Socio-Political Movements in North Bengalglobalvisionpub.com/globaljournalmanager/pdf/1390997543.pdf · Act, 1947, the British ... ‘Kuchbiharer Bharat Bhukti Chukti Kuchbihar Basir

Greater Kuch Bihar—A Utopian Movement?

Sukhbilas Barma

IT HAS happened every now and then—one movementfollowed by the other. This part of the country popularlyknown as North Bengal, inhabited by the major ethnic groupof people, the Rajbanshis, has gone through different phasesof various movements and mainly ethnic movements. Onecan be reminded of the Uttar Khanda movement, amovement of a section of the Rajbanshis led by PanchananMallik. The movement was basically on the socio-economic-political issues, the feeling of deprivation of the sons of thesoil. This continued for some time; the Government paidsome amount of attention to the problems of the region;people got swayed by the left ideologies, and the movementlost ground.

Then came Kamtapuri movement in late 90’s, based onethnic sentiments, which were related primarily to thefeeling of subordination of the Rajbanshi language andculture. Based on the linguistic theory propounded byDharmanarayan Barma, the leaders of Kamtapuri movementled by Atul Roy shook the socio-political environment of

Socio-Political Movementsin North Bengal

(A Sub-Himalayan Tract) Edited by

Sukhbilas BarmaPublish by Global Vision Publishing HousePublish by Global Vision Publishing HousePublish by Global Vision Publishing HousePublish by Global Vision Publishing HousePublish by Global Vision Publishing House

Dr. Sukhbilas Barma: A retired I.A.S Officer, Dr. Barma heldimportant positions in the Government of west Bengal.

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North Bengal vigorously. The well-off sections of theRajbanshis have lost their lands and prestige to the non-Rajbanshis hailing from East Pakistan. The poverty strickenyouths have had to leave their mother land in search oflivelihood. The educated youths so limited in number haveremained jobless. That they have been neglected, exploitedpolitically and oppressed economically, has been broughtforth again and again. The opinions of foreign and BengaleePandits about the anthropological identity and social statusare considered to be imposed on them and hence notaccepted by the Rajbanshis. As such their actualanthropological identity is disputed.

This kind of neglecting attitude of the Bengaleeintellectuals towards the language, culture, customs,manners, food habits, social rituals etc. has been brought tothe forefront to influence the Rajbanshi psyche. They haveeven claimed that they do not belong to the Bengali raceand Rajbanshi/Kamtapuri/Kamta Bihari, their spokenlanguage is not a dialect of Bengali; rather it is a separatelanguage. All these have been the manifestations of thegrievances of the indigenous people in general. The simpleilliterate poor village people have naturally been influencedby the preaching and publicity done by the leaders of suchmovements from time to time. Usually illiterate poor peoplecan be easily influenced by tickling on their emotions andsentiment. The leaders have cashed on the sentiment of thesons of the soil. Good many of illiterate poor rural and semi-urban folks, particularly those who have become somewhatconscious about their rights because of education, whateverlittle they had but which has not fetched them anyGovernment/semi-Government job, have joined suchmovements being driven partly by emotions and partly byrealities of life.

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These movements had some amount of impact. Suchtitillations, however, did not have long term effect on thepeople in general, as they did not touch upon the basic issuesand their fruitful solutions. People gradually realized thefruitless efforts and false promises of the leaders andwithdrew their support. The movement ended in fiasco. TheKamtapuri movement is likely to see the same fate soon.Not getting adequate support on the issue from the majorsections of the people of North Bengal, particularlyRajbanshis the movement has got a set back. The sameprinciple of the Government in terms of some amount ofrepressive actions accompanied by some developmental andpolitical activities in the area are likely to play the diffusiverole in creating pressure on the movement. The KamtapurPeople’s Party (KPP) is already divided into two groups –one led by Atul Ray and the other by Nikhil Ray, and isweakened to that extent.

Very recently almost similar movement by the name“Greater Kuch Bihar” movement has stirred the atmosphereof the eastern part of North Bengal, particularly the districtof Cooch Behar and more specifically the sub-division ofDinhata. The modus operandi of starting the movement isalmost identical in this case too. The leaders have spokenhighly of the glorious history of Kamrup-Kamtapur as wellas the Rajbanshis, narrated the anecdotes of their social status,and glorified the peaceful happy life of the Rajbanshis duringthe regime of the Kamrup-Kamta Kings. Side by side, theyhave tried to show the oppressed and depressed conditionsof the sons of the soil under the present regime. Thismovement also appears to have been motivated by emotionsand impulses. One can have a good account of the reasons,emotions or otherwise involved in the demand of the GreaterKuch Bihar People’s Association, if their points of



submissions are analyzed and scrutinized with reference tothe official records and documents.

Charter of Demands of the Greater Kuch Bihar MovementFollowing are the demands of the Association as available

from their Memorandum submitted to Union Home Ministeron 18.6.2005 and their Leaflet “Dangar Kuch Bihar BasirKoyta Katha” (A few submissions of Greater Cooch Beharpeople).

(i) The Maharaja of Cooch Behar has not, of his own,agreed to the accession of the State to the Dominionof India.

(ii) In terms of the Instrument of Accession signed on28.8.1949 and 30.8.1949 Cooch Behar State can neverbe merged with West Bengal. Vide D.O.No. 15(19)-P/49dt.30.8.49 of V.P. Menon, the India Governmentcommunicated its intention to administer the Statecentrally by a Chief Commissioner, and so mergerof the State with West Bengal as District is notlegally tenable.

(iii) In terms of Section 7(1) of the Indian IndependenceAct, 1947, the British Government abolished all theagreements entered into during the period 1773 to1902 by which the British Empire occupied the areasof present Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Uttar and DakshinDinajpur and Goalpara district of Assam whichconstituted the territories of Greater Kuch Bihar.Greater Kuch Bihar with the above areas shouldthus be a legally acceptable concept.

(iv) In terms of the Instrument of Accession, CoochBehar has been a C-category State which cannot bemerged with West Bengal, an A-category State by anotification under section 290A of the Governmentof India Act, 1935.

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(v) In the agreement, the Government of India hascommunicated that it will take no importantdecision without Cooch behar people’s mandate. Interms of the agreement, Government of India ispromise-bound to meet the problems of CoochBehar people.

In the perspective of the above submissions, the GreaterKuch Bihar People’s Association demands implementationof the conditions of Instrument of Accession by virtue ofwhich Cooch Behar State has remained a C-category State.The agreement contains the issues of history, tradition,language and culture of the people of Cooch Behar and thecommitments about the communal harmony and rights tofood and shelter, health and education of the indigenouspeople and as such their slogan is – ‘Kuchbiharer BharatBhukti Chukti Kuchbihar Basir Mukti’ (Instrument ofAccession is the liberation of Cooch Behar people). Hencetheir immediate demand is not to force upon the people ofCooch Behar the unconstitutional and illegal election of WestBengal Assembly.

In the leaflet, the Association has claimed that theirdemands are based on the historical documents. Let us,therefore, examine the justification or otherwise of thedemands of Greater Kuch Behar People’s Association interms of the historical facts and documents point-wise. Tounderstand the main issues in proper perspective one shouldhave general idea about the history of Cooch Behar, historyof the Rajbanshis, their ethnic identity, culture, language,religion, belief, social custom, food habits, professionalcharacteristics etc.

I have dealt with them in brief in my article on NorthBengal and its people of this book. More details on these are



available in my book Bhawaiya –Ethnomusicological Study.It is however, relevant to mention that Cooch Behar was aPincely State like numerous others of undivided India.

Struggle for IndependenceStarting from the first war of Independence, popularly

known as the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, the struggle for theSwaraj, Azadi, and Independence was long, strenuous andexerting. Founded in 1885, the Indian National Congress,initially a body of people loyal to the Imperial throne turnedinto a nationalist organization by the turn of the century.After the Jalianwala (1918), Gandhiji led the nationalistmovement with the principle of non-violence which wasfurther sustained by mass-awakening, social reforms, Hindu-Muslim unity, non-cooperation, satyagraha etc. The BritishEmpire introduced constitutional reforms in 1909, 1919 and1935 under compelling circumstances. The commitments forself-government irresistibly led to the demand for a dominionand then to the irresistible fight for independence. At eachstage, the imperialists replied with repression.

