Communal riots during direct action day: A critical study
Author(s): Ananya Roy Choudhury
Abstract: One of the most important turning moments in the Indian freedom movement, the August 16, 1946 Direct Action Day marks a pivotal event that fundamentally changed the course of communal relations in colonial India. This thorough investigation looks at the intricate interaction of political, social, and financial elements that resulted in the known Great Calcutta Killings. By means of painstaking investigation of historical records, official documentation, personal testimonies, and demographic data, this study illustrates how the junction of political mobilization, religious identity, and socio-economic inequalities produced circumstances for hitherto unheard-of violence. Combining qualitative study of testimony and historical records with quantitative analysis of casualty figures and property damage, the study uses a mixed-methodological approach. Our results show how pre-existing communal tensions and political opportunism combined with the breakdown of administrative power turned a planned political demonstration into a catastrophic outbreak of violence claiming thousands of lives and permanently changing the social fabric of Bengal. This research provides insights pertinent to modern conflict prevention initiatives and helps us to better grasp how community violence increases in different countries.
