Editing Bengal (section)

===Partition of Bengal (1947)===
{{See also|United Bengal|History of Bangladesh|History of West Bengal}}{{Main|Partition of Bengal (1947)}}

On 27 April 1947, the last [[Prime Minister of Bengal]] [[Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy]] held a press conference in New Delhi where he outlined his vision for an independent Bengal. Suhrawardy said "Let us pause for a moment to consider what Bengal can be if it remains united. It will be a great country, indeed the richest and the most prosperous in India capable of giving to its people a high standard of living, where a great people will be able to rise to the fullest height of their stature, a land that will truly be plentiful. It will be rich in agriculture, rich in industry and commerce and in course of time it will be one of the powerful and progressive states of the world. If Bengal remains united this will be no dream, no fantasy".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://scroll.in/article/907754/why-did-british-prime-minister-attlee-think-bengal-was-going-to-be-an-independent-country-in-1947 |title=Why did British prime minister Attlee think Bengal was going to be an independent country in 1947? |work=Scroll.in |date=6 January 2019}}</ref> On 2 June 1947, [[British Prime Minister]] [[Clement Attlee]] told the [[US Ambassador to the United Kingdom]] that there was a "distinct possibility Bengal might decide against partition and against joining either Hindustan or Pakistan".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1453994/uk-pm-attlee-believed-bengal-may-opt-to-be-a-separate-country |title=UK PM Attlee believed Bengal may opt to be a separate country |newspaper=Dawn|location=Pakistan|date=28 December 2018}}</ref>

On 3 June 1947, the [[Mountbatten Plan]] outlined the [[partition of British India]]. On 20 June, the Bengal Legislative Assembly met to decide on the partition of Bengal. At the preliminary joint meeting, it was decided (126 votes to 90) that if the province remained united, it should join the [[Constituent Assembly of Pakistan]]. At a separate meeting of legislators from [[West Bengal]], it was decided (58 votes to 21) that the province should be partitioned and West Bengal should join the [[Constituent Assembly of India]]. At another meeting of legislators from [[East Bengal]], it was decided (106 votes to 35) that the province should not be partitioned and (107 votes to 34) that East Bengal should join the Constituent Assembly of [[Pakistan]] if Bengal was partitioned.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bose |first=Sugata |title=Agrarian Bengal: Economy, Social Structure and Politics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fxXInQEACAAJ |year=1986 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=230 |isbn=978-0-521-30448-1}}</ref> On 6 July, the [[Sylhet Division|Sylhet district]] of Assam voted in a [[1947 Sylhet referendum|referendum to join East Bengal]].

The English barrister [[Cyril Radcliffe]] was instructed to draw the borders of Pakistan and India. The [[Radcliffe Line]] created the boundary between the [[Dominion of India]] and the [[Dominion of Pakistan]], which later became the [[Bangladesh-India border]]. The Radcliffe Line awarded two-thirds of Bengal as the eastern wing of Pakistan, although the historic Bengali capitals of [[Gauda (city)|Gaur]], [[Pandua, Malda|Pandua]], [[Murshidabad]] and Calcutta fell on the Indian side close to the border with Pakistan. Dhaka's status as a capital was also restored.