The events of the Second World War, pressure of thedemocratic international opinion and will force of the Indianpeople brought home to the British the conviction that arapprochement with the Indian people could no longer bepostponed, and this took shape in Cripps Proposals in 1942under which it was stated that the British Government willenter into a treaty with a Constituent Assembly, a constitutionmaking body for Independent India, to transfer power tothe Indian people after the termination of the War. Since theproposal involved uncertainty, the leaders rejected this. Thiswas followed by Quit India Movement in August, 1942.

The spontaneous and widespread movement hadtremendous impact. The dissatisfaction crept into even

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through the armed forces, police and administration. TheBritish was then compelled to make a rapprochement in1945. The ban imposed on Indian National Congress waslifted, the arrested leaders set free and invited to meet theGovernor- General in Simla in a move to associate themwith the Government of India within the framework of theGovernment of India Act, 1935, for the interim period. Theattempt, however, did not meet success because ofdisagreement between the Congress and the Muslim Leagueon the issue of their representations in the Government. Theidea of setting up a Constitution making body andtermination of the British rule were, however, pursuedcontinuously. In the meantime, the Labour Governmentannounced self-government for India.

The Cabinet Mission consisting of Patrick Lawrence,Stafford Cripps and A.V. Alexander came in the spring of1946. After prolonged discussions with the Indian leaders,they put up a working plan called the Cabinet Missionplan on May 16, 1946 which had two parts namely,(i) arrangements for making a Constitution, (ii) interimGovernment. The first part contained a proposal forestablishment of a Union of India consisting of the BritishIndian provinces and the Indian princely States after thewithdrawal of the British rule and authority.

The Mission proposed that the new Constitution shouldbe framed by a Constituent Assembly consisting of theindirectly elected members representing the Hindus, Muslimsand Sikhs in proportion of their respective populations. Thequestion of representation of the Princely States in theConstituent Assembly was left over for negotiation with therepresentatives of such States, their maximum number ofseats being fixed at 93 on the basis of population. The planwas widely debated and accepted by both the Congress and



the Muslim League. But the League turned about very soonand renewed its demand for separate nation for the Muslimsi.e. Pakistan outside Indian Union.

Position and Role of the Rulers of Indian StatesSome developments did take place in respect of the

Princely States too. The rulers rallied to fight for the Empirewhen the World War broke out in August, 1914. The Warefforts involved closer coordination of administrative activityin the States and the provinces. Lord Hardinge, the Viceroyand his successor Chelmsford held periodical conferenceswith the leading rulers. In August 1917, Edwin SamuelMontagu, the Secretary of State for India announced forincreasing association of Indians in the administration anddevelopment of self-governing institutions. He, along withChelmsford, the Viceroy toured different parts of India, metleaders of public opinion and important rulers. Montagu-Chelmsford report published in 1918, gave stress on therelations of the Princely States with the rest of India. Theyfelt that the rulers should end functioning in isolation andthey should have a forum for joint consultation anddiscussions for the furtherance of their common interest.After lot of discussions on the issue, the Chamber of Princes,a deliberative consultative and advisory body was broughtinto being by a Royal Proclamation in February, 1921, underthe Presidentship of the Viceroy with a Chancellor and aPro-chancellor to be elected from amongst the Princes.

The problem of bringing the Princely States into an IndianFederation was one the British themselves had hardly beenable to solve. “For over a hundred years before independencethese States had had a special relationship with theparamount power. Their treaties with the British had leftthem a good deal of internal autonomy-glorified by the ruling

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Princes into ‘sovereignty’ – although the Viceroy’s power tobring them to heel was ever present in the person of theResident.” (Austin Granville) ‘In fact, none of the States hadever had international status. Nearly all of them weresubordinate to or tributary to the Mughal Empire, theMaratha Confederacy or the Sikh Kingdom and weredependent on them. Some were rescued by the British andothers were created by them’. (V.P. Menon)

The rulers, however, took pride in their so called‘sovereignty’ and during the Round Table Conference theysought to protect their special status and “they clung leech-like to the manifestations of their ‘sovereignty’ (AustinGranville). As a result, the 1935 Act provided that the Statescould accede to the federation only if they desired so.

The third and final Round Table Conference held inNovember, 1932 could not settle the size of the federalchambers, the proportion of British Indian and States’representations. In March 1933, the Chamber of Princes metand put up a number of demands. The same month, theproposals of His Majesty’s Government in the light of threesessions of the Round Table conference and subsequentnegotiations were published in a White Paper. In April, aJoint Select Committee of both Houses of Parliament wasappointed to consider the future Government of India withspecial reference to the White Paper proposals.

The Committee submitted its report in October, 1934.Based on the report of the Committee, the Government ofIndia Bill was introduced on December 19. The Chamber ofPrinces appointed a Committee to examine the provisionsof the Bill and the Committee proposed some amendments.In the conference held in Bombay in February, 1935, therulers resolved that the Instrument of Accession cannot be



accepted unless certain amendments are made. At last afterforty three days’ of debate, the Bill received Royal assent onAugust 4, 1935.

The Government of India Act, 1935 provided for aconstitutional relationship between the Indian States andBritish India on a federal basis. But, while joining thefederation by the provinces was automatic, it was voluntaryfor the States. The negotiations concerning the terms ofaccession were to be undertaken with each State separatelyby the Viceroy. Therefore, Government of India Act, 1935,other than the part relating to federation, came into force on1st April, 1937. From that date, the negotiations with therulers dragged on until the War, with the result that none ofthe Princely States became members of the federation.

Congress and the Indian States in the Integration ProcessThe Policy of Indian National Congress, the only political

party in the scene, towards the States was that they shouldhave responsible Government based on representativeinstitutions guaranteeing elementary fundamental rights tothe citizens. The Congress stood for the same political, socialand economic freedom in the States as in the rest of India.Immediately before the opening of the Constituent Assembly,the Congress reiterated these sentiments and damned therulers who were trying to crush the political aspirations oftheir subjects, as reactionaries. The Princely States occupiedone-third of the Country’s land area with one-forth of itspeople. Although many States were insignificant, some werepowerful-financially and militarily. Forty four of them hadtheir own military forces. They could act as threat to Indianunity if they were not brought into a close relationship withthe Union.

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As stated earlier, the Cabinet Mission projected a ‘Unionof India embracing both British India and the States’ in whichthe Union would be responsible for the subjects of Defence,Foreign Affairs and Communications, while the States wouldretain jurisdiction over the subjects not ceded to the Union’.It also recommended that the States should sendrepresentatives to the Assembly and that, until they werechosen, the States should be represented in the negotiationsby a Negotiating Committee. Thus, the Constituent Assemblygot the authority to negotiate with the Princely States fromthe Cabinet Mission. In June 1946, the princes formed aNegotiating Committee and the Assembly established itsState Committee in December 1946 to have dialogues withthe Negotiating Committee.

The Committees met for the first time on February 8-9,1947 and the process of integration began. At the meeting,Nehru and Patel elaborated the Assembly’s position. TheStates would not be compelled to join the Union and shouldthey join, they would retain all but ceded subjects. Eventhen the rulers were not convinced and they raised varioustypes of issues. The Nawab of Bhopal, who happened to bethe Chairman of the Chamber of Princes, continued todisplay his opposition and uncompromising attitude. Nehruimpressed upon the danger facing India of the revolutionaryspirit of the masses, and of the near chaos position in someof the States and in the Country as well. In the secondmeeting on 1st March, Nehru pressed the Princes to sendrepresentatives to the Assembly in the light of the urgencyimparted to the situation by Prime Minister Attlee’s 20th

February speech. The split in the rulers’ ranks began. Barodajoined the Assembly, followed by the Maharajas of Patialaand Bikaner. By 28th April, the date of third Assembly sessionas many as sixteen representatives from some States signed



the register as Assembly member, although no ruler hadsigned an Instrument of Accession as yet.

