SOCIAL AND POLITICAL MOVEMENTS OF NORTH BENGAL (1911-1969) A Thesis submitted to University of North Bengal for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) in History Submitted by Manashi Sengupta Under the supervision of Prof. Ratna Roy Sanyal DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY UNIVERSITY OF NORTH BENGAL 2016 1 DECLARATION I hereby declared that the Dissertation entitled “Social and Political Movements of North Bengal (1911-1969)” is really an original work and it has been set down under the kind supervision of Prof. Ratna Roy Sanyal, Department of History, University of North Bengal. To the best of my knowledge it has not been submitted to any other University or institution for a Ph.D degree or any other Award. ( Manashi Sengupta) 2 3 Preface Ever since my childhood, I had been cherishing in my mind a desire to know the history of Socio – Political movements in details. And the present work – ‘Social and Political Movements of North Bengal 1911-1969’ had offered me a bright scope to satisfy, to some extent the very desire of my mind. The social movements which emerged during this period created serious identity problem of different ethnic groups of this region. The movements though started as a social one but ended as a political one. So the social problems were inextricably connected with the political problem. As a result the social and political movements influenced each other and finally led to the complexities of life of the area. I had mentally decided to work on this interesting topic and when I intimated this to my teachers Dr. Ananda Gopal Ghosh and Dr. Ratna Roy (Sanyal), they encouraged me a great deal and referred some basic works on the movements. And thus I started to work and to write the Dissertation on it under their kind supervision. The primary objective of this Dissertation is to highlight the socio- political movements of North Bengal. The pattern and character of the movements was more interesting. I have also tried to reveal the reasons of starting these movements during the period of my study. Barring this there are some other socio-political upsurges of the minor ethnic communities will be discussed in a nutshell. The name of this work indicates that I had sought to put forward the outline of the history of the Socio – political Movements in the districts of North Bengal, not the whole of Bengal or India. I had been an inhabitant of Maldah district since my very birth. In fact, born and brought up in this district of North – Bengal, I had been eager to find out this district of North – Bengal. It is my sole duty. And I had thus chosen North- Bengal as my field of enquiry. Therefore, the coincidence of the twin facts; my interest in the Socio – Political movements and my sense of belonging to North Bengal had inspired me to work on the Socio- Political Movements of North Bengal. I do thus once again express my sense of sincere gratitude to all those who had helped me directly and indirectly in writing this paper. 4 Acknowledgements The work ‘Social and Political Movements of North Bengal- 1911 to 1969’ is originally a dissertation. It seeks to ventilate both major and minor social and political movements of North –Bengal during 1911 – 1969. This work on the Social and Political Movements is, in fact, a fruit of a sincere desire to get the clear picture of socio- political movements of North- Bengal in greater detail. In such work I have had valuable suggestions, generous help, effective guidance and noble inspiration from several quarters to all of which I do sincerely express my deepest sense of gratitude and respect. In this direction I am grateful to my supervisor Prof. Dr.Ratna Roy Sanyal – Department of History, North Bengal University, for her generous guidance and untiring help, on several important points; the clarification made by her, I do gratefully acknowledge, was a treat indeed. I am especially indebted to Prof. Ananda Gopal Ghosh - Department of History, North Bengal University and Sri Utpal Roy -Assistant Prof. of Malda College for supplying some basic information relevant to my work. I do also extend my grateful thanks to National Library (Kolkata), State Archives (Kolkata), Writer’s Building library (Kolkata), Census Office Kolkata, Bangiya Sahitya Parisad Kolkata,North Bengal University Library, Himalayan Studies Centre (N.B.U.) Raja Rammohanpur, Darjeeling, Malda women’s College Library (Malda), Public Library (Malda), Raiganj Central Library Raiganj, Uttar Dinajpur. Among other persons, I do feel especially indebted to my father Sri Anil Kumar Sengupta- an Ex-Service man of Malda Land and Land Reforms Office and my husband Sri Amiya Kumar Roy who have injected in me a sense of love for this research work. Finally, I must wish to thank Sri Bijoy Kumar Das an Ex- Asstt. Teacher of Araidanga D.B.M. Academy, Araidanga, Malda without whose initiative this Dissertation work would not find broad daylight. Date: Manashi SenguptSenguptaaaa 5 6 ABBREVIATION Govt : Government. W.B : West Bengal. A.I.G.L : All India Gorkha League. M.M.A : Malda Muhammadan Association. S.R.C : State Reorganization Commission. U.C.R.C : United Central Refugee Council. C.P.I : Communist Party of India. T.A.S.O : Transferred Area Suryapur Organization. U.T.J.U.S : Uttarbanga Tapasili Jati /Upa-jati Sangathan. U.K.D : Uttar Khand Dal. P.W.D : Public Works Department. R.S.P : Revolutionary Socialist Party. C.U : Calcutta University. A.J.N.D.M : Alipur Jela Nirman Devi Mancha. G.J.M.M : Gorkha Jana Mukti Morcha 7 Contents Preface Pages Acknowledgement Introduction ……………………………………………………..