Partition of Bengal and socio-economic and political livelihood of Muslims of West Bengal: A Sociological Study

Abstract

The partition of India was an unexpected result of communal politics beneath the nationalism movement and the result of the disastrous milieu of national politics after the Second World War, which created West Bengal and East Pakistan. After partition, numerous Hindu refugees entered from East Pakistan to the newly created West Bengal in different phases. In comparison to that, less numbers of Muslims go from West Bengal to East Pakistan. The majority of them remained in West Bengal. The present study focuses on the socio-economic, political, and cultural consequences of the partition of Bengal in 1947 on the Muslims of West Bengal and their influences on their status in the present. The study employs a socio-historical and qualitative approach with an extensive review of secondary sources like books, journals, articles, news reports, historical records, govt. Gazetteer, etc. However, the social, economic, and political situation was devastating after the partition. The socio-economic livelihood of both communities was heavily affected by riots, poverty, inflation, displacement, etc. Due to partition, Muslims were generally in a minority position in West Bengal and Hindus in East Bengal. The research highlights how communal violence and systemic biases restructured the livelihoods of Bengali Muslims. In contrast to the relatively smoother integration experienced by Hindu refugees, Muslims in West Bengal were left marginalized in education, employment, and political representation. The findings underscore the need for targeted policy interventions to address these enduring inequities.