Addressing the annual session of the All India StatesPeople’s Conference on 18th April, Nehru declared that anyState which did not come into the Constituent Assemblywould be treated as a hostile State. On 3rd June, LordMountbatten, the Viceroy announced the June Third plan,according to which His Majesty’s Government would beprepared to relinquish power to two Governments – Indiaand Pakistan, on the basis of Dominion Status and thisrelinquishment of power would take place much earlier thanJune 1948 as planned earlier. This announcement galvanizedthe Assembly and the Interim Government into action. Thesame evening (3rd June), the Viceroy met the members ofthe States’ Negotiating Committee and explained the planto them. The rulers raised a number of questions and askedfor clarifications on various issues. At the end LordMountbatten suggested that in coming to their decisions,the representatives of the States should cast their mindsforward ten years and consider what the situation in theCountry and in the World as a whole, was likely to be atthat time. Next day, in the Press Conference, Mountbattengave an emphatic negative reply to a suggestion whetherHis Majesty’s Government would give dominion status toany State which declared itself independent. In thisconference he gave the indication that the date of transfer ofpower could be about 15th August, 1947.

With the announcement of the plan, the Nawab of Bhopalresigned his Chancellorship and the Maharaja of Patiala tookover as the Chancellor. This made the job of integrationeasier. On June 5, the States Committee urged the Princes toselect representatives who would be present at the JuneSession of the Assembly. On June 14, Sir C.P. Ramaswami

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Aiyar announced that Travancore had decided to remain asan independent sovereign State. The similar announcementwas made by the Nizam of Hyderabad the next day. The AllIndia Congress Committee protested against this‘balkanization’ of the country in strong speeches on June 14.Nehru wrote to the Viceroy about the improper behaviourof the Political Department who were handing over CentralGovernment property to the States and recommended theestablishment of a new agency to deal with the States.

Role of Sardar Patel, Lord Mountbatten and V.P. MenonThe States Ministry with Sardar Patel as the Minister

and V.P. Menon as the Ministry Secretary came into beingin July and from this point onward, they assumed theprimary responsibility for bringing the Princes into theUnion. The month of July saw a steady increase in thepressure on the States. The States Ministry and the Viceroy,in conjunction with the Princes, drafted an Instrument ofAccession and a Standstill Agreement which provided thebasis for retaining in tact the many agreements andadministrative arrangements which had been built up overnearly a century, and which, with the termination ofParamountcy, had threatened to disappear and in the processthrow the whole country into a state of confusion andturmoil.

On July 10, a number of rulers and States Ministers metat Sardar Patel’s residence where it was urged that the Stateswhich had joined the Constituent Assembly should forthwithaccede to India on three subjects. In the special session ofthe Chamber of Princes the Agenda on (1) Accession of theStates on defence, external affairs and communications and(2) Standstill Agreement were discussed at length. The draftswere circulated to the rulers. Addressing the rulers, Lord



Mountbatten advised them to accede to the appropriateDominion in regard to three subjects mentioned above. Heconcluded the speech with the cogent appeal, ‘you cannotrun away from the Dominion Government which is yourneighbour any more than you can run away from the subjectsfor whose welfare you are responsible’. The NegotiatingCommittee was split into two sub-committees, one to dealwith the Instrument of Accession and other with theStandstill Agreement. On July 28, Lord Mountbatten gave acolourful reception to the big and important rulers. The draftas passed by the sub-committee was approved by theNegotiating Committee on 31st July.

Many rulers did not attend the reception and were eitherhostile to the plan of accession or were sitting on the fence.On 1st August, Government of India announced thatStandstill Agreement will be entered into only with thoserulers who executed the Instrument of Accession.

Muslim League leaders were offering temptingconcessions to some of them to inveigle them into joiningPakistan. For example, Maharajas of Jodhpur and Jaisalmeerwere tempted by Jinnah who signed blank sheet of paperasking them, ‘you can fill in all your conditions’. Jodhpurand Jaisalmeer, being populated predominantly by theHindus, the atmosphere in the State became hostile to theidea that they should join Pakistan. The Jaigirdars and nobleswere decidedly opposed to it. V.P. Menon and Mountbattenhandled them with due care at this stage and succeeded towin over them. The Nawab of Bhopal and Indore were againhandled by Mountbatten with his long-standing personalrelationship with them. Even last ditchers like the rulers ofDholpur, Bharatpur, Bilaspur and Nabha signed ultimately.Thus, by Independence Day, all the States exceptingHyderabad, Kashmir, Junagarh and two insignificant Muslim

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States of Kathiawar had joined the Union, ceding as aminimum their authority over defence, foreign affairs, andcommunications. Travancore also signed being convincedby V.P. Menon and Mountbatten that it can play significantrole in the Union. Regarding Hederabad, Nehru and Sardarfelt that negotiation should be continued even after August15. Lord Mountbatten visited Kashmir sometime in July andexerted his personal relationship to make up their mindto accede.

On August 15, the Government of Junagarh suddenlyannounced their accession to Pakistan without giving anyinkling of it to the Government of India. Nehru took it upwith Pakistan Government but received no response. Therulers of other States in Kathiwar condemned the accessionof Junagarh to Pakistan in one voice. The Jam Saheb ofNawanagar and the rulers of Bhavnagar, Marvi, Gondal,Porbander and Wankaner, the Maharaja of Dhrangadhramade vehement protests. The Hindu population of Junagarh,though majority, was being harassed. On September 17, itwas decided that Indian troops and troops of acceding Statesshould be suitably dispersed around Junagarh andnegotiation with the ruler continued. On October 27, ShahNawaz Bhutto, the Dewan of the State wrote a letter to Jinnahin which he described the disastrous consequences likely tooccur in the wake of Junagarh’s accession to Pakistan. OnNovember 8, Bhutto informed that he had alreadycommunicated the Junagarh Government’s decision to askthe Government of India to take over the administration ofthe State. On November 13, Sardar visited Junagarh. TheGovernment of India decided to hold a referendum toascertain the choice of people. Out of 190870 voters whoexercised franchise on February 20, 1948, only 91 cast theirvotes in favour of accession to Pakistan. The State with its



feudatories was handed over to the Saurashtra Governmenton February 20, 1949.

Hyderabad was creating problems from the beginning.The Nawab was bent on sticking to the power of ruling andexploitation. Jinnah has lured him by the promise of givinghim right to self-Government. Lot of discussions took place.Menon, Mountbatten and Sardar Patel held number ofmeetings with the representatives of Nawab and Nawabhimself. The Nawab, however, almost completed theconspiracy of joining Pakistan and even finalized a loan ofRs.20 crore to Pakistan. Being helpless, Government of Indiaconducted military operations in the name of Police Actionunder the command of Major General J.N. Chowdhury andbrought Hyderabad under control of the Government ofIndia.

During the following two and a half years, the StateMinistry, using variety of devices brought the States moreand more closely into the Union. Some were absorbed intoadjacent provinces. Some others were taken over andadministered as Chief Commissioners’ provinces. Many,specially the small ones, were formed into Union of States.Only the largest and isolated ones maintained their territorialand governmental identity.

At this stage, the Constituent Assembly found itselfconfronted by the problem of Constitutions for the States.The covenants establishing the relationship between theUnion and the various States and Unions of States, laid downthat the States and Unions could convene their ownConstituent Assemblies and frame their own Constitutions.But by the middle of 1948 very few Constituent Assemblieshad been formed. Only Cochin State prepared a modelConstitution. A Committee headed by B.N. Rau found, on

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examination, that the model constitution varied little fromthat already framed for the Provinces, in March, 1949.

By October 1949, the Assembly adopted a new article(Art. 238) which applied, with certain minor exceptions, theConstitution of the Provinces to the States, both having thesame political institutions. The reasons as summed up bySardar Patel are:

“As … the States came closer to the Centre, it was realized thatthe idea of separate constitutions being framed for the differentconstituent units of the Indian Union, was a legacy of the Rulers’polity, and that in a People’s polity there was no scope forvariegated constitutional patterns”.

