Great Calcutta killings
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Great Calcutta killings is a term used to describe a series of religious riots and massacres in the Indian city of Kolkata , starting from 16 August 1946 and ending on 19 August the same year. Approximately 6000 people had been killed - 4000 Hindus and 2000 Muslims. The riots started off as a political confrontation between the Indian National Congress and the All India Muslim League , and turned into an ugly and barbaric tooth-and-nail fight between Hindus and Muslims in Kolkata which later spread out in other provinces like Bengal , Bihar , Punjab and United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. The violence started when both the Muslim League and the Hindu Mahasabha called out rallies and demonstrations on the same day in Calcutta. Though the rallies were meant to be "peaceful" , many cadres of both the Parties openly carried weapons and firearms. Since Bengal was being ruled by the Muslim League and Hussein Suhrawardy was the Chief Minister at that time , the Police were "ordered" not to show hostility towards armed Muslim cadres.
It has been reported that crude firearms and sharp weapons were distributed among Muslims on the previous day in open vans and jeeps by All India Muslim League in the Sealdah area of Kolkata. On 16th August , the first incidents of mob violence in the city was reported from the Dharmatala area , in which two Hindu youths had been brutally lynched by a Muslim mob , claiming that they were a Hindu Mahasabha worker. It was later found out that they were innoccent immigrants from Bihar.
