How STATE Cooch Behar was connected with Bengal!

How Cooch Behar was subjected to immense deception!!

ANJAN SARMA

Shortly after the announcement of the independence of August 15, 1947, the Telugu-speaking people of the Madras Presidency started a movement to create a language-based state comprising the Telugu-speaking regions.

One of the leaders of this movement, Potti Sreeramulu, began an indefinite hunger strike to fulfill their demands. After 58 days of fasting, Sreeramulu died, and the movement turned extremely violent. In light of this, the Government of India acknowledged the demand for the creation of language-based states and formed ‘The States Reorganization Commission’ in 1953.

Members of the ‘States Reorganization Commission’ included Pandit H.N. Kunzru, Justice Fazl Ali, and Sardar K.M. Panikkar. The commission traveled to various parts of India, gathering memorandum from local leadership, organizations, and the public, as well as conducting discussions and collecting testimonies. The commission visited Darjeeling too.

In a memorandum provided to the commission, Deoparkash Rai, the president of the Darjeeling Gorkha League, wrote that Darjeeling was never part of Bengal historically, linguistically, geographically, or ethnically. Therefore, a hill state should be formed comprising a hill subdivision.

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Before the States Reorganization Commission, Bihar had claimed the regions of West Dinajpur, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling, and Cooch Behar. Bihar stated that if these areas or districts were not to be given to Bihar, then Darjeeling and Cooch Behar should form an independent region to be annexed with Assam.

Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha and Murli Manohar presented the memorandum on behalf of Bihar. The West Bengal Provincial Congress Committee had demanded that, apart from Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, etc., even the regions of Goalpara and Garo Hills in Assam should be included with West Bengal.

In the ‘West Bengal Gazeteers’, Durgadas Mazumdar wrote – “After August 14, 1947, until August 28, 1949, Cooch Behar was a princely state governed by the Koch Maharaja (who had become a feudal king under the British Government).”

In line with Mazumdar’s account, I want to mention that following an agreement with the Government of India on August 20, 1948, which promised to grant Cooch Behar the status of a ‘C’ class state, on September 12, 1949, Maharaja Jagaddipendra Narayan merged Cooch Behar with India, and with it, the existence of the state of Cooch Behar, established by Maharaja Biswa Singha and given a unique dimension by Maharaja Nara Narayan and Maha Veer Cilarai, was completely obliterated.

The Maharaja sent this final message to the people of Cooch Behar — “On this special occasion – which marks the conclusion of a long and harmonious cooperation, my mother and I extend our greetings to our beloved subjects. We can never forget your loyalty, respect, and love; and we hope that you will always maintain peace, harmony, and unity, as that is our tradition. We will also always sincerely focus on your moral and worldly welfare and pray for your happiness and prosperity. May God keep you all well.

Jagaddipendra Narayan Bhup Bahadur

September 12, 1949″

On the day the Maharaja of Cooch Behar agreed to merge Cooch Behar with India, the glorious era of the historic Koch dynasty came to an end. The Maharaja had no choice, for as the imperialist British were leaving, they had conspired with the different-colored imperialists Nehru-Patel to impose a condition that the princely states would have ‘independence’ but had to join either India or Pakistan. What kind of ‘independence’ was this?

With the Maharaja’s consent, the new imperialists Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel could not conceal their smiles, because Section 7(1) of the Indian Independence Act passed by the British Parliament provided a background for the princely states to revert to their status prior to British sovereignty.

Had the Maharaja of Cooch Behar claimed Duars region and decided to merge Cooch Behar with Pakistan, our land would never have seen the likes of Nehru, Patel, Gandhi, or Modi; and had the descendants of the Ahom kings also claimed to revert to the status quo, perhaps we would have been like Burma today, not troubled by the troubles on our forehead. Assam too had been a victim of a massive conspiracy, just as Cooch Behar had been.

Using the pretext of driving out the Bhutia invaders from Cooch Behar, the British entered and captured Cooch Behar, similar to how Nehru and Patel secretly colluded with the British under the guise of ‘independence‘ to deceive the states for their own and other power-hungry individuals’ interests. Whether India or Pakistan – one had to join either! What kind of independence was this?

In 1930, at the Round Table Conference held in London, Burma and Assam were included as ‘other states‘ in a special category. Chandradhar Barua represented Assam. Who elected him, what he said in London, or how he remained silent – do not delve into that now, but Assam, with its unique historical background, was deceived, as were many including Nagaland. Let’s leave that chapter for now, as the focus is on Cooch Behar.

From August 14, 1947, the treaty of Cooch Behar with the British from 1773 was nullified, and according to the Indian Independence Act adopted by the British Parliament, Cooch Behar once again became a sovereign state.