Out of around 600 Princely States, eastern India hadhardly a few, all of which had joined Orissa State at the verybeginning of the process. The only State left was Cooch Behar.Cooch Behar had its own Narayani Sena, Narayani Mudraand was especially favourite to the Queen. Even then it wasnot within his capacity to provide democratic representativeGovernment and responsible administration to people. Whenall the big Maharajas, Nawabs of East, West, North, Southhad signed the Instrument of Accession, States like Goalior,Baroda, Jaipur, who were related to Cooch Behar Raj family,signed the Instrument of Accession, Cooch Behar had nooption. Signing of the agreement then became almost aroutine affair in case of Cooch Behar State. The Maharajawas already convinced that the merger of States includinghis one to the Dominion of India would be in the interest ofboth the ruler and the people of the States. This will at thesame time make India a strong nation as an integrated India.He had no hesitation to express this in his letter ofappreciation addressed to Sardar Patel on 12th August, 1947.He wrote,

“On this great and historic day of India’s Independence, whichyou have contributed in no small measure to bring about, I send



to you on my behalf and on behalf of the people of Cooch Behar,most cordial greetings…. The policy of fair play and sympatheticunderstanding which you have initiated towards the States is, ifI may say so, a very happy augury for the future of our country.The ready response that policy has evoked from a very largebody of Rulers is proof of its signal success. The country surelyneeds peace and we all wish it to prosper and you can countupon my whole hearted cooperation and my very best wishes inthe prosecution of any policy that you may think it necessary toadopt for the restoration of peace and for the eradication ofpoverty.”

Accession of Cooch Behar in the Dominion of IndiaIt was, therefore, not a difficult job for V.P. Menon and

Sardar Patel to obtain the acceptance of the Instrument ofAccession by the Maharaja of Cooch Behar and get hissignature on the agreement. By signing on the Instrument ofAccession on 9th August, 1947, Maharaja JagaddipendraNarayan has stated, “I hereby declare that I accede to theDominion of India with the intent that the Governor-Generalof India, the Dominion Legislature, the Federal Court andany other Dominion authority established for the purposesof the Dominion, shall, by virtue of this my Instrument ofAccession, but subject always to the terms thereof, and forthe purposes only of the Dominion, exercise in relation tothe State of Cooch Behar (hereinafter referred to as ‘thisState’) such functions as may be vested in them by or underthe Government of India Act, 1935, as in force in theDominion of India on the 15th day of August, 1947 (whichAct as so in force is hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’). TheInstrument of Accession is given in Appendix–D. TheStandstill Agreement was signed by his Chief MinisterHimmatsingh Maheswari on 14th August to the effect that:

“Until new agreements in this behalf are made, all agreementsand administrative arrangements as to matters of common

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concern now existing between the Crown and any Indian Stateshall, in so far as may be appropriate, continue as between theDominion of India or, as the case may be, the part thereof, andthe State.” The Standstill Agreement is given in Appendix–E.The Instrument of Accession followed by the StandstillAgreement duly signed was then accepted by Lord Mountbattenon 16th August, 1947. The merger agreement signed by theMaharaja on 28th August, 1949 was a natural corollary. Theagreement contained nine Articles:

Article 1: His Highness the Maharaja of Cooch Behar herebycedes to the Dominion Government full and exclusiveauthority, jurisdiction and power for and in relation to theGovernance of the State and agrees to transfer theadministration of the State to the Dominion Governmenton the 12th day of September, 1949 (hereinafter referred toas ‘the said day’). As from the said day the DominionGovernment will be competent to exercise the said power,authority and jurisdiction in such manner and through suchagency as it may think fit.

Article II: Maharaja will continue to enjoy his personal rights,privileges, dignities.

Article III: Maharaja will receive life time tax free privy purseof Rs.8.5 lakhs which will be Rs7.0 lakh after his death.

Article IV: Maharaja shall be entitled to the full ownership anduse of his private properties, inventory of which will besubmitted by the Maharaja.

Article V: All the members of Maharaja’s family shall be entitledto all personal privileges, dignities.

Article VI: The Dominion Government guarantees the successionto the gaddi and to Maharaja’s personal privileges.

Article VII: There will be no enquiry or proceedings against theMaharaja in any court of Cooch Beher for any act oromission by him during his tenure.

Article VIII: Government of India guarantees continuation ofservices of the permanent employees of Cooch Behar orpayment of reasonable compensation and also payment ofpension and leave salaries to retired employees.



Article IX: There will be no proceedings against any person ofthe state for acts done in execution of his official dutieswithout sanction of the Government of India.

The Merger Agreement is given in Appendix-F.

In course of signing the agreement, His Highness theMaharaja sought for certain clarifications about the privilegeshe and his family would be entitled to after 12th September,1949 on integration of the State to the Dominion of India.

In that connection, V.P. Menon wrote the clarificatoryletter to the Maharaja on 30.8.49 spelling out thearrangements. ‘It is the intention of the Government of Indiato administer for the present the territories of the CoochBehar State as Centrally administered area under a ChiefCommissioner.’ The letter of V.P. Menon is given inAppendix-G. Pages 7 to 15 of the document contain the listsof motorcars, horses, elephants and other livestock, shootingcamp articles, tents, articles for ceremonial and religiousfunctions, muslands etc., ornaments of elephants and horses,and the Statement No.III on Maharaj Kumar Trust Fund.The letter contained clarifications about management oftemples and Debutter properties, creation of Trust, list ofmembers entitled to allowances, list of private properties,moveable and immovable and so on. But it did not contain asingle word about the subjects of the Maharaja i.e. people ofCooch Behar – their welfare or otherwise. In any case, likeall the rulers of the Princely States of India, the Maharaja ofCooch Behar initially wanted to retain independence, butultimately, being motivated partly by patriotism, partly byself-interest factors and mostly out of compulsion, signedthe merger agreement. We, the Cooch Behar people are proudthat our Maharaja has not shown any anti-nation perversionlike the Nawabs of Junagarh and Hyderabad.

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Cooch Behar as a Chief Commissioner’s StateIn terms of the agreement dated 28th August, 1949,

Government of India could administer the State of CoochBehar ‘in such manner and through such agency as it maythink fit’. By virtue of the said powers and authority,Government of India brought the State under theadministration of Chief Commissioner for specific reasonsfollowing the general principles in this regard. The principlesadopted by Government of India for Chief Commissioners’administration for the time being were enunciated asreflected in the following paragraph.

“There were some States over which, for administrativereasons or strategic necessity or on other special ground, itwas necessary that the Government of India should exercisedirect control; such States were taken over as ChiefCommissioners’ provinces” (V.P. Menon). It is because ofthese reasons that the Punjab Hill States, Kutch, Bilaspur,Manipur, Bhopal and Tripura were taken over as ChiefCommissioners’ States on 15th April, 4th May, 12th October,1948 and 1st June and 15th October, 1949 respectively. PunjabHill States, Bilaspur were subsequently merged withHimachal Pradesh, Kutch merged to Gujrat and Bhopal toMadhya Pradesh. Exactly the same reasons applied in case ofCooch Behar. ‘The State had common boundaries with EastPakistan, West Bengal and Assam. It was decided that untilconditions in the border area become stabilized, the Stateshould be administered as a Chief Commissioner’s province’.This is the reason why the Government of India expressed itsintention to administer the State as a Chief Commissioner’sprovince for the present’ (V.P. Menon). Once the situation inthe border area became stabilized, V.I. Nanjappa assessedthe situational factors and recommended for merger of theState with West Bengal without further delay.



Based on the report of V.I. Nanjappa, the ChiefCommissioner, V.P. Menon submitted a secret note to SardarPatel on 1/12/49 elucidating the internal and surroundingconditions of the State.

“Cooch Behar was integrated and made into a ChiefCommissioner’s province w.e.f. 12th September, 1949. The timehas now come when we should consider the question of itsmerger in West Bengal. Nanjappa, who belongs to neither Assamnor Bengal, after a careful study of the situation, is of opinionthat Cooch Behar should merge in West Bengal. Cooch Beharhas little common with Assam. The language of Cooch Behar isBengali in both the urban and rural areas. Bengali has been theofficial language of the State for centuries. Commercial andcultural contacts are with Calcutta and other parts of Bengal. Itis surrounded on practically all sides by West Bengal and EastBengal except a part of the eastern side which borders on thefrontier district of Assam. As regards the present state of publicopinion in Cooch Behar on the above question, the vast majorityof the inhabitants is rural and backward and has no politicalconsciousness. They are certainly not opposed to merger withWest Bengal. The middle class and educated sections of thepublic in the towns are unanimously in favour of the earliestpossible merger with West Bengal.”

