A nation torn by revolutions, two inseparable brothers and a love bound by tragedy.
About a thousand days apart, Adrith and Rudra are brothers bound by blood, faith and indifferences. The question arises - how much loyalty one owes a brother, a fat...
The meaning of a nation changed that year. In 1946, The Cabinet Commission took place between the British Government, Congress and Muslim League where the decision about the transfer of power would be finalised. The Commission proposed the formation of a new Dominion of the Indian Government.
The League once again demanded for an autonomous sovereignty. In July, The Congress held a press conference, live even on all radio channels, mentioning the party's freedom to "modify the Commission's plan as it saw fit."
Everyone were glued to their radios, including Anita with her family. Rudra and Adrith were again sitting in the balcony fidgeting with the antenna, their father sitting right behind them, their mother listening in from the kitchen while rolling out some rotis. There were shops and restaurants that were overcrowded by listeners, people who didn't own radios, skipping some time from work or school or life. It was as if most of the country was on a standby. Time stood still. The news was loud and clear.
It was certain by that time : freedom was on it's way, but what the people didn't know was that it'd come at a heavy price.
Following the press conference by Jawaharlal Nehru, there was a rising tension amongst the League and the common Muslims. Jinnah feared that the Congress would create a Hindu-dominant country. Hence, this resulted in the League rejecting the Cabinet Mission, because accepting it would mean a mingled form of the League and the Congress. He said that if the Muslims were not granted a separate nation, they'd proceed for a direct action.
16th August, 1946 was announced to be Direct Action Day. "We do not want war," he said, pointing out the Congress. "If you want war we accept your offer unhesitatingly."
What happened next, was way more than what anyone would have even imagined.
Calcutta was breaking. The Muslim League took divine inspiration from the Holy Quran to promote it's actions, by contemplating how the Holy month of Ramadan fell along with the Direct Action Day. The League sent people into masjids before Juma to let the common men know the League's plans.
The Akhand Hindustan slogans meaning dropped to shreds. Nothing was left. The skirmishes between these communities echoed. No-one was safe.
Shops were being forced to close, stones were thrown and people were stabbed. There were reports of lorries driving down the roads of Calcutta, carrying muslim men with bottles and bats to attack the Hindus in the area. There was a curfew in act by six in the evening.
Later, troops were deployed only in the main areas of the city to patrol the perimeters. This resulted in the cops falling out of the slums, hence giving a pack of mobs the chance to kill a handful of mill labourers.
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With the week coming to an end, the lawlessness increased as well. The bloodbath escalated.
On the third day of the massacre, there were reports of Hindus and Sikhs riding in taxies and buses, armed with firearms, rods and swords. The soldiers were sent to the worst areas of the violence, where overtime, they got it under control. But that was not enough. It was the rural and slum areas that suffered the worst. Houses were burnt down. People lost lives, families, homes and worst; themselves.
It was the worst war of the nation with itself.
Within seven days, the silence began to approach. Things were uneven. The bloodbath had stopped flowing, leaving the earth drenched. Innocents lost lives, and the ones that lived lost their innocence.
The violence echoed throughout the nation. But this time, it hit home.