But there was a catch. Although ‘independent‘ in name, Cooch Behar, along with 565 princely states, only gained the freedom to join either India or Pakistan, meaning a return to the same subjugation under the new imperialists Nehru and Patel. It is here that one recalls that on the same day, the Treaty of Yandabo was also nullified, but which descendant of the Ahom kings had signed the consent letter for Patel as Jagadipendra Narayan had?

That is to say, neither Assam nor Cooch Behar ever truly gained independence, and Assam’s political leaders maintained complete silence on this issue, being preoccupied only with the problem of grouping – as they are now completely silent on the issue of foreigner expulsion and only speak about Clause 6 of the Assam Accord!

It’s the same old story. If there is Clause 6, what happened to Clause 5? And did the Assam Accord genuinely become null and void as soon as ‘CAA‘ was accepted? How then can Clause 6 exist? Let’s look back at Cooch Behar.

After gaining meaningless independence, Cooch Behar remained under the Maharaja’s rule until August 28, 1949 (what a historical irony!) – within India! On that date, an agreement between the Maharaja and India was signed, and Cooch Behar was merged with India.

At that time, the Maharaja asked what would be the status of Cooch Behar after the signature, and Patel assured him that Cooch Behar would be granted the status of a ‘C’ category state under the Constitution of India.

The Maharaja could not have imagined while signing that he would be betrayed by Nehru and Patel, and that the Cooch Behar of Vishwa Singha, Nara Narayan, and Chilarai would be transformed into a district of Bengal with the help of Patel by the minority Bengali Hindus. The Maharaja did not see through the Gujarati conspiracy.

The Maharaja formally surrendered Cooch Behar to the Government of India on September 12, 1949, with new hope. From that day, under the appointed Chief Commissioner, Cooch Behar began governance as the ‘Chief Commissioner’s Province,’ and the promise to form a ‘C’ category state was completely nullified.

According to Section 290(A) of the Government of India Act 1935, Cooch Behar was merged with West Bengal as an ordinary district on January 1, 1950. The announcement stated – “Govt. of India Ministry of Law notification No. S.O. 28, dated 31-12-1949 A.D. issued and by virtue of that notification the Cooch Behar state since centrally administered merged as a district in adjacent province (as it was then) of West Bengal from 2/1/1950.”

But the process of assimilation was not smooth, which is why a new web of deceit was crafted. Against the wishes of the people of Cooch Behar, the territory was merged with West Bengal. Cooch Behar, established by Maharaja Biswa Singha and reaching its zenith during Maharaja Nara Narayan’s reign as an independent state, gradually came to such a position that it not only lost its ‘C’ category state status, but also became a mere district, and that too of West Bengal! How? How did this happen?

Following the religious-based partition of India, the Congress Committee of West Bengal became very proactive regarding North Bengal and the princely state of Cooch Behar, as East Bengal had become part of Pakistan, leaving the people of Kolkata despondent and directionless. The scope for livelihoods shrunk. The size reduced. Thus, those who had the slightest concern for Cooch Behar, their voices began to echo the name of Cooch Behar like a mantra. The problem had begun in Cooch Behar as well.

Issues also arose in Manipur and Tripura. In Manipur, there was strong opposition to joining India, and intense movements began for the creation of an independent state. Simultaneously in Tripura, under the leadership of one group, a movement started for an independent state, and another group led a movement demanding a distinct state.

It should be noted that after the British left India, an agreement relating to the accession of Tripura to India was signed with the Maharani of Tripura, and Tripura was placed under the Chief Commissioner. Subsequently, after passing through various stages like ‘Part-C State’, ‘Advisers Council’ administered region, Central Territory, Union Territory, etc., Tripura gained full statehood on January 21, 1972.

Manipur was merged with India in 1949; the resentment about this inclusion has not subsided even today. The discontent multiplied many times over after the application of the ‘Armed Forces Special Powers Act’ in 1958. Let’s leave these matters aside for now! Patel merged Cooch Behar as a district with West Bengal, breaking the promise made to the Maharaja of Cooch Behar.

In reality, due to geographical reasons, Cooch Behar was even more important to India than Kashmir. Had the Maharaja of Cooch Behar claimed the Duars region and joined Pakistan, then the new imperialists of India might not have been able to enter Assam, including Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, etc., because the entire region could have been separated. But the new Englishmen, Nehru-Patel, deceived the Maharaja of Cooch Behar, who was smiling at them like the Maharaja of Cooch Behar, just as Patel-Nehru had deceived him!

The politics of Cooch Behar between August 15, 1947, and January 1, 1950, went through various stages for two and a half years, creating a complex situation. After the merger of Cooch Behar with India, the situation led to the following–

(1) Most of the indigenous sons of Cooch Behar wanted (a) an independent Cooch Behar under the Maharaja or (b) declaration of Cooch Behar as a central region, otherwise (c) merger of Cooch Behar with Assam.