After this Menon mentioned about some anti-Indianissues and commented, ‘postponement of the merger ofCooch Behar would unnecessarily allow time and scope forthe consolidation of these anti-Indian forces… for the abovereasons I recommend that, if H.M. approves, merger of CoochBehar with West Bengal be effected w.e.f.2nd January, 1950.’Secret Note of V.P. Menon is given in Appendix–H.

Dr. B.C. Ray also wrote to Sardar Vallavbhai,‘I have spoken to you already about Cooch Behar and I haveshown you certain papers regarding the subjects…. I am verymuch anxious about Cooch Behar because of certaindevelopments which have taken place there affecting the securitynot merely of West Bengal but also of the Indian Union.’

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Cooch Behar’s Merger as a District of West BengalGovernment of India, after evaluating the circumstances,

accepted the recommendation and Menon informed theMaharaja that ‘after careful consideration, Sardar has decidedto merge Cooch Behar with West Bengal. Sarder is convincedthat this is in the best interests of the people of Cooch Beharand of the country as a whole. The state will be maintainedas a separate district with Headquarters at Cooch Behar’.Menon’s letter to the Maharaja is given in Appendix–I.

It was necessary to assimilate certain State laws in forcein Cooch Behar to the State laws in force in the rest of WestBengal, and this was done by promulgation of The CoochBehar (Assimilation of State Laws) Act, 1950.

Accordingly, Ministry of States, Government of Indiaissued notification No. D11677-P/49 dated New Delhi the30th December, 1949 under States’ merger (West Bengal)Order, 1949. In pursuance of this order, West BengalGovernment’s Home Deptt’s notification No. 3509GA dated1st January, 1950 was issued to the effect, “The Governor ispleased to declare that on and from the 1st January, 1950,the Chief Commissioner’s province of Cooch Behar beconstituted into a district in West Bengal and that the limitsof the said district shall include the local areas of thefollowing police stations – (1) Kotwali, (2) Dinhata (3) Sitai(4) Tufanganj (5) Mathabhanga (6) Sitalkuchi (7) Mekhliganj(8) Haldibari.”

History therefore, tells that the whole affair of accessionand merger of Cooch Behar State with West Bengal provincewas effected by the Dominion Government of India underthe relevant provisions of the Government of India Act, 1935.The claim of Greater Kuch Bihar movement leaders that Dr.Bidhan Chandra Roy got the State merged with West Bengal



by force is not warranted by facts. Well, Dr. Roy wantedCooch Behar as part of West Bengal for strategic reasons;the circumstances prevailing in the State also justified itsmerger with West Bengal. The important political leadersbelonging to the Rajbanshi community like Upendra NathBarman, Satish Chandra Roy Singha, Umesh ChandraMandal, Shyama Prasad Barman etc. also favoured themerger of Cooch Behar to West Bengal. Upendra NathBarman was one of the most respected leaders of theRajbanshi community. He was very close to PanchananBarma also. A personality like him was clearly in favour ofmerger of the state with West Bengal for some definitereasons. In his book ‘Uttar Banglar Sekal O Amar JibanSmriti’, he has stated, ‘When the tug of war on the issue ofmerger of Cooch Behar was going on, Dr. Bidhan ChandraRay, Chief Minister of West Bengal met me in Delhi andasked for my opinion. I myself was a resident of Gopalpurvillage of Cooch Behar, although I was residing in Jalpaiguriand was elected a Member of the Council by the West BengalLegislature. I told him unhesitatingly that we, the people ofCooch Behar like to remain with West Bengal. I subscribedto this view for two reasons –(i) Education in cooch beharhas been in vogue in Bengali for more than hundred years(ii) Assamese and tribal language were in vogue everywherein Assam, except in Goalpara district, implying thereby thatour linguistic position will be cornered if we joined Assam.Besides I told him that we want to remain with thedevelopment culture of West Bengal.’ He expressed the sameopinion when Nanjappa took him to Birla’s house and toldthem to communicate his opinion to Sardar Patel. At theinstance of Dr. Ray, he represented before the KunjruCommittee, which was making an enquiry at Cooch Beharat that time and expressed the same opinion. In his speech

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at the parliament on 20th December, 1955, he stated, “Imyself, is a resident of Cooch Behar, although I practice lawin Jalpaiguri. I want to tell you clearly that on the questionwhether Cooch Behar should remain a separate state underthe Centre or should be merged with Assam, I expressedmy clear opinion to Dr. Ray that Cooch Behar has beenconnected with West Bengal for centuries and as such CoochBehar is much more intimate to West Bengal than to Assam.’As required under the provision of Clause (b) of Section290A (1) of the Government of India Act, 1935, the GovernorGeneral ascertained the views of West Bengal Governmentand then, issued the order of merger. It is also relevant thatthe merger/annexation of Cooch Behar to West Bengal wasearlier agreed to by the then Maharaja in his treaty with theEast India Company on 7th April, 1773. Treaty between EastIndia Company and the Raja of Cooch Behar is given inAppendix–J. The leaders of the movement have somehowmissed these politico-historical documents and misledthemselves.

Cooch Behar Mistaken as a ‘C’-Category StateThe other important demand of the movement leaders

that the State of Cooch Behar was a ‘C’-Category State isalso not based on facts. Categorization of States into A, B, Cand D was a concept introduced in the Indian Constitutioncoming into force on 26th January, 1950, by which time CoochBehar was already part of West Bengal and not a PrincelyState. As such the question of placing Cooch Behar in anycategory of States i.e. A, B, C or D did not arise at all.Greater Kuch Bihar leaders have appended with their leafleta xerox copy of Table - III, claimed as a page of D.D. Basu’sConstitution of India, 1994. Unfortunately, the book referredto contains no such Table. Thirteenth edition of D.D. Basu’sbook, ‘Introduction to the Constitution of India’, however,contains ‘Table–III, Territory of India, (A) As in the original



Constitution (1949)’ and in that Table, the name of CoochBehar appears as a ‘C-category’ State. It is quite obviousthat the Table relates to the Constitution (1949) implyingthereby the Draft stage of the Constitution.

A few words on the Draft stage deliberations will not beirrelevant in this connection. As mentioned earlier, whenthe Constituent Assembly found it confronted by the problemof Constitutions for the States, a Committee headed by B. N.Rau was formed to prepare a Model constitution for theStates. Taking clue from Section 5 of the 1935 Act, this DraftCommittee divided the units of the Union into three Classes-A, B and C placing the Chief Commissioners’ Provincesunder ‘C’ category and also proposing exceptional autonomyfor the States. This was not accepted by the ConstituentAssembly ‘as they found the exceptional autonomy of theStates galling and they believed it dangerous to the viabilityof the Union’ (Austin Granville). In the language of Dr. B.R.Ambedkar,

‘It was unfortunate and... indefensible’ that the States were on adifferent footing from the Provinces…. ‘This disparity may evenprove dangerous to the efficiency of the State. So long as thisdisparity exists, the Centre’s authority over all-India matters maylose its efficacy. …For Power is no power, if it cannot be exercisedin all cases and in all places’.

The Model of B.N. Rau Committee was therefore notaccepted. Unfortunately, D.D. Basu, while inserting Table-III in the book did not qualify that the Table related to theDraft stage of the Constitution, although the phraseConstitution (1949) should make the position clear.

Ultimately, however, categorization of the Provincesincluding the Princely States after their merger, into parts A,B, C and D and not B.N. Rau Committee’s A, B and C was

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retained in the final Constitution, giving the President generalcontrol over the governments of part ‘B’ States for ten years.‘On 26th January, 1950, the new Constitution came into forceand under it the component parts of India were dividedinto four categories…. The three old Chief Commissioners’Provinces of Ajmer, Coorg and Delhi and the seven newones of Bilaspur, Bhopal, Himachal Pradesh, Kutch, Manipur,Tripura and Vindhya Pradesh formed the third category ofPart-C states’ (V.P. Menon).

