“Mapping Blunder” Placed Majority of Hindus Into East Pakistan: The Radcliffe Error Led To People Hoisting The Indian Flag on August 18

Key Points:

LORD MOUNTBATTEN, the last Viceroy of India, decided to delay the publication of the Indian map till August 17, 1947 after Sir Cyril Radcliffe mapped out the borders known as the Radcliffe Line. The rumors circulated around the majority of Hindu areas like Nadia, Krishnanagar, Malda’s English Bazar, and in Balurghat, some part of the Dinajpur district.

The rumors led to the making of an error called the ‘Radcliffe error’ and those parts of the Hindu areas went on to celebrate their independence on August 18.

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An All India Radio Broadcasting Helped People In Clearing Their Doubts Around Their Independence

Sir Cyril Radcliffe gave details about the mapping of the borders around India, the Radcliffe Commission decided to finally channel their report over the All India Radio. The radio broadcast was finally published on August 17, 1947 and confirmed that the greater part of Nadia, Malda, and Murshidabad belongs to India. But before that Radcliffe was given more than a month to divide Bengal and Punjab between India and Pakistan before the day of independence. The British Lawyer, Radcliffe mistakenly decided to draw a line that would separate the majority of Hindu from India. This incident got Lord Mountbatten’s attention and he told Radcliffe to redraw the map. The map was then updated on August 17, 1947.

But there’s more to the story, the history says that Radcliffe’s report on Bengal’s division on August 12, 1947, was signed and the details were gathered by the viceroy. It was before both India and Pakistan could celebrate independence. According to an 2022 essay, which was based on Mountbatten’s ‘Top Secret and Personal’ report, says that the viceroy was advised to not reveal the borders before Independence Day. Just to avoid any problems in the ceremonies, they decided to disclose the details of the boundary. The communal violence already struck Punjab. 

People already accepted their allegiance to Pakistan, when India got independent on August 15, 1947, but after three days on August 18, the Pakistani flags were brought down and the Indian flag was hoisted. The day was officially called the ‘Inclusion Day’ or ‘Bharat Bhukti Dibas,’ the day when the people became part of India.  

The locality of Shibnibas, Nadia, honors the day by hoisting flags and organizing traditional boat races on the Churni River. Present day, headquarters of South Dinajpur in Balurghat, people celebrate the day as a parallel Independence Day, since the day was also called the Second Independence Day. August 18, the day will forever be remembered in the history of these regions. 

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Communal Violence Affected The Regions of West Bengal Too

Pakistan flags were hoisted on August 14 or 15 by the Muslim League workers in Krishnanagar English Bazar and Ranaghat awaiting for their independence. Parts of Nadia, Malda and Murshidabad were also accumulated with a majority of Muslims. Minorities were in hysteria over the fear of getting stuck in a new state. Nadia and Malda faced night blackouts and also the stove was unlit for two days by women just to protect themselves from being dragged in any violence.

The violence in Balurghat became enraging over the flag hoisting. Gorkha regiment clashed with the troops of Pathan and Baloch between August 15 and 18. The town faced violent nights until the reports were broadcasted on radio on the evening of August 17, 1947. Majority of Muslims from some parts of Nadia, Meharpur, Chuadanga and Kushtia became part of East Pakistan. Malda, Dinajpur and Jalpaiguri were still under dilemma, on the other hand, 24 Parganas districts were undivided and after the Bongaon subdivision of Jessore was on the verge of being collapsed. Khulna was a Hindu majority area that went to Pakistan.

The boundary which Radcliffe drew caused violence from both sides. At last, towns celebrated independence and raised the Indian flag on August 18, 1947. The confusion and the unawareness led to such conflicts. Radcliffe’s error found its way at last and the violence stopped to give the people their identity. 

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