পাতা:বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্র (প্রথম খণ্ড).pdf/৬৬৬

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বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্রঃ প্রথম খন্ড

been loyal to the British Government throughout the troubles, without exposing ourselves to the charge of bad faith. A settlement to be satisfactory and conclusive must—

(1) Provide convenient administrative units;
(2) satisfy the legitimate aspirations of the Bengalis;
(3) Duly safeguard the interests of the Mohammedans of Eastern Bengal and generally conciliate Mohammedan sentiment; and
(4) be so clearly based upon broad grounds of political and administrative expediency as to negative any presumption that it has been exerted by elamour or agitation

 11. If the headquarters of the Government of India be transferred from Calcutta to Delhi, and if Delhi be thereby made the Imperial capital, placing the city of Delhi and part of the surrounding country under the direct administration of the Government of India, the following scheme, which embraces three inter-dependent proposals, would appear to satisfy all these conditions:—

(i) To reunite the five Bengali-speaking divisions, viz., the Presidency, Burdwan, Dacca, Rajshahi and Chittagong divisions forming them into a presidency, to be administered by a Governor-in-Council. The area of the province will be approximately 70,000 square miles and the population about 42,000,000.
(ii) To create a Lieutenant Governorship-in-Council to consist of Behar, Chota Nagpur and Orissa, with a Legislative Council and a capital at Patna. The area of the province would be approximately 113,000 square miles and the population about 35,000,000.
(iii) To restore the Chief Commissionership of Assam. The area of that Province would be about 56,000 square miles and the population about 5,000,000.

 12. We elaborated at the outset our proposal to make Delhi the future capital of India, because we consider this the key-stone of the whole project, and hold that according as it is accepted or not, our scheme must stand or fall But we have still to discuss in greater detail the leading features of the other part of our scheme.

 13. Chief amongst them is the proposal to constitute a Governorship-in Council for Bengal. The history of the Partition dates from 1902. Various Schemes of territorial redistribution were at that time under consideration and that which was ultimately adopted had at any rate the merit fulfilling two of the Chief purposes which its authors had in view. It relieved the overburdened administration of Bengal and it gave the Mohammedan population of Eastern Bengal advantages and opportunities of which they had perhaps hitherto not had their fair share. On the other hand, as we have already pointed out, it was deeply resented by the Bengalis. No doubt sentiment has played a considerable part in the opposition offered by the Bengalis, and, in saying this, we by no means wish to underrate the importance which should be attached to sentiment even if it be exaggerated. It is, however, no longer a matter of mere sentiment but, rather, since the enlargement of the Legislative Councils, one of undeniable reality. In pre-reform scheme