On 15th August 2021, India celebrated the 75th year of its independence. On August 16, 1946, just a year before Independence, India saw the form of religious fundamentalism that can still be seen among the people of Calcutta. Mohammed Ali Jinnah, leader of the Muslim League and founder of Pakistan, announced 'Direct Action Day' on this day, after which millions of Muslims gathered in Kolkata (then Calcutta) and thousands of Hindus were cut off within a few hours. The massacre of Hindus by Muslim fundamentalists was so brutal that it is not known till date what was the number of Hindus who died during that 'The Great Calcutta Killing'. This was the time in 1946, when preparations for transfer of power to Indians had begun by the British rule. British PM Clement Attlee sent a 3-member team, called the Cabinet Mission, to India. The objective of the party was to give concrete shape to the final plan to transfer power to Indians.
The party came to India and held a meeting with Congress and Muslim League leaders in which Mohammad Ali Jinnah demanded a separate country and also boycotted the Constituent Assembly. Jinnah then held a press conference in Mumbai in which he said the Muslim League wants its own separate country 'Pakistan' and if it is not given to them, they will perform 'Direct Action Day'. Jinnah finally announced that August 16 would be 'Direct Action Day'. Though Jinnah had threatened direct action across the country, the Muslim League ruled the then Bengal and was sitting there. At his behest, the Muslim League, in the name of direct action, openly fragmented its Hindus in Bengal and oppressed their sisters and daughters. Hindu houses and shops were set on fire. Even on August 16, 1946, the situation was normal till morning. But by noon, reports of vandalism, arson, and stone-pelting started spreading from different parts of the city. But no one had any idea so far that these sporadic incidents were going to turn into a terrible massacre of Hindus. A crowd of Muslims had started gathering from Calcutta and its surrounding areas. It was the time for prayers and at this time there was a crowd of Muslims, but the number of Muslims was a little more that day. Then it was time for 2 p.m. prayers. During this period, lakhs of Muslims gathered and most of them had iron rods and sticks in their hands.
Khawaja Nazimuddin and Suhrawardy's speech turned the crowd of violent rioters who looked thirsty for the blood of Hindus. In Calcutta, more than 6,000 people were killed in just 72 hours. More than 20,000 were injured. More than 1 lakh were rendered homeless. A local eyewitness named Jugal Chandra Ghosh had said that he had seen 4 trucks with swags filled up to a height of 3 feet and blood and various organs coming out of them. According to a report, a total of 5 lakh Muslims killed Hindus on Direct Action Day. Eyewitnesses had reported that on that day, apart from the screams of helpless Hindus on the streets of Calcutta, only slogans like 'Allah-hu-Akbar', 'Nara-e-Takbir', 'Lad Ke Lenge Pakistan' and 'Quaid-e-Azam Zindabad' were heard. SN Usman, the then Mayor of Calcutta and Secretary of the Calcutta Muslim League, distributed Bengali-written leaflets to the mad crowd that read, 'Kafer! Toder Dhongsher Re. Sarbik Thekando Ghotbe" which meant, "Infidels! Your end is not so far now. There will be a massacre. The pictures of the bloodshed that followed in Kolkata still make it shiver."
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