Great Calcutta Killings

On August 16, 1946 the Muslim League observed Direct Action Day, a call for a protest in favour of Pakistan, after talks with Congress and the British Cabinet Mission had broken down. In Calcutta, where the League's Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy was the chief minister of Bengal, the day turned into rioting that lasted about four days. Hindus and Muslims killed each other in the streets, and the city's police and administration failed to stop it.¹²

The Cabinet Mission had put forward a plan in May 1946 for a loose federation, and the League had at first accepted it before withdrawing, charging that Congress was rejecting its terms. Tensions were high after the 1946 elections, in which the League won most Muslim seats and Congress most general seats. Estimates of the dead are uncertain, with commonly cited figures ranging from about 4,000 to 10,000, with many more injured and about 100,000 left homeless. It was called the Week of the Long Knives. The violence spread to Noakhali in East Bengal in October, where Hindus were attacked, and then to Bihar, where Muslims were killed in large numbers, and Gandhi toured Noakhali to appeal for peace. After Calcutta many leaders concluded that a united India could not be held together, and the British prepared to leave.¹²