SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL TRANSITION OF A BENGAL DISTRICT : MALDA 1876-1953 Thesis submitted to the University of North Bengal for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in i-iistory ASHIM KUMAR SARKAR Lecturer In History Malda College, Malda Sufmrvisor Ananda Giipal Ghosh Professor Department of History University of North Bengal UNIVERSITY OF NORTH BENGAL 2010 954-14 asi-/r^ '-'cr-^i,;, CERTIFICATE This is to certify that the thesis entitled Social, Economic and Political Transition of a Bengal District: Malda 1876-1953 embodies the result of original and bonafide research work done by Sri Ashim Kumar Sarkar under my supervision. Neither this thesis nor any part of it has been submitted for any degree or any other academic awards anywhere before. Sri Sarkar has fulfilled all the requirements prescribed in the Ph.D. Ordinance of the University of North Bengal. I am pleased to fon^rd the thesis for submission to the University of North Bengal for the Degree of Doctor of Phitosophy (Ph.D.) in Arts. Date : i%-^ • ^• AnandaGopalGhosh Place : University of North Bengal Professor Department of History University of North Bengal DECLARATION I do hereby declare that the content in the thesis entitled Social, Economic and Political Transition of a Bengal District: Malda 1876-1953 is the outcome of my own research work done under the guidance and supervision of Professor Ananda Gopal Ghosh, Department of History, University of North Bengal. To the best of my knowledge, the sources in this thesis are authentic. This thesis has submitted neither simultaneously nor before either as such or part of it anywhere for any other degree or academic awards. f\P^i>»* xuyrton -tWco/j Date: IJJJJ^olo AshimKumarSarkar Place : University of North Bengal Lecturer Department of History Malda College Malda CONTENTS Acknowledgements 6 List of Abbreviations 8 Glossary 11 Introduction 15 CHAPTER 1. The Land and the People 22 2. The Socio - Economic Setting I: Process of Agrarian Changes, 1876-1939 47 3. TheSocio-Economic Settir^ - II: Growth of Industry, Trade and Commerce^ I P?t -) 5J> 115 4. Emergence and Growtti of Social Movements 1905 - 1953 : Case Studies of the Santals and the Rajbansis 185 5. The Zamindars of Malda: Their Role In the Socio-Cultural Life 226 6. Emergence and Growth of Natlonalfet PoHtlcs, 1906 - 1942 240 7. Popular Protest Movement and Tribal Resistance 1928-47 291 8. The Communalist Divide and Road to Partition, 1944-47 324 9. Refugee Problem , 1947-1953 : Some Issues 358 10. Origin and Growth of Left Politics 1935- 1953: Agrarian Disturbances and the Abolition of the Zamlndari System 387 Condusion 420 SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 423 APPENDIX 444 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project which began eight years back and has undergone many mutations and digressions, would not have reached completion without the generous support of many individuals and institutions. In these long years, I have shared my views with many scholars. My debts, therefore, are to many people and I wish to take this opportunity to thank them all. First, I would like to thank my supervisor and mentor Professor Ananda Gopal Ghosh for his encouraging comments, meticulous reading, sharing his vast knowledge of regional history, teaching me the skills to become a good researcher and most importantly, keepir>g me on track, in fact, I broached the idea of writing a monograph on Mateta vt^n I ^art^ teadiir^ in M^a CoNlec^. Tl^ Idea, however, wcKjfci never ha\^ been mart^la^ed witttout the guidance and suggestbns of Professor Ghosh. He intoduced nr^ to the intricate worid of regional history and enabled me to ar&^itfsie my thought in a rTK>re s^tematic manner. i owe an intellectual debt to individuals in multiple k>ca^ms and from different |x>ints of research. In Malda, my teachers at MsMa Cd^gs, especially Dr. Skidhartfta Guha Roy shaped my intetiectual trajectory. At University of North Bengal, my prdessors teu^t me to ttttnk beyofKi histories "facts and figures" for whk^ i am rTK}st grateful. I have also a debt of graMliKte to Kiran Sankar Majumdar, the editor of Gourdoot, who passed away b^ore the (X}mpletion of this study. The assistance and interest of the librarians and staff at the National Library in Calcutta, Malda District Library, Kaligram Library, Mirida Zilla Parishad Library, West Bengal State Archives, West Bengal Poltee Archives, SB Branch, Malda Collectrorate Record Office, are most appreciated. They gave me ready access to the materials upon which the present study is based. A special word of thanks to Mr. Amit Chakraborty for his invaluable assistance in the production of this thesis. Some debts, sadly, can no longer im acknowledged in person. My father and mother, would have been prcHJd mnd delighted to see this thesis completed. My debts to my wife Mitali are too numerous to be listed. It was she who motivated a lethargic researcher into action. The thesis would not have complected without her unflagging support, understanding and encouragement over the years. My little daughter