Historical Memory Journey
Yasmin Khan
Creator / Contributor
Explore all resources attributed to this name.
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5
1906
All-India Muslim League Founded in Dhaka
In December 1906, the All-India Muslim League was founded at Dhaka during the Muhammadan Educational Conference. The formation of the League created a new all-India political platform that sought Muslim representation within colonial constitutional politics and would later play a central role in partition-era negotiations.
1911
Annulment of Bengal Partition
In 1911, the British government annulled the 1905 partition of Bengal and reunited Bengal as a single province. The reversal followed years of protest, boycott, and political mobilization, while also introducing a new imperial administrative order with the transfer of the capital from Calcutta to Delhi.
1940
Lahore Resolution
In March 1940, the All-India Muslim League adopted the Lahore Resolution at its Lahore session, and A. K. Fazlul Huq of Bengal formally moved the resolution. The text called for Muslim-majority areas in the northwestern and eastern zones of British India to be grouped into 'independent states' with autonomous and sovereign constituent units. Although it did not mention Pakistan by name, it became a major political turning point in constitutional politics.
1946
Direct Action Day and the Great Calcutta Killing
On 16 August 1946, the All-India Muslim League observed Direct Action Day to press its demand for Pakistan after the breakdown of constitutional compromise. In Bengal, where Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy headed the provincial ministry, the hartal and mass rally in Calcutta spiraled into devastating communal violence. The killings and reprisals in Calcutta, followed by violence elsewhere including Noakhali and Bihar, marked one of the clearest breakdowns of coexistence in late colonial India and made the partition of Bengal far more likely.
1947
Partition and Eastern Bengal
In 1947, British India was divided into India and Pakistan, and Bengal itself was split into West Bengal and East Bengal. This chapter traces how rushed borders, communal politics, and mass displacement reshaped the region and set the stage for later struggles over language, autonomy, and identity.