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The 1947 Sylhet referendum was held in the Sylhet District of the
Assam Province Assam Province was a province of British India, created in 1912 by the partition of the Eastern Bengal and Assam Province. Its capital was in Shillong. The Assam territory was first separated from Bengal in 1874 as the 'North-East Frontier' n ...
of
British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
to decide whether the district would remain in
Undivided Assam Undivided Assam refers to the then undivided greater state of Assam in India soon after the Indian Independence in 1947 until 1963. In addition to the present-day Assam, it included the current states of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland ...
and therefore within the post-independence
Dominion of India The Dominion of India, officially the Union of India,* Quote: “The first collective use (of the word "dominion") occurred at the Colonial Conference (April to May 1907) when the title was conferred upon Canada and Australia. New Zealand and N ...
, or leave Assam for
East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...
and consequently join the newly-created
Dominion of Pakistan Between 14 August 1947 and 23 March 1956, Pakistan was an independent federal dominion in the Commonwealth of Nations, created by the passing of the Indian Independence Act 1947 by the British parliament, which also created the Dominion of I ...
. The referendum's turnout was in favour of joining the Pakistani union; however, the district's Karimganj subdivision remained within the Indian state of Assam.


History

Prior to the British arrival in the region in 1765, the ''Sylhet Sarkar'' was a part of the
Bengal Subah The Bengal Subah ( bn, সুবাহ বাংলা; fa, ), also referred to as Mughal Bengal ( bn, মোগল বাংলা), was the largest subdivision of the Mughal Empire (and later an independent state under the Nawabs of Be ...
of the
Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
. Initially, the Company Raj incorporated Sylhet into its
Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...
; however, 109 years later on 16 February 1874, Sylhet was made a part of the non-regulation Chief Commissioner's Province of Assam (North-East Frontier) in order to facilitate Assam's commercial development. This transfer was implemented despite a memorandum of protests being submitted to the Viceroy,
Lord Northbrook Baron Northbrook, of Stratton in the County of Southampton, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1866 for the Liberal politician and former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir Francis Baring, 3rd Baronet. The holde ...
, on 10 August from the district's
Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
-majority population which consisted of both
Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
and
Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
. These protests subsided when Northbrook visited Sylhet to reassure the people that education and justice would be administered from the city of
Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
in Bengal, as well as when the Hindu ''zamindars'' of Sylhet realized the opportunity of employment in Assam's tea estates and a market for their produce. After the first partition of Bengal in 1905, Sylhet was briefly reincorporated with
Eastern Bengal and Assam Eastern Bengal and Assam was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India between 1905 and 1912. Headquartered in the city of Dacca, it covered territories in what are now Bangladesh, Northeast India and Northern West Bengal. Hist ...
, as a part of the new province's ''Surma Valley and Hill Districts'' division. However, this reorganization was short-lived as Sylhet once again became separated from Bengal in 1912, when
Assam Province Assam Province was a province of British India, created in 1912 by the partition of the Eastern Bengal and Assam Province. Its capital was in Shillong. The Assam territory was first separated from Bengal in 1874 as the 'North-East Frontier' n ...
was reconstituted into a
Chief Commissioner's Province Chief Commissioner's Province refers to middle-level and minor type of provinces of India and in the post-colonial successor states, not headed by a ( lieutenant-)governor but by a Chief commissioner, notably : * in present India : ** Chief Commi ...
. By the 1920s, organisations such as the ''Sylhet Peoples' Association'' and ''Sylhet–Bengal Reunion League'' mobilized public opinion, demanding Sylhet's reincorporation into Bengal. However, the leaders of the Reunion League, including
Muhammad Bakht Mauzumdar Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monoth ...
and
Syed Abdul Majid The Hon'ble Moulvi Khan Bahadur Syed Abdul Majid, CIE ( bn, সৈয়দ আব্দুল মজিদ; 1872–1922), also known by his daak naam Kaptan Miah ( bn, কাপ্তান মিঞা), was a Bengali politician, lawyer and ...
, who were also involved in Assam's tea trade, later opposed the transfer of Sylhet and Cachar to Bengal in September 1928 during the ''Surma Valley Muslim Conference''; supported by Abdul Majid's ''Anjuman-e-Islamia'' and ''Muslim Students Association''.


