Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday used West Bengal’s Partition-era history to frame the state’s current political landscape, declaring that Bengal is finally moving along a development path aligned with the cultural identity envisioned in 1947. Addressing an event in Hooghly district to mark “Paschimbanga Divas” (West Bengal Day), Modi claimed that attempts were made during Partition to include the entire undivided Bengal in Pakistan and alleged that the state’s past had been systematically whitewashed for political gain.
“Today’s youth must know how efforts were being made to make the entire state a part of Pakistan. After Independence it was necessary to take forward the emotions with which Bengal was saved. But efforts were made so that the people of Bengal forget the date [June 20] and the emotions attached to it,” Modi said.
Remembering June 20, 1947
June 20, 1947, is a pivotal date in Bengal’s history. On that day, legislators from the Hindu-majority districts of undivided Bengal voted in favour of Partition and for joining the Indian Union in the Bengal legislative assembly. That decision eventually paved the way for the creation of West Bengal as a separate province within India. Modi credited Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee for spearheading the movement that opposed proposals to include the whole of Bengal in Pakistan – a notion backed by the Muslim League and some Congress leaders of the time.
Modi accused the Congress of bowing “before conspiratorial forces” during Partition and later trying to erase the history and significance of “Paschimbanga Divas”. “When efforts were being made to make the whole of Bengal a part of Pakistan, Congress had bowed before conspiratorial forces. It was then that Syama Prasad Mookerjee raised his voice against it… When there was a conspiracy to separate the whole of Bengal from India, a separate West Bengal was created to thwart those designs,” he said.
Political Reactions and State Observance
This was the first time that a state government in West Bengal officially observed June 20 as West Bengal Day. In 2023, the West Bengal Legislative Assembly passed a resolution to observe Bengali New Year’s Day (Poila Baisakh) as the state’s foundation day on April 15, rejecting the June 20 date. Former chief minister Mamata Banerjee had written to then governor CV Ananda Bose urging him not to hold an event on June 20, arguing that the state was not founded on any particular day but through the infamous Radcliffe Award. “We in West Bengal… have seen the Partition as a result of unleashing of communal forces that could not be resisted at that point of time. The state was not founded on any particular day, least of all on any 20th of June. Contrarily, the state was formed through the infamous Radcliffe Award,” Banerjee wrote in her letter.
However, the incumbent chief minister Suvendu Adhikari, a BJP leader, welcomed the decision to observe June 20 as West Bengal Day. In a post on X, Adhikari said: “After several long decades, for the first time, our nationalist government, inspired by the great ideals of Bharat Kesari Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, is officially observing ‘West Bengal Day’.”
Connecting History with Development
Modi sought to draw a direct link between the BJP coming to power in the state and what he described as the original vision behind West Bengal’s creation. “This time, ‘Paschimbanga Divas’ is even more special. The dream that was envisioned for a bright future of Bengal after Independence, today we are witnessing it turn into reality,” he said.
The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone for several development projects and released the 23rd instalment of the PM-Kisan scheme worth ₹18,880 crore. He praised the “double-engine government” (BJP at the Centre and in West Bengal) for working at “superfast speed” to put the state on a path of recovery and development. “Decisions are being taken at lightning speed and work for stalled projects has restarted. It is in this direction that today, foundation stones have been laid and inauguration done of projects worth thousands of crores of rupees,” Modi said.
Letter to Chief Minister
In a separate four-page letter to Adhikari, Modi assured that the Centre will extend full support to the state. “I urge the West Bengal government to set short, medium and long-term targets as well, such as what will be achieved in the next few years, next decade and so on. This way, we will get a realistic assessment of the ground covered and at the same time it will strengthen the collective efforts of 140 crore Indians to build a Viksit Bharat by 2027,” Modi wrote.
Opposition’s Rebuttal
The Congress and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) rejected Modi’s historical narrative. Congress leader Soumya Aich Roy said, “The Prime Minister is trying to fool the people of Bengal by giving a distorted history. The predecessors of the BJP had helped the British. His propaganda won’t work in Bengal.” TMC leader Kunal Ghosh accused Modi of distorting facts. “There is no fixed foundation day for West Bengal. Mamata Banerjee consulted historians and educationists, who suggested Poila Baisakh as the state day. The BJP is now politicising the issue,” Ghosh said.
Background: The Partition of Bengal and the Role of Syama Prasad Mookerjee
The Partition of Bengal in 1947 was one of the most traumatic events in South Asian history. The British Indian province of Bengal, with a population roughly equally divided between Hindus and Muslims, was a major focal point of communal tension. The Muslim League, led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, demanded the creation of Pakistan, which would include Muslim-majority areas. In Bengal, the League’s demand was for the entire province to become part of Pakistan due to its overall Muslim majority. However, Hindu politicians, particularly Syama Prasad Mookerjee, argued vigorously for the partition of Bengal along religious lines so that the Hindu-majority western districts could remain in India.
Mookerjee, a nationalist leader and later the first Minister of Industry and Supply in Jawaharlal Nehru’s cabinet, founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (the precursor to the BJP). He is remembered for his role in ensuring the creation of West Bengal. His legacy is often invoked by the BJP to claim continuity with the party’s ideological roots. Modi’s speech thus served as a reminder of that lineage, while also criticising the Congress Party for its alleged failure to protect Bengal’s Hindu population during the Partition.
The Radcliffe Award, named after British lawyer Sir Cyril Radcliffe, drew the boundary between India and Pakistan in August 1947. It divided Bengal into West Bengal (India) and East Bengal (later East Pakistan, now Bangladesh). The process was rushed and arbitrary, leading to massive population exchanges and violence. Banerjee’s reference to the Radcliffe Award underscores the painful legacy of Partition, which continues to shape political identities in the state.
Development Agenda and Future Prospects
Modi’s visit also highlighted the BJP’s development agenda for West Bengal. He announced several projects, including the foundation stones for new highways, railway lines, and industrial corridors. The PM-Kisan scheme, which provides direct income support of ₹6,000 per year to farmers, was also extended with the release of the 23rd instalment. Modi emphasised that the double-engine government would ensure that Bengal catches up with the rest of India in terms of infrastructure and economic growth.
West Bengal has historically been seen as a state with high potential but sluggish industrial growth. The BJP hopes that by invoking the vision of 1947 and linking it to current projects, it can build a narrative of historical redemption and economic revival. The opposition, however, views this as a political ploy to sidestep pressing issues such as unemployment, education, and healthcare. The state’s political climate remains deeply polarised, with the BJP and TMC locked in a fierce battle for dominance.
Historical Memory and Political Strategy
The debate over West Bengal’s foundation day is more than a semantic dispute; it reflects competing claims to history and identity. For the BJP, observing June 20 as West Bengal Day is an assertion of Hindu nationalism and a repudiation of the Congress’s alleged appeasement of Muslims. For the TMC, the day symbolises the violence of Partition, not a celebration. The party prefers Poila Baisakh, a cultural festival with no direct political connotation, as the state day.
Modi’s speech thus fits into a larger pattern of the BJP’s efforts to rewrite the historical calendar by emphasising events that align with its ideology. This includes replacing colonial-era holidays with “Vijay Diwas” and “Veer Bal Diwas,” among others. The response from the TMC and Congress suggests that the battle over history is as much a part of contemporary politics as the battle over budgets and ballot boxes.
Source: MSN News