-17. Also see, Ranjit K. Bhattacnarya, 'The Concept, and Ideology of Caste among the Muslims of Rural West Bengal', in Imtiaz Ahmed (ed.) Caste and Social Stratirication among tne Atjslims. New Delhi, 1973, p - 117. 18. Dr. M. Enamul Haq and Abdul Karira Sahitya-Visharad, Arakan Ra.isabhay Bangla Sahltva (in Bengali), Calcutta, 1935, p - 92. lis

19. A.K, Nazmul Karira, Chansz^in^ Sooiety in India. Pakiatari and Bangladesh. Dhaka, l97o, p - 123. 20, k.C. Majumdar, An Advanced History of India. London, 1953, pp. 402, 407-408, 417-418. Also see, Dinesh Chandra Sen, The History of Bengali Literature, Calcutta, 1911, pp . 10-14, 21. Kamruddin Ahmed, op, cit., p - XL, 22, Government of Paiiistan, Census of Pakistan, /ol. 3, East Bengal, Karacni, 1951, Statenent No. 3.4, p-33. 23. Government of Pakistan, Census of Pakistar^. Vol. 2, East Pakistan, Karachi, 19ol, p. li- 15, 24, For details see, Hossainur Rahman, Hindu-Muslioa Relations m Bengal. -J905-1947, Bombay, 1974, 25. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, 1982 atlstical Year- J30ok pf_ Bangladesh, Government of Bangladesh, Dhaka, 1983, p - 4. 26, A.R. rtallick, British Policy and the Muslims in, Ben/a;al. I751-135ti, Dhaka, 1961, pp. 3-26. 27. Ibid., pp. 27-65. Also see, I.H, Qureshi, Tne Muslim CoKitiunitv of tne Indo-Pakii^tan Sub-Continent. 610, 1947, The Hague, 1962, pp. 209-23o. 28, Naranari KaviraJ, Swadhinata Sangrame Bangla. Calcutta,

1957, p-33. 149

29. N.K. Sinha, The Econooilc History of Bengal. From Plasscv to tne Permanent Settlement. Vol.11, Calcutta,1962,p,211, 30. C.E, Buckland, Benge^l under tne Llentenant-Governors. Vol.1, New Delhi, 1976, p - 194, 31. D.N, Dnanagare, t-easant Movements In India. 1920~1950. New Delhi, 1983, p - 157. 32. Shashi Bhusnan Cnoudhury, ' The Political Framework in Renascent Bengal, 1817-1857', Proceedings of a Seminar Organized by the Asiatic Society. Calcutta, 1972, p, 9. 33. Ramkrisna Mukherjee, The Dvanainics of a Rural Society. Bombay, 1957, pp. 48-50, 34. Syed Mahmood, A History of English Edx^cation in India. Aligarh, 1895, pp. 53-54, 147-148. 35. Abdul Majid Khan, 'Researcn about Mus.. Aristocracy in East Pakistan*, in Pierre Bessaignet (ed.), op.cit,, p-23. 36. A.K. Nazmul Karim, op. cit., p - 97. 37. Ibid,, 'Changing Patterns of an East Pakistan Family' in Barbara E, rfard (ed,), Women in the New Asia. Paris, 1963. 38. N.K. Sinha, op. cit., p - 229. 39. Rounaq Jahan, op. cit,, p - 27. 40. Gustav F. Papanek, Pakistan's Development : Social Ctoals and Private Incentives. Cambridge,: Harvard University

Press, 1967, p - 42. 150

41. Hamza Alavi, 'The State in Post-Colonial Societies : Pakistan and Bangladesh', In Kathleen Crough and Hari P. Sharma (ed.)» op. cit., 169. 42. Anil Chandra Banerjee, op. cit., p - 117. 43. M, Azizul Haque, The .^an Behind the Plough. Calcutta, 1939, p - VI. Also see, The Dynamics of a Rural Society. op. cit., p - 57. ^^. 'The Social Background of Bangladesh*, op. cit., p - 407. 45. Ramkrisna Muker^Jee, The Six Villages of Bengali,! Bombay, 1971, pp. 33 ff. 46. Ibid., The Social, Back/grpund of Bangladesh, op. oit., p - 407, 47. Rounaq Jahan, op. cit., p - 59. 48. Tariq All, Pakistan ; Military Rule oi eoPie's Power. London, 1970, p - 69. 49. x-'or details of tne 'Six Point', see Appendix 'D'. 50. Talukdar Maniruzzaman, B^ngj^adesh Revolution an4 jts^ Aftermath. Dhaka, 1930, p - 71. 51. Monaraad Yakub AH Chowdhury, 'Bangali Mussalmaner Bhasa- 0-Sanitya', Kohinur. Magh 1322, B.S. (1915); Ibid., p-133. Yakub Ali Choudhury also lamented that till their Bengali Muslim had not taken to Bengali literature. What ever efforts had been made were limited to the translation of 151

epic literature in Arabic and Urdu and tne rest were full of lamentation about tneir religious and social degradation. They were yet to develop liberal, original universal ideas which were necessary for the growth of good literature. 52. Ln this regard Maulana Mohammad Akaram Khan criticised the Suhrawardy family of Calcutta saying that they were trying to introduce Urdu in Calcutta University Syllabus. This would simply finisn tne Bengalee Muslim students. :4a3ik Mohamnadi. Second Year, No.4., Magh 1553, B.3.(1928), editorial. 33. Nabanur. Soltan (Weekly. 1902), Saogat (.4ontnly, 1918), Moslem Bhar^t. Masik i^hain.aadi,. :iaptanik Monam adi. (the last two during earlier stages) belonged to this group, 54. The editor Maulana Mohammad Akaram Kuan wrote that, Al-Eslam had not appeared Just to discuss literary subject. It was the Journal of AnJuna-e-Ulema Bengal and meant for V l3la:n missonarywork through in the first issue the editor said that its purpose was to serve 'Swadnarma ','iiwajati', Swadesn' and 'Matri-Bhasa', Al-i:;slam. /irst Year, No.2., Jaistna 1322 , B.S. (1915), P - 65. 55. Hafiuddin Ahmed, The Bengal i^luslims, 1871-1906 : A Queat for Identity. New Delhi, 1961, p - 109. 152

56. For a detailed account of tnis issue see, Aualendu De, Bengali Buddhi.Ubi-O-Bichjnlntabad (in Bengali), Calcutta, 1974 and Roots of Separatism in Nineteenth Century Bengal. Calcutta, 197^. 57. Q.A, Mannan, The Emergence and Development of Dobhasl Ll,terature in Bengal. Dhaka, 1966, Chapters : I - IV . 53. Amalendu De , op. cit., 59. Ibid., Islam in Modern India. Calcutta, 1982, p - 220.