Bengal Politics - Documents of the Raj - Vol. III (1944 - 1947)

This is the last volume of a three-volume series of selected documents on Bengal politics created by the Governor of Bengal during the era of provincial autonomy, 1936 to 1947. Most of the documents included in this series are the fortnightly reports of the Governor of Bengal to the Viceroy and Governor-General of India and deal with a variety of subjects, issues and events that were perceived by the Governor as of supreme importance needing the personal attention of the Governor-General. In summarizing and underscoring many significant developments in the province, much of which was not otherwise reported or recorded, these fortnightly reports present, in addition to a myriad of facts and interpretations, a close look at the working of British colonialism and imperialism in Bengal. With the publication of this volume, the scholars and general readers will have complete access to all the fortnightly reports. Documents in this final volume deal with the eventful -years of 1944-1947, leading to the second partition of Bengal. The focus of this volume is on the activities of the Muslim League ministry; Congress ineptitude;, increasing communal tensions; deterioration of law and order; and the emergence of the concept of a united sovereign Bengal. Together, all the documents in this three-volume series unquestionably constitute valued primary sources of the political history of Bengal for the most momentous decade of the Raj. To examine and evaluate the subsequent movement for provincial autonomy in East Pakistan and the Bangladesh War of Independence, materials presented in these volumes may provide critical perspectives.