Eleventh edition of D.D. Basu’s Constitution of Indiaalso confirms this. ‘At the date of the Constitution (SeventhAmendment) Act, 1956, the number of these [Parts A, B andC] States was 10, 8 and 9 respectively making a total of 27’.Number of Part ‘C’ States was reduced from 10 in 1950 to 9in 1956 because of the amalgamation of Bilaspur withHimachal Pradesh in 1954. The categorization of theProvinces into A, B, C and D was ultimately done awaywith in 1956 with the Seventh Constitutional amendment.It, therefore, hardly needs to be reiterated that the claim ofthe Greater Kuch Bihar movement leaders regarding CoochBehar’s status as C-category State at any stage is baseless,and not founded on records.

Again, a glance through the Articles of the Instrumentof Accession will reflect that the same does not contain evena single word about the subjects of the Maharaja, far fromany commitment or assurances about their history,literature—culture, food and shelter, education and health,etc. as claimed by the movement leaders. The agreementcontains everything about the interest of the Maharaja andhis family members—the privileges he and his familymembers were to be entitled to. The movement leaders havesomehow been misled by such unfounded commitments andhave in turn misled a section of the people of Cooch Behar.



It is really not understandable why these leaders aretaking the common people to ride with false promises,feeding them with historically wrong information. From theinteraction with people of various walks of life it has comeout that Mr. Bansi Badan, Ashutosh and a few others wereactive workers of different political parties till the other day.They have somehow been frustrated and have developed afeeling of neglect and deprivation by the local political leaderswho have engaged their activities mainly to derive benefitsfor themselves and their kins. The poor village people, mostof whom are Rajbanshis (Hindus and Muslims) haveremained deprived, neglected and marginally looked after.With that kind of mind set, they looked for a platform andthe organization once established by some Rajgans, i.e. nearrelatives of the then Maharaja under the name ‘The GreaterKuch Behar People’s Association’ came quite handy for them,as the same with highly emotion driven and emotionbuilding issues was likely to work as a magic. The leadershave probably got little scope to scrutinize the issues inproper historical perspectives.

Origin of Greater Kuch Bihar MovementHow did the Greater Kuch Bihar movement originate?

An investigation into the documentary evidence brings outthat such movement originated in 1998 and ventilatedthrough an ‘Appeal’ dated 20.10.98 circulated by one ArunKumar Roy on behalf of ‘The Greater Kuch Behar People’sAssociation’. The Appeal was addressed to the citizens ofCooch Behar stating that this first movement on their behalfwill start with the deputation to the District Magistrate on26.10.98 with the following Demands:

(i) Movement against the negligence shown to thelanguage and culture of Cooch Behar and against

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the suppression of history of the kings of CoochBehar. We will not allow and put up with suchtendencies.

(ii) Compulsory introduction of the history of CoochBehar in the curriculum at the school leveleducation;

(iii) Preservation of the books procured by the Maharajasfrom different parts of the world and stored in the125 year old rich library in Cooch Behar and printingand publishing of manuscripts stored in the libraryin book form;

(iv) Repairs and preservation of the historical templesand mosques constructed by the Royalty.

(v) Stopping the efforts by the Debutter Trust Board tohand over the vacant land of Kalibari at Benarasand repairs to the Kalibari for restoring it.

(vi) Repairs and preservation of the historical buildingsof Cooch Behar Maharajas, the Prayer Hall of theBrahma Samaj, Victor House etc.

(vii) Repairs of the roads of Cooch Behar.(viii) Allowing Kumar Anilendra Narayan to take over

the charge of the President of the Debutter TrustBoard for the management of the temples andDebutter properties.

In terms of the Clause of Merger relating to themaintenance of Debutter properties, Land and RevenueDepartment, vide No. 1408 – L.R. dated: 29.01.1954 notifiedthat the State Government is desirous of continuing thepractice followed by the former State of Cooch Behar as faras possible. In pursuance of the decision conveyed vide theabove notification the department formed a 6-member Boardof Trustees with His Highness the Maharaja Bhup Bahadur



of Cooch Behar as the President vide No. 8900 – L.R. dated:14.05.1956. The Maharaja of Cooch Behar continued to bethe President till the death of Kumar Birajendra Narayan,the last Maharaja in 1992. The problem arose after his deathbecause there was no heir to him. The post remained vacantand the Board of Trustees was functioning virtually withthe District Magistrate, one of the trustees as the President.

The Association placed the demands to the DistrictMagistrate on October 26, 1998. On November 17 andDecember 20, 1998, they again met the District Magistratewith the same demand of making Kumar Anilendra Narayanthe President of the Trust. They met the District Magistrateon March 16, 2000 with the same demand. On November21, 2001, they added in their Memorandum that the RashMela should be inaugurated by the oldest living member ofthe Raj family implying thereby, Kumar Anilendra Narayan.On December 26, 2000 and April 6, 2001 they sentMemorandum to the President of India praying forpreservation of the history and culture of Cooch Behar andrestoring the administration of Cooch Behar treating it as a‘C-category’ state as per merger agreement.

Difference of opinion amongst the leaders started in 2002–one group led by Arun Kumar Roy and Anilendra Narayanand the other by Banshi Badan Barman who was incidentallyassociated with the Left politics too. Arun Roy’s grouporganized seminars on socio-economic-development ofCooch Behar people in Dinhata in October 2002 and inSitalkhuchi on November 30. They got their organizationregistered under Societies Registration Act by the name ‘TheKuch Behar People’s Association’ on September 15, 2004.

Anilendra Narayan died on December 21, 2004 and hisson Kumar Soumendra Narayan became President on June16, 2005. On the other hand, the group led by Banshi Badan

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Barman and Jyotish Chandra Sarkar organized the activitiesof ‘The Greater Kuch Bihar People’s Association’ in muchbetter way and spread them upto the village level in someareas, like Bhetaguri, Harin Chowra etc., the areas withinDinhata subdivision and adjacent villages. Banshi Badan hadassociation with left parties from whom he had training onorganizing the political activities. His training and contactwith villagers came of tremendous help. On July 18, 2005they held a massive meeting on the bank of Sagardihi ofCooch Behar. Then they submitted a Memorandum to thedistrict administration for onward transmission to thePresident, Prime Minister, Home Minister and the ChiefElection Commissioner.

In the Memorandum they included the demands referredto in “Dangar Kuch Bihar Basir Koyta Katha” pointing outthat the people of Cooch Behar have been deprived of allconstitutional rights after the merger of Cooch Behar withWest Bengal and that West Bengal and Assam Governmentshave been administering this area illegally and withoutconstitutional rights. They further pointed out that such aMemorandum was handed over to Shri Shivraj Patil, UnionHome Minister on August 26, 2004 by them but no actionhas yet been taken on the same. As such their prayer wasthat the Assembly Election of West Bengal should not beimposed on the people of Cooch Behar and a Care TakerMinistry should be formed to administer the affairs of the‘C-category’ State of Cooch Behar.

This is how the movement originated in Cooch Behar.As it appears, initially the main objective of the originalAssociation was to get Kumar Anilendra Narayan, a verydistant relation of the king and a good Bhawaiya singer,installed to the post of the President of the Trust Board.They appear to have wanted to revive and retain the



domination of the royalty in the matter of managing theaffairs of the Trust Board. Kumar Anilendra Narayan evenmoved the court of the District Judge and the verdict was inhis favour. Legal Remembrancer of West Bengal Governmentis also reported to have given the opinion in favour of AnilNarayan. It is learnt that even the Hon’ble High Court issuedorders to that effect. The State Government was not willingto accept Anilendra Narayan as the President of the DebuttarTrust Board for various reasons. They amended the rulesand by 2004 Notification, the District Magistrate, Cooch Beharhas been made the President.

There is a section of people in Cooch Behar who believethat today’s Greater Kuch Bihar Movement would not haveseen the light had the State Government acceeded to thecourt order to make Kumar Anilendra Narayan the Presidentof the Trust. Others particularly, some political leaders, onthe other hand, are of the view that Anilendra Narayan wasone of the distant relations of the King; there were otherclaimants too, and most of the Rajgans as they are knowni.e. the relatives of the king, were not in favour of makingAnilendra Narayan the President of the Trust. Some of themare learnt to have sent representations to the StateGovernment representative to that effect. The political andgovernment decisions appear to stick to the point that noparticular private individual should be made the Presidentand it should be a government functionary. And accordingly,the State Government amended the rule (probably withliberty of the Hon’ble Court) to insert the provision formaking the District Magistrate the President of the Trust.