On the contrary, Bengali speakers started conspiracies from West Bengal – (a) Cooch Behar must be merged with West Bengal to increase its size, (b) Goalpara district must also be merged with West Bengal.

During this period, the Governor of Assam, Akbar Hydari, who was present in Cooch Behar to observe the situation, wrote some parts of a letter to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the Deputy Prime Minister of India, on 29th January 1948, which read, “...out of the state’s population of Cooch Behar between 6 and 7 lacs, the Bengali members a mere 30000; yet the Bengali propaganda would make it appear as if Bengalis constitute the greater portion of the population consists of Rajbanshis including Muslims between whom there is fair amity and free social intercourse… Any attempt to bring Cooch Behar under the wing of Bengal Provincial Congress Committee would be violently resisted in the present state of feeling the congress would find few Cooch Behari adherence. The best solution in the present circumstance would be to let Cooch Behar come under the wing of central congress, but if that is not possible the second best would be to let it be affiliated to Assam Provincial Congress Committee…”

But even after Governor Hydari wrote in this way and the proposal for ‘merger of Cooch Behar state with Assam’ was unanimously accepted in the meeting of the executive committee of Assam Provincial Congress Committee at that time, it was not sent immediately to the Central Congress Committee.

Instead, it was deliberately concealed for more than six months by the leaders of Assam, allowing Dr. Bidhan Chandra Ray, Upendra Nath Barman, Atulya Ghosh, the President of West Bengal Congress Committee, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee of West Bengal, and the likes of Nehru and Patel an easy path to victory, just as Modi-Shah have done today!

The indigenous people of Cooch Behar were encouraged by Hydari’s visit because they thought – at least he will save us from being merged with West Bengal! Just as when JPC came to Assam, many thought they would take the issues of the indigenous people of Assam to heart and ‘CAA’ would not apply to Assam!

Regarding this, it was written in a book – “he (Hydari) was warmly welcomed by the Cooch Beharis not because of his personal qualities, but because they were relieved at seeing in him ‘the visible evidence that Cooch Behar was not tied to the apron strings of West Bengal.”

Between a population of 600,000 to 700,000, there were only 30,000 Bengali-speaking people in Cooch Behar. The majority of the people of Cooch Behar wanted, the governor Haider wanted, the conscious citizens of Assam wanted, but Patel and Nehru deceived the entire population of Cooch Behar and the Maharaja for the interest of those 30,000 individuals.

To challenge the potential deception, a society named ‘Cooch Behar Hitasadhini Sabha’ was formed in Cooch Behar. The reason was that the conscious indigenous people of Cooch Behar had already sensed the conspiracy of the Bengali speakers.

On the date of 4th Jeth 1353 Shakabda (19th May 1946), a massive assembly was held at Cooch Behar Ras Mela Ground with the presence of 60,000 people where the ‘Hitasadhini’ society was formed.

People came on foot, in bullock carts, in horse-drawn carriages, on bicycles, and by train to that grand assembly from Cooch Behar, all indigenous people.

An exceptional historical document writer, Pandit, Cooch Behar State Minister, litterateur Khan Chowdhury Amanatullah Ahmad was elected unanimously as the president of the formed Hitasadhini Sabha in that large assembly, while Satishchandra Ray Singha and Dharani Shankar Bhattacharya were elected as vice-presidents, Jaldhar Saha as the secretary, Maziruddin Ahmed as the assistant secretary, and other members included Makbul Hossain, Jafaruddin Bakshi (Dinhata), Bejuli Rahman (Cooch Behar), Satishchandra Ray (Khagrabari), Sateenath Ray (Bhetaguri), Anweshwar Ray (Bhetaguri), Dr. Yogendranath Ray (Mekliganj), Akin Pradhan, Gojen Ray Basuniya, Kumar Purnendu Narayan, Kamini Kumar Barman, among others.

In that grand assembly, it was decided that under no circumstances would the indigenous people of Cooch Behar accept the inclusion of Cooch Behar with West Bengal. The people of Cooch Behar made decisions in the assembly:

(1) To remain an independent state under the Maharaja,

(2) To stay within India as a centrally administered territory, or

(3) To merge with Assam.

At that assembly, an anonymous poet-songwriter distributed a song among the people which became very popular. It went like this: “Rise up, native brothers, wake up, native stars. Roaring like Satish Singha with a battle cry, come along with the lifeblood of the nation, Jaldhar, join Satish, and with Dharani by your side, come Anshar, arm in arm. Where are the boatmen in this land now in the hands of riverine people, where have all the brave Purnendus gone, come with Khan Choudhury.”