Background

The
partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
was to happen along religious lines in August 1947.
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
-majority areas would be combined to form the new
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
while non-Muslim and
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
-majority areas would remain in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. Sylhet was a Muslim-majority
Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
-speaking district in Assam, which was a Hindu-majority Assamese-speaking province. The
Government of Assam The Government of Assam is the subnational government of Assam, a state of India. It consists of the Governor appointed by the President of India as the head of the state, currently Jagdish Mukhi. The head of government is the Chief Minister, ...
believed that removing Sylhet would make the state more homogeneous and strongly unified as a result. Assam's Chief Minister,
Gopinath Bordoloi Gopinath Bordoloi (6 June 1890 – 5 August 1950) was a politician and Indian independence activist who served as the first Chief Minister of Assam. He was a follower of the Gandhian principle of non-violence as a political tool. Due to his un ...
, stated in 1946 that his wish was to "hand over Sylhet to
East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...
". The
British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
declared on 3 July 1947 that a referendum would be held on 6 July 1947 to decide the future of Sylhet. H. C. Stock was appointed as the commissioner of the referendum.


Result

The majority of the population voted in favour of joining
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. This was implemented via Article 3 of the Indian Independence Act of 18 July 1947. The
Radcliffe Line The Radcliffe Line was the boundary demarcated between the Indian and Pakistani portions of the Punjab Province and Bengal Presidency of British India. It was named after Cyril Radcliffe, who, as the joint chairman of the two boundary commissi ...
published on 17 August 1947 gave some areas of Sylhet — mainly
Karimganj Karimganj is a city in the Karimganj District of the Indian state of Assam. It is the administrative headquarters of the district. Karimganj city is located at . The area of Karimganj city is 16.09 km2. It has an average elevation of 13& ...
— to
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, while the rest of Sylhet joined
East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...
, even though Karimganj had a Muslim-majority population which had opted for Pakistan, unlike some other areas in Sylhet like
Moulvibazar Moulvibazar ( bn, মৌলভীবাজার) is a town in north-eastern Bangladesh just south of Sylhet. It is the capital of Moulvibazar Sadar Upazila and Moulvibazar District, and is located on the banks of the Manu River. The town has ...
. The putative cause of this was the plea of a group led by
Abdul Matlib Mazumdar Abdul Matlib Mazumder ( bn, আব্দুল মতলিব মজুমদার; 1890–1980) was an Indian freedom fighter and political leader based in undivided Assam State. In 1946, when India was still under British rule, he became a ...
. India received three and a half
thanas Thanas is an Albanian and Ukrainian (''Танас'') given name and onomastic toponym element. The definite form is ''Thanasi''. It is derived from the Greek ''Athanasios'', with the Latin derived equivalent ''Tanush''. Thanas is also considered to ...
of Sylhet. Along with Karimganj, Zakiganj was also to be a part of independent India, but this was prevented by a delegation led by
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ( bn, শেখ মুজিবুর রহমান; 17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), often shortened as Sheikh Mujib or Mujib and widely known as Bangabandhu (meaning ''Friend of Bengal''), was a Bengalis, Beng ...
. Thus, most of the Sylhet District joined
East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...
, which later emerged as the new country of
Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
in 1971 following the Bangladesh Liberation War. The result of the referendum was largely welcomed by Assamese Hindus.


See also

* 1947 North-West Frontier Province referendum, a similar referendum held in present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sylhet Referendum 1947 in British India 1947 referendums July 1947 events in Asia 1940s in Assam Bangladesh and the Commonwealth of Nations Partition of India Sylhet District Referendums in India History of East Pakistan History of Sylhet