Thoughts to PonderI have just narrated the developments of the events that

led to the birth of such a movement. It is difficult for anybody

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to guess at this stage what might have happened, if theState Government had made Kumar Anilendra Narayan thePresident of the Trust. There is, however, a strong view thatthe State Government could have avoided the emergence ofsuch a movement had the matters been handled efficiently,taking into confidence the young leaders of the indigenouspeople extending support to the movement.

It is heartening that good sense has since prevailed uponthe leaders of the movement. They have at last decided totake part in the Assembly Election held in May, 2006. Theycontested a number of seats. It is true that they could notwin; nor could they master sufficient number of votes. Buttheir participation in the election contributed to aphenomenal change in the result of the election. Thecandidate of the Forward Block Party (a partner of Left Front)who happens to be the son of Kamal Guha, ex-Minister ofthe Left Front government and a veteran leader of Dinhata,got defeated by the Trinamul candidate, because of theparticipation of the Association in the election as the beliefgoes by.

The Greater Kuch Bihar People’s Association hashowever, faced division in the meantime because of thedifference of opinion amongst the leaders. There are nowtwo Central Committees—one led by Banshi Badan Barman,Geneneral Secretary and the other by Jyotish Chandra Sarkar,President of the original Organization. Ashutosh Barma,Cultural Secretary of the Association has been made thePresident of Banshi Badan’s Committee, while PareshChandra Barman has been made the Secretary of JyotishSarkar’s Committee. Both the leaders have claimed that theirrespective committee is the genuine one. Jyotish Sarkar hasalleged that Banshi Badan was managing the affairs of thecommittee as an autocrat. They have reportedly issued show-



cause notice to Banshi Badan, Ashutosh and Bhabesh Barman.This is probably the most likely course of development suchkind of association usually faces. When all their issues arenot correct historically and in substance, they have to fightwith the outside forces and the forces within. How long canan organization continue its activities by misleading peopleand by simple encashment of common people’s emotionsand sentiments for the monarchy? In any case, the leadersof the movement should realize their mistake.

The most vital issue of their movement is that CoochBehar was a ‘C- Category’ state immediately before its mergerwith West Bengal. Such a misconception dominated theminds of the indigenous people (deshi manshi) of CoochBehar in general, because the actual position was not known.No one appears to have tried to find out the actual positiondescribed in the above discussion. Now that the actualposition available from the records and documents has comeout, the leaders of the movement may consider amendingtheir Charter of Demands and may concentrate on the issuesof socio-economic political uplift of the people of CoochBehar in general, with special attention to the issuesconcerning deshi manshi.

Common people of Cooch Behar including perhaps theleaders of the movement have a misconception even todaythat Cooch Behar was a mighty Princely State and theMaharaja of Cooch Behar was strong enough to put upopposition and fight for retaining its position as anindependent state. They further tend to forget that CoochBehar, like all other Princely States, was not a so calledindependent state and was virtually subjugated to the BritishParamountcy as discussed. Let us see the actual positionwith respect to its size and might. Given below the particularsof the important Princely States:

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Name of Gun-salute Geographical Population Revenuethe state position area Collection

(Sq. miles) (Rs. in lakhs)

Baroda (Gaikwad) 21 8099 1952692 123

Hyderabad (Nizam) 21 82698 11141142 360

Mysore 21 29444 5539399 188

Bhopal 19 6997 665961 25

Gwalior 19 29447 2933001 38

Indore 19 9500 850690 77

Khelat 19 90000 507472 71

Kohlapur 19 2855 910012 48

Bhawalpur 17 15000 720877 24

Bikaner 17 23311 504627 20

Jaipur 17 15579 2658666 62

Marwar 17 34963 1935465 50

Alwar 15 3141 828487 30

Jaisalmer 15 16062 73370 1

Sikkim 15 2818 59014 1

Cooch Behar 13 1307 566975 22

Tripura 13 4086 173025 7

Cooch Behar was thus a small Princely State. Verypowerful states like Baroda, Hyderabad, Mysore, and Bhopalwere merged as districts or even parts of districts of theBritish Indian States. Cooch Behar’s case was not anexceptional one. One can easily understand whether it wasat all possible for Cooch Behar Maharaja to put up anypressure on the Union of India and to deny the positionmeted to him when very big and powerful states like Baroda,Hyderabad, Mysore, Bhopal, Jaipur, Bikaner etc. had to putup with the so called humiliation of being a part of anyProvince. The leaders of the Greater Kuch Bihar movement



should therefore, shed away the misconceptions, desist fromthe vow of bringing back the monarchy and engage theirattention to organizing the common people for fighting theforces like illiteracy, poverty and ill-health and also forfighting for the demands concerning the overall developmentof North Bengal.

It is not too late to correct the misgivings. The kind ofawareness and unity that have been aroused amongst thecommon people can be utilized for constructive purposesand welfare activities. The organizing capability of Mr. BanshiBadan and other leaders in congregating such big crowdswithin such short period is quite amazing and unbelievable.If they use their organizing power in creating awarenessamongst the poor common people as well as in their ‘capacitybuilding’, the objective of improving their lot can be achievedmuch better. A very good platform for such activities couldbe had by formation of an N.G.O. Mr. Banshi Badan andothers may give serious thought on this as a plannedprogramme of ‘empowering’ the indigenous people of NorthBengal.

That the claims of the Greater Kuch Bihar movementleaders are baseless and unjustified should have been knownto both the Central Government and the State Government.The leaders submitted their Memorandum to the UnionHome Minister and further higher-ups. I wonder why theHome Ministry officials could not sit with the leaders andexplain to them the actual position with respect to theirclaims. Have the successors of Lord Mountbatten and V.P.Menon lost the capabilities of negotiation and is the countryreally short of Statesmen like Sardar Patel?

The Government of India should not sit idle. Thegovernment must have received the information that in abid to strengthen their movement for a separate statehood,

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three different groups – the Greater Kuch Bihar DemocraticParty, Kamtapur Progressive Party and Assam’s All KochRajbanshi Students’ Union (AKRASU) have formed a jointforum ‘Greater Kamta United Forum’ at Dinhata demandingformation of a bigger Cooch Behar state. Their demand is toform a state with 11 districts of Assam, 6 districts of NorthBengal and two districts of Bihar which have one cultureand one people, according to them. Ashutosh Barman, theSecretary, Greater Kamta United Forum is reported to havecommented, ‘Together we will work for the development ofpeople, their rights and for the creation of greater CoochBehar or the Kamtapur state.’ Government of India shouldtake effective steps to dispel the misconceptions and at thesame time to create an atmosphere of fruitful developmentof the whole area, before such joint forum takes deep root.

Further to mention that even though the movements atvarious points of time in this part of the country did not getconsolidated to create large scale disturbances, all of themcould master initial support from a great section of the ethnicgroup of Rajbanshis (Hindus and Muslims) and otherindigenous people. This is because of the feeling ofdeprivation and exploitation prevailing widely amongst themin the small towns and rural areas. The feeling that sufficientattention has not been paid to the problems of North Bengal,that the benefits of various government /semi-governmentschemes and efforts have largely gone to the party membersand close relatives of the leaders and that the leaders haveminted money for their close relatives, while they have hadlip services for the common people, gave vent to suchtendencies on the part of common people of the region. Thegenuine ethno-cultural issues haunting the various ethnicgroups, particularly the Rajbanshis, have also not beenadequately addressed to.



Can’t the State Government do something to dispel suchfeelings amongst the common people? Was there any efforttaken by the state administration to explain to the leaderswhy Anilendra Narayan could not be made the President ofthe Trust? Did any authority ever try to explain to themovement leaders the actual position with respect to theirdemand of C-category state? Can’t the political parties asktheir North Bengal leaders to have objective view of thesituation prevailing therein and not to behave like Talukdarsand Jotedars with the common indigenous people? Thefuture course of North Bengal’s politics depends a lot on thekind of attitude, the state government and the politicalparties, particularly the ruling parties assume towards theindigenous people in the years to come.

