Partition of Bengal (1947) in the context of "Constituent Assembly of India"

Play Trivia Questions online!

or

Skip to study material about Partition of Bengal (1947) in the context of "Constituent Assembly of India"




⭐ Core Definition: Partition of Bengal (1947)

The Partition of Bengal in 1947, also known as the Second Partition of Bengal, part of the Partition of India, divided the British Indian Bengal Province along the Radcliffe Line between the Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan. The Bengali Hindu-majority West Bengal became a state of India, and the Bengali Muslim-majority East Bengal (now Bangladesh) became a province of Pakistan.

On 20 June 1947, the Bengal Legislative Assembly met to decide the future of the Bengal Province, as between being a United Bengal within India or Pakistan or divided into West Bengal and East Bengal as the homelands for the Bengali Hindus and the Bengali Muslims, respectively. At the preliminary joint session, the assembly decided by 126–90 that if it remained united, it should join the new Constituent Assembly of Pakistan. Later, a separate meeting of legislators from West Bengal decided by 58–21 that the province should be partitioned and that West Bengal should join the existing Constituent Assembly of India. In another separate meeting of legislators from East Bengal, it was decided by 106–35 that the province should not be partitioned and by 107–34 that East Bengal should join Pakistan in the event of Partition.

↓ Menu

In this Dossier

Partition of Bengal (1947) in the context of East Bengal

East Bengal (/bɛnˈɡɔːl/; Bengali: পূর্ব বাংলা/পূর্ববঙ্গ Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo) was the easternmost and non-contiguous province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the British administrative Bengal province and the lion half of Sylhet district from the Assam province. East Bengal existed from 1947 until 1956, when it was re-structured as East Pakistan under the One Unit Scheme by the Constitution of Pakistan of 1956. East Bengal had a coastline along the Bay of Bengal to the south, and bordered India to the north, west, and east and shared a small border with Burma (presently known as Myanmar) to the southeast. It was situated near, but did not share a border with Nepal, Tibet, the Kingdom of Bhutan and the Kingdom of Sikkim. Its capital was Dacca, now known as Dhaka.

The Partition of India, which divided Bengal along religious lines, established the borders of the Muslim-majority area of East Bengal. The province existed during the reign of two monarchs, George VI and Elizabeth II; and three governors-general, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Khawaja Nazimuddin and Ghulam Muhammad. Its provincial governors included a British administrator and several Pakistani statesmen. Its chief ministership was held by leading Bengali politicians.

↑ Return to Menu

Partition of Bengal (1947) in the context of Prime Minister of Bengal

The prime minister of Bengal was the head of government of Bengal Province and the Leader of the House in the Bengal Legislative Assembly in British India. The position was dissolved upon the Partition of Bengal during the partition of India in 1947.

↑ Return to Menu