Tinni has been a constant source of pleasant and refireshing distraction that helped me to bear with the tedium of research. I would like to dedicate this thesis to my parents, Asis Sarkar and Gayetri Sarkar, who passed away before I couki complete this work. Ashim Kumar Sarkar ABBREVIATIONS AlCC All India Congress Committee AiML All IrKlia Muslim League AIKS All India Krishak Sabha BADA Bengal Agricultural Debtors Act BLC Bengal Legislative Council BPCC Bengal Provirvcial Congress Committee BPHM Bengal Provincial Hindu Mahasabha BPML Bengal Provincial Muslim League BPKS Bengal Provincial Krishak Sabha BPSF Bengal Provirrcial Students' Federation CPI Communist Party of India CUP Cambridge University Press DM District Magistrate DCC District Congress Committee EPW Economic and Politrcal Weekly FIR First Information Report FR Fortnightly Report FN File Number GB Govemment of Bengal GOWB Government of West Bengal GOI Govemment of India Home(PolL) conf Home (Political) Confidential IB Intelligence Branch lESHR Indian Economic and Social History Review IG Inspector General JAS Journal of Asian Studies KPP Krishak Praja Party MAS Modem Asian Studies MLA Member of Legislative Assembly MLC Member of Legislative Council NAI National Archive of India, New Delhi NBU North Bengal University OUR Oxford University Press OC Officer in Charge PCC Provincial Congress Committee RSS Rashtriya Swayam Sefc^k Sangha RCRC Refugee Central Rehabilitetion Council SDO Subdivisional Officer SF Students Federation SP Superintendent of Police UCRC United Central Reftigee Councial WBSA West Bengal State Archives WCR Weekly ConfWential Report WPP Workers and Peasants' Party 10 GLOSSARY adhi half Share akhara gymnasium, physical culture club aman winter rice anjuman association (Muslim) aratdar warehouseman ashraf (Muslim) nobility aus autumn rice atrap (Muslim) commoners balttiak meeting bania trader barga sharecropping bargadar sherecr(^>per bazar market t^pari small traders bhadralok Bengali gentie-folk, belor^ng to upper caste biplab ret}ellion byayam exercise caliph Ruler of Turkey and religious leader chowkidar village police 11 dadan advance daroga local police officer daial broker dar- patnldar intermediate tenure-holder dhan paddy eiaka area ganj commercial centre gherao surround gola granary gotadar owner of granary hartal strike hat-chita hand note hattola an Illegal cess in the hat ijaradar lease hokier (of market) jatra rural theatrical performance jehad holy war jote cultivable land jotedar holder of cultivat^e land, often a substantial landholder kabala sale (of land) karja loan, Interest khot kabala conditianat sale 12 khamar personal demesne; threshing yard kholan threshing yard (in North Bengal) khoian bhanga breaking open of jotedar's kholans to get two thirds share krishak peasant krishak samities peasant organizations lathi wooden stick lathlal men armed with sticks mauja village mela fair n^ bahinis women brigades pargana administrative unit, revenue district pat jute patta lease/ registration of landhdding patni a type of tenure (fmind In vtfmt and central Bengal) patnidar tenure-holder, usually Intern^dlary between zamindar and raiytat in western part of Ber^l pir Muslim saint praja tenant sabha organization, samiti association sangathan organization 13 shariat Islamic law and c suddhi ritual purification subah Mughal province swaraj self- rule tanka fixed rent in kind tola : tax/ toll under-raiyat under-tenant ulema expert in Islamic 14 INTRODUCTION The present Dissertation will attempt to look into the significant political, economic and social transition of the district of Malda t)etween the years 1876 and 1953. Malda is the southernmost of the Northern Bengal districts. It is to be mentioned here that Malda as a district was a British creation in 1813. During the years 1876-1905, Malda formed part of the Bhagalpur Division. In 1905, the district was again transferred from Bhagalpur Division to Rajshahi Division on the formatran of the Province of Eastem Bengal and Assam. It was included in the Rajshahi Dh^iskm until August 1947. Before the Partitk>n, the district of Makia was composed c^ Wteen police stations. In 1947, under the Raddrffe Award the five Fx>lrce ^aticms of Siibganj, Nababganj, Bholahat, Nachol and Gomastapur went to East Pakistan (now Ban^adesh). THE STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Our study propose to begin w^ a brief (^scriptk>n on the land and the people of the distek^. I IHce to m^^Hi here that ttie poputatton of Msrtda betonged to difPererrt ^iruc, tunpitei^ ami mMmA groups, to \^HrM>us cartes and religkHJS comriHinities. A ^udy of tt^se e^hxm pnsuf^, suc^ as San^s, Rajbansis, Polias, Cteshis, Bincte, Mcm^ns, and MsAMte ^c. is r^c^isary because the (temogiaphic compc^kMi and sodo-culteirat dimenskms akmg with econcMTite factors came to ir^^nce soci^ aiKt poHtk^ rmn^ments in ttie district in significant ways. In this (x>nnectk>n, we will study the origin and gr(»wth of the social mobility movement among tfie Rajbansi Hindus and the Hinduiz£rtk>n nravement among the Santa! peasants in the BanrKi region of Makia.