The state government, South Bengal leaders of all thepolitical parties, South Bengal scholars and intellectuals, non-Rajbanshi leaders, scholars and intellectuals of North Bengalhave the responsibility of understanding the psychology ofthe indigenous people and making them feel one with thepeople of Bengal in general, by trying to remove thepsychological barrier, real or perceived. They should try todispel the emotional feelings of the youths of the ethnicgroups that have been well reflected in the poem of arenowned poet Santosh Sinha. A look through the linesextracted from the poem will help us understanding thepsychological barrier referred to. Let me quote a few lines ofthe poem “Bagharu” by Santosh Sinha:

HÊmrÊ JelÊ HÊmÊr NÊkÊn Kori Choli

HÊmrÊ JelÊ ÅhÊkur PanchÊnaner KotÊ Koi

SelÊ HÊmrÊ SÊmpodÊyik BichchinnotÊbÊdi KÊmtÊpuri

HÊmÊr KotÊ SelÊ TomÊr #orile NÊ Soy.

HÊmrÊ JelÊ TomÊr NÊkÊn Kori Choli

JelÊ Obi ÅhÊkurer KotÊ Koi

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SelÊ HÊmrÊ BhÊl, GonotÊntik MÊnshi

SelÊ HamÊr NÊkÊn Àr MÊnshi-i NÊ Hoy

HÊmÊk NiyÊ SelÊ TomÊr Kotoy BÊhÊduri.

JelÊ HÊmÊk KÊho Puchh Kore –‘TomrÊ KÊy?’

HÊmra ÀhlÊd Kori Koi –‘KyÊne, HÊmrÊ BÊngÊli.’

SelÊ TomrÊ HÊmÊr Bogol ThÊki

SÊÑlÊt Kori UÑhi JÊn

Àr Gharot Bosi HotolÊit Ongul DiyÊ

Galper Boiyot Bhugolot GejeÑot Neki Thon

- ‘OrÊ RÊjbanshi, BÊhe.’

Àro Neki Thon-HÊmrÊ Bole Ek Nambor DhÊgrÊ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————HÊmÊr Soug GolmÊl HoyÊ JÊy

‘ÀchchhÊ HÊmra KÊy?’

HÊmra JelÊ DÊktar Hoi Engineer Hoi

Baro Officer Hoi

SelÊ SagÊy HÊmÊr “Quota”-r Jor DekhÊy

SelÊ HÊmrÊ NirbuddhiÊ Tapashili-

HÊmÊr Khib Dhando NÊgi JÊy – “HÊmrÊ KÊy ?”

HÊmrÊ SÊmpodÊyik, BichchinnatÊbÊdi, KÊmtÊpuri

Na GanotÊntik BhÊl MÊnshi, NÊ BÊhe, Àjbanshi

Taposhili, NÊ BÊngÊli !

EillÊ BhÊibte BhÊibte HÊmrÊ

ChhilliyÊ HoyÊ JÊi.

Kintuk IyÊr Konoy BichÊr NÊi

MÊnshi HoyÊ Jedu MÊnshir NÊ PÊi MÊÊn

Kshatriya HoyÊ Ki LÊÊv Hoil

ÅhÊkur PanchÊnan?

HÊmrÊ Jen SogÊy Àji MÊtÊt Ghongor DiyÊ

HÊtot Pindichi KhÊru

Jen HÊmrÊ ChhôchÊy Àji TistÊ PÊrer

Debesh RÊyer NengÑiÊ BÊghÊru !



When we behave like ourselves, we speak of Panchanan,we are branded as communal, separatist, Kamtapuri andyou do not have the patience to put up with us. When wefollow your behaviour and manners, we speak of RabiThakur, we are treated as good democratic citizen. We arethen unparallel and you are so proud of us. When somebodyasks, ‘Who are you? We are glad and flattered to say, ‘Weare Bengalee only.’ Instantly, you get stirred and move to adistance, and with all seriousness you record in the storybooks, geography books and gazettes, ‘They are Rajbanshis;they are bahe and a stupid lot.’ We wonder, who we are inactuality. When we become doctor, engineer and high official,your immediate indication is our quota strength and we arethen stupid scheduled Caste. We get absolutely perplexedabout our identity. Are we communal, separatist, Kamtapurior democratic good citizen or bahe, Rajbanshi, ScheduledCaste or Bengali? Confused over all such thoughts, we findno way out. If we don’t get the dignity of a man, what is theuse of being a Kshatriya, O Thakur Panchanan! Today, weare, as if a whole lot of people with veil on the head andbangles on the hands; as if, we are truly the naked Bagharu’sas depicted by Debesh Roy in Tista Paar. [Bhagharu is aRajbanshi character shown as a funny stupid young manrepresenting the Rajbanshi in the novel of Debesh Roy, asalso in the drama Tista Parer Brittanta based on the novel].

The few lines of the poem explain the genesis of theproblems emerging in North Bengal after 1960s. When theRajbanshi educated, semi-educated youths speak of theirlanguage, culture, literature, ethnicity the higher caste expertsand pundits, may be the politicians too, smell somethingwrong in it. The Rajbanshis are then given the label ascommunal, separatists, terrorists and what not. Somehighbrowed scholars depict a wretched picture about the

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Rajbanshis to denigrate them even today in the manner thenovelist Debes Ray put down the character of Bagharu inhis novel ‘Tistaparer Brittanta’ and also in the theatre playby the same name. Such literary works maligning thecommunity naturally brings forth bitterness in their mindsabout the Bengalee bhadrolok in general. The perception ofthe neo-elite Rajbanshi youths that they are not getting dueimportance in their own country and as such not gettingdue share in whatever development the region has achievedhas to be addressed to in right earnest.

The problems could perhaps be resolved had theauthorities looked at the issues affecting the ethnic peopleof North Bengal with compassion and sympathy withoutany prejudiced view. Borrowing from Myron Weiner, it canbe suggested that ‘in a society where development is bothuneven and slow, where economic differences overlap withethnic and regional differences, and where social groups arepolitically mobilized by political parties, the government haslittle choice but to give high priority to programmes andpolicies to reduce social tensions.…The challenge of thepolitical leadership is to find a way of assisting those, whoare falling behind in the development process, withoutadopting policies that constrict the innovative, ambitious,creative elements of a society whose talents are essential ifthe entire country is to move forward.’

The educated sections of the ethnic groups also havesome responsibility in helping the creation of an environmentthat would empower the mass, the so-called downtroddenof the indigenous groups and making their brethrenunderstand the realities, the need for united efforts for thesocial, economic, political and cultural development of theregion. It is time that they should go by the course of historyand not by emotions only.



REFERENCES

Barma, Sukhbilas, Bhawaiya–Ethnomusicological Study, Global VisionPublishing House, Delhi, 2004.

Barma, Sukhbilas, Jhay Koy Re Tare Pachot Jay Re, Uttar Banga Sambad(Bengali daily Published from Siliguri) on 5th, 6th and 8th May,2006.

Barman, Upendra Nath, Uttar Banglar Sekal O Amar Jiban Smriti,published by Bijoy Kumar Barman, Advocate, Jalpaiguri,1392 BS.

Chandra, Bipan, India’s Struggle for Independence, Penguin Books, 2001.

Deuskar, Sakharam Ganeh, Desher Katha, translated by MahadevPrasad Saha, Prajna Bharati, Kolkata, 1397, BS. (5th Edition).

Granville, Austin, The Indian Constitution–Cornerstone of a Nation,Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1966.

Khan, Chaudhuri Amanatullah, Koch Biharer Itihas, Cooch Behar StatePress, 1936.

Menon. V.P., The Story of the Integration of the Indian States, OrientLongmans Ltd., Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, 1956.

Myron, Weiner, Sons of the Soil, Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1978.

Roy, Debesh, Tista Parer Brittanta, Dey’s Publishing Kolkata, 1998.

Sinha, Santosh, Kabita Kunkurar Suta, Sahitya Bhagirath Prakashani,Mathabhanga, cooch Behar, 2004.

Documents

Socio-Political Movements in North Bengalglobalvisionpub.com/globaljournalmanager/pdf/1390997543.pdf · Act, 1947, the British ... ‘Kuchbiharer Bharat Bhukti Chukti Kuchbihar Basir