After years of debate and contention, 20 June is finally going to be observed as the birthday of West Bengal, thanks to the resolution of the newly formed government of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The bifurcation of Bengal (the second and the decisive one after the first division in 1905) and creation of West Bengal owes its origin to the indefatigable leadership of Shyamaprasad Mookherjee who championed the idea of a ‘Hindu homeland’ within the Indian union.

A brief analysis of historical facts will clearly reveal Mookerjee’s contribution in this context. During 1946 and the early part of 1947 when Punjab was seething with communal clashes and intensified rioting causing an acute political crisis of governability that could not be salvaged without countenancing the League’s demand for Pakistan, in Bengal a section of the provincial leadership had taken a distinct stand in favour of “United Bengal”.

In fact, this movement was initiated by the then Bengal premier, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy for a separate sovereign dominion outside India and Pakistan for which he demanded British support, with a gesture to join the British Commonwealth as a loyal member. Apparently, the idea was quite innovative and seemed sustainable for the twin reasons of economic viability of both parts of resource-rich Bengal and also for maintaining Hindu-Muslim solidarity. Some prominent Congress leaders of the day, particularly Sarat Bose (the elder brother of Subhas Bose) and Kiran Shankar Roy (the-then President of the Bengal Congress), strongly supported the idea of a sovereign Bengal.

met the Governor, Lord Mountbatten on 14 May 1947 to inform him about the ongoing........

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