On Direct Actio Day (August 16, 1946), about 6,000 people were massacred in a series of massacres, riots and slaughters by Muslims and Hindus in Calcutta (now Kolkata), India. Bodies were strewn on the streets of Calcutta after a joint riot on the day of the direct action. Charred bodies lay unattended and unseen on the streets of Calcutta. All the bodies were there, piled up at least about nine meters high. They were stacked in trucks, oozing blood and brains.
The Day of Direct Action was at the heart of the religious struggle that eventually led to the partition of India. In Calcutta, the Great Calcutta Killings broke out by Muslims and Hindus. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, a Muslim, declared August 16, 1946 as the day of direct action and clamored for the creation of a Muslim-dominated Pakistan, with the Slim League demanding that Muslims across the country divide the country on the basis of religion.
The Indian state of Bengal was a Muslim-majority state. The Muslims were placed in a precarious position against the Hindu-dominated political backdrop. A freedom struggle was waged with the Hindus as the colonial rulers. The concept of nationalism was more complexly intertwined with religion. Indians were equated with Hindus. Rather than marginalizing Muslims, they showed a coherent and firm attitude towards the British, which deepened the gap between Hindus and Muslims.
The joint Hindu-Muslim riots of August 16, 1946, became one of the most brutal incidents of violence in India's history. Hundreds more Hindus, mostly Muslims, were killed. Jinnah did not anticipate the eventual large-scale riots when he demanded the suspension of all businesses across the country. The riots caused panic among Muslims, who became a minority in the Hindu-dominated state. The riots ultimately increased the sense of alienation between Hindus and Muslims and strengthened their desire for independence in another country. The riots forced them to live together and talked each other out of it.
After World War II, Indian independence movements broke out in many parts of the country, and the colonial power, Britain, tolerated India's independence. Pakistan's independence came on August 14, 1947, and India's on August 15, 1947. Jinnah became the Viceroy of Pakistan and Jawaharlal Nehru became the Prime Minister of India's independence and secession.
