Abstract
A colossal influx of Hindus from East Bengal (EB) to West Bengal (WB) was evidenced as a consequence of communal riots and partition-migration during 1946-1947. In WB alone, an estimated 3 million uprooted EB Hindus became 'refugee-migrants' (coerced to flee their homeland and eventually settled as migrants). Initially, the EB Hindus were struggling to resettle in Kolkata and its vicinities. However, their resettlement effort was partially dented by the inimical attitude of the WB Hindus for economic reason. Socio-cultural issues further exacerbated the cleavage between the locals and the settlers. These factors resulted in a new phase of regional communal categorisation between the EB and WB Hindus against the conventional Hindu-Muslim conflict. Subsequently, regional differences and sense of exclusion were reflected in their attitudes of retaining own family values, marriage practices and distinct cultural identities. This paper attempts to analyse the EB Hindus' tendency of maintaining typical family norms and continuity of their cultural traits amidst the WB local culture in Kolkata. A theoretical discussion will be carried out on symbolic construction of community and social exclusion and variance.
Highlights
An unplanned migration of both Hindus and Muslims in undivided Bengal eventuated at an exceedingly critical political juncture in British India during 1946 until August 1947.Statistics shows that the East Bengal (EB) Hindus fled to West Bengal (WB) in millions as compared to WB Muslims to EB
The EB Hindus tended to compromise on regional inflexibility for economic advantage and for gaining elevated social status through marriage deals with the WB Hindus [31,32,33].EB migrants’ retention of strict regional identity is no longer a determining factor for marriage and they can conveniently take a departure from regional barriers
Looking at the historical facts of Indian subcontinent in general and Bengal in particular, as a consequence of supposedly artificially created communal distrust along with indicative political overtones; millions of EB Hindus involuntarily fled to Hindu majority region of West Bengal, Kolkata in particular
Summary
An unplanned migration of both Hindus and Muslims in undivided Bengal eventuated at an exceedingly critical political juncture in British India during 1946 until August 1947.Statistics shows that the East Bengal (EB) Hindus fled to West Bengal (WB) in millions as compared to WB Muslims to EB. The partition-migration becomes evident as a consequence of the political division of Bengal and the creation of Pakistan in 1947. This ‘unwilling or forced migration’ of EB Hindus has impacted on their resettlement in WB, Kolkata in particular. The cardinal focus is on the migrants’ problems of dislocation and their resettlement efforts in an unfamiliar geographic location. Under such a precipitous political split, the significant regional-cultural dimensions of the EB Hindu migrants’ status of refugee-hood should be explored [3]. In an effort to overcome the refugee status and to have permanent settlement, EB Hindu ‘refugee-migrants’[4] struggle for resettlement in WB, sustenance of family values and rigid regional identity has political overtones which call for an intensive investigation
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