Raiganj: Residents of Balurghat, the headquarters of South Dinajpur district, celebrated Independence Day on Monday, three days after the rest of India.
The reason dates back to 1947.
Balurghat and some of its surrounding areas were kept under the “National Area” category and were almost under the jurisdiction of the then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) till August 18, 1947.
Samit Ghosh, a historian based in Balurghat, said that when Pakistan achieved Independence on August 14 and India on August 15. Ahead of partition, Balurghat was under the Rajshahi division of the Dinajpur district.
Cyril Radcliffe, the British lawyer tasked with making the maps of India and Pakistan, while drawing the partition lines, had labelled some places such as Balurghat and its surroundings as “national areas”.
“On August 14, Pakistani troops reached Balurghat. The Pakistani national flag was hoisted in the town. This led to protests as freedom fighters and people in general objected to it.
There was even some commotion between them and the troops in some locations. The then headmaster of
the Balurghat High School did not allow troops to hoist the Pakistani flag on the school campus,”
said Ghosh.
This uncertainty continued for two more days. On August 17, Balurghat and some of its surrounding areas merged with India.
“On August 18, Indian soldiers reached Balurghat and the Pakistani troops were asked to leave. Soon after, the administration announced that these were integral parts of India, and the Indian Tricolour was hoisted on that day. That is why we celebrate August 18 as our Independence Day,” the historian said.
Tuhin Subhra Mondal, a Balurghat resident, said that so far only some social organisations observed August 18. “This year, for the first time, the local civic body organised some events,” he said.
On Monday morning, a colourful procession was brought out from the Balurghat High School ground by the Trinamool-run civic body. Civic chairman Ashok Kumar Mitra was present with school students, social workers and others at the procession.
In the evening, lamps were lighted in the town to celebrate the occasion. “We want people, especially the youngsters, to know this history of Balurghat. We will highlight it and the contribution of the freedom fighters of the district through different events,” said Mitra, the civic chairman.
Ashok Lahiri, the BJP MLA of Balurghat, hoisted the national flag at the Balurghat High School campus. District leaders of the saffron party were present at the event.
“On behalf of our party, we have been celebrating this day for years now. But the district administration too should take initiatives to observe the day that is important for Balurghat,” Lahiri said.