…………....... 1 - 9 Chapter - I : Geo-Political, Social and Demographic Profile of the Area 10 - 31 The Emergence of Social Organization …………………... 32 - 58 Chapter - II : A. Hill North Bengal, B. Plain North Bengal Chapter - III : Socio-Political Movement of the Rajbanshis up to 1947…. 59 - 93 Post-colonial Geographical, Administrative and Political ... 94 - 107 Chapter - IV : Scenario of North Bengal The Post-colonial Political Movements…………………… 108 - 150 A. Banga - Bihar Merger Movements Chapter - V : B. Berubari Movement C. Enclave Problem Chapter - VI : Politics of Migration………………………………………. 151 - 187 The New Social Movements : Socio-Political .…………… 188 - 206 Chapter - VII : Upsurge of the Minor Ethnic Communities Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………….. 207 - 209 Photo …………………………………………………………………………....... 210 - 219 Appendices ………………………………………………………………………. 220 - 236 Bibliography ………………………………………………………………........... 237 - 247 8 Introduction The present proposed Dissertation will highlight both major and minor social and political movements of North Bengal during 1911-1969. The social movements which emerged during this period created serious identity problem of different ethnic groups of this region. The movements though started as a social one, ended as a political one. So the social problems were inextricably connected with the political problem. Both social and political movements influenced each other and finally led to the complexities of socio-political condition of the area. In order to get a clear picture of the problems of the area I would like to provide a social structure of this region. At the same time I want to highlight also the importance of the selection of the period because the social problem which was gradually taking place at that time virtually led to the foundation of social conflict and discontent in the closing phase of my study. The year 1911 was a memorable year in the political annals of Bengal nay India, because Bengal was re-unified in 1911 but had lost the status of the capital of India. The year 1911 was also an important year in the social annals of North Bengal. In this year the first caste and ethnic based social organization sprang up here. The name of the organization was Rajbanshi Kshatriya Samiti. It emerged in the canvas of North Bengal as a social organization but within a short time this organization entered into the political arena of region. In fact, since the beginning of the election system particularly after the Montegu Chemsford reform of 1919 the Kshatriya Samiti fielded candidates in the Bengal Council election of 1921. Since they never looked back as a social organization but asserted them both as a social and political organization, this transformation of this social organization – the Rajbanshi Kshatriya Samiti from a social body to a political organization created a serious problem in the political line of the region is directly connected with the transformation of the Rajbanshi Kshatriya Samiti during the period of my study. The year 1969 was also a remarkable year in the political atlas of my area of study of North Bengal. In that year the first ethnic based political organization 1 named the Uttarakhand Dal was founded. The emergence of Uttarakhand Dal initiated a change in the political profile of North Bengal because this was not only an ethnic- based political organization but also an ethnic- based regional political organization. Area of Study The area which I have selected for my research study is popularly known as North Bengal. The administrative areas which belong to the different area of North Bengal in undivided Bengal were the eight districts of Rajshahi division. They were Rajshahi, Dinajpur, Rangpur, Pabna, Bagura, Maldah, Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling. Though Cooch-behar State was a native state, it was also considered by the people of North Bengal as a part and parcel of North Bengal. North Bengal was partitioned like Bengal during the great partition of 1947. After the partition practically one third of North Bengal belonged to India and two-third, to East Pakistan. Chapterization: The whole research work is mainly divided into seven chapters. Chapter -1: Mainly deals the Geo-political, social and demographic picture of North Bengal in brief, as North Bengal is a multi racial and multi lingual region.