West Bengal Foundation Day? Mamata Shocked At Governor’s Decision

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday took exception to Governor CV Ananda Bose's unilateral decision to mark the state's Foundation Day on June 20.

Banerjee pointed out that the pain and trauma of partition was such that people in the state have never commemorated any day as foundation day since India's independence.

In a letter to Governor CV Ananda Bose, Banerjee wrote: "I am stunned and shocked to know that you have decided to organise a programme on June 20 at Raj Bhavan, Kolkata, commemorating what you have peculiarly chosen to describe as the 'State Foundation of West Bengal."

"Since independence, we in West Bengal have never rejoiced over or commemorated or celebrated any day as the foundation day of West Bengal. Rather, we have seen the partition as a result of the unleashing of communal force that could not be resisted at that point in time," she said.

She claimed that during a telephonic discussion earlier in the day, Bose had admitted that a 'unilateral and non-consultative decision' to declare a day as the state's Foundation Day is not warranted.

"Kindly refer to our today's telephonic discussions when you admitted that a unilateral and non-consultative decision to declare a particular day as the foundation day of the State of West Bengal is not warranted. You were kind enough to assure me that you would not proceed to hold the programme," she said.

Mamata said the partition of Bengal was the tragic destiny of the people of the state.

"The slicing out of West Bengal was seen as a historical necessity at that point in time, but it was also known that it was a tragic destiny for the people of Bengal. The State was not founded on any particular day, least of all on June 20," Mamata Banerjee wrote.

"Contrarily, the state was formed through the infamous Radcliffe Award, which was given legitimacy by the departing colonial/imperial government," she added.

Requesting the governor not to go ahead with the programme, Mamata said it would rekindle the bitter memories of crores of people and reincite undesirable forces in the state.

"If an event is conducted at Raj Bhavan, it "may at best be a programme of a political party, driven by vendetta, but not of the people or its Government," she added.

Why did the Governor declare June 20 as West Bengal Foundation Day?

Notably, the British Parliament declared the India Independence Act on July 15, 1947, without any clarity on the borders of the two states being torn apart - Bengal and Punjab. On this day in 1947, two meetings of separate sets of legislators in the Bengal Assembly decided whether the Bengal Presidency would be part of India or Pakistan.