But Patel, showing a cold shoulder to everyone, took the side of the conspirators and Cooch Behar became a part of Bengal!! Cooch Behar became a district of Bengal!!

Today, the same situation exists in Assam. The Chief Minister of Tripura himself is a child of Bangladesh! But it’s even more unfortunate for Assam that the majority of political leaders supporting Bangladeshis (Hindu-Muslim alike) are so-called ‘indigenous’ of Assam!!

At that time, the editor of a Bengali paper named ‘Saptahik Janamat‘ was Dr. Charuchandra Sanyal. For the sake of only 30,000 Bengali speakers, he challenged the hopes and aspirations of 600,000/700,000 people of Cooch Behar, and had been endlessly conspiring through ‘Saptahik Janamat’ to merge Cooch Behar with West Bengal.

Dr. Sanyal started to vehemently oppose the Hitasadhini Sabha. In the ‘Saptahik Janamat’ paper on 12th January 1948, he wrote under the title ‘News from Cooch Behar‘ – “On the 4th Jeth, a society named ‘Cooch Behar Hitasadhini’ has been formed in the Cooch Behar State. Among its officers are Hindus and Muslims…. On 28-11-47 a meeting of the Hitasadhini Sabha was held in the town of Mekliganj. There, the State Education Minister Mr. Satish Chandra Ray Singha delivered a speech. His main point was that riverine people should be expelled from Cooch Behar. By riverine people, they only understand educated and business-minded Hindus.”

Dr. Charuchandra Sanyal, in his article titled ‘Cooch Behar Dhumait Bahni’, in the weekly Janmat Newspaper on 21 Bhad 1355 Sakabda, evoked poison as follows: “On August 27, state Revenue Minister Amanatullah Khan Chowdhury and Education Minister Satish Chandra Roy Singha addressed a large gathering in McLeod Ganj. They say Cooch Behar state has to be kept out of the Union of India and Cooch Behar state Congress has to be destroyed. According to them, outsiders are agitating to merge Behar in West Bengal. The education minister has come a step ahead and urged the Congress to fight for the front. The Congress has been termed as seditious and selfish.”

Dr. Charuchandra Sanyal did not stop at writing. He printed and distributed 10,000 ‘leaflets’ in Delhi, Kolkata, Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, etc. Many others were involved in the conspiracy, such as Chunilal Mukherjee, Pulakesh De Sarkar, Tarapada Chakraborty, Satish Chandra Pal, Prem Nihar Nandi, Barindra Ghosh, Bidhan Chandra Ray, Rajendra Chatterjee, and others.

Under the patronage of Bidhan Chandra Ray, they formed the ‘Cooch Behar People Association’ in Kolkata and sent a memorandum to Nehru – insisting that Cooch Behar must be merged with West Bengal. At the same time, Sarat Chandra Bose also sent quite a few letters to Patel for the inclusion of Cooch Behar with West Bengal.

On the date of 30th October 1949, representatives from Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, Sikkim, and Darjeeling gathered in a meeting in Darjeeling city and demanded a separate state. Regarding this meeting, the Chief Commissioner of Cooch Behar V.I. Nanjappa wrote to the Government of India – “The Hitasadhini Sabha is particularly interested in merging Cooch Behar with Darjeeling or Assam.”

But brushing aside all the hopes and aspirations of the people, Patel accepted the demands of Bidhan Chandra Ray, Charuchandra Sanyal, and others, and made Cooch Behar a district of West Bengal. The lifeblood of Cooch Behar, Khan Chowdhury Amanatullah Ahmad, Makbul Hossain, and others were exiled. Naranarayan and Chilarai became the great heroes of Bengal!

A glorious history was buried under dust by the Bengali expansionists of West Bengal! Against this backdrop, why shouldn’t the indigenous people of Assam today cry out against the ‘CAA’ (Citizenship Amendment Act) in the context of Tripura?

Unfortunately, at that time as well, the so-called political leaders of Assam did not heed the cries of the people of Cooch Behar due to fear of Patel-Nehru and for their personal political interests, just like today’s so-called political leaders of Assam shamelessly ignore the cries of the people of Assam due to fear of Modi-Shah, and keep playing ‘Divide and Rule’ like the English.

But they have forgotten that the new generation also studies history! The new generation has heard the heart-piercing song of the people of Cooch Behar…

“Oh brothers of Cooch Behar,

Cooch Behar, the land of gold,

The Bhatiya people came and made an end!”

       [”ও ভাই কুচবিহাৰী ৰে

          কুচবিহাৰ সোণাৰ দেশ

          ভাটিয়া আসি কৰিলেক শেষ!”]

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