Suhrawardy has an avenue named after him in Kolkata. This is strange, since the controversial politician had played a big role in the communal violence of 1946
When Gopal Krishna Gokhale famously remarked that what Bengal thinks today India will think tomorrow, he could never have envisioned that Bengal would stop thinking, as it has done over the past few decades, thanks to its politicians of various hues. We now have the curious case of the City of Joy being painted over in blue and white, with tax benefits too, if Ms Mamata Banerjee has her way. She would have us believe that the blue represents the sky and, therefore, limitless possibilities. I am not quite sure what the white represents but it must be something just as sublime.The fact that the Kolkata skyline is actually a dull ominous grey thanks to uncontrolled pollution and uncleared garbage is an inconvenient truth and of little concern — just as the fact that the money could probably be better spent on tackling the myriad problems that plague the city.
To best understand the maelstrom that Bengal finds itself in, one need look no further than the strange case of Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, after whom one of Kolkata's better known avenues is named. For those who may be unaware, Suhrawardy was the Muslim league Chief Minister of Bengal in pre-independence India in 1946. In fact it was the only Muslim league Government of the day. More importantly, he is credited with unleashing, at Jinnah's behest, ‘Direct Action Day’ in August 1946, which resulted in communal riots in Kolkata that left thousands, mostly Hindus, dead. It was aimed at proving to the Indian National Congress that if it did not agree to partition, British India would be engulfed in civil war. After independence he opted for Pakistan, left the Muslim league and joined the then East Pakistan-based Awami league. He subsequently went on to become the fifth Prime Minister of Pakistan in 1956 until he was forced to resign a year later. He was later compelled to leave the country by Field Marshal Ayub Khan after the latter took over the reins, and died suddenly in lebanon, allegedly of poisoning. I would like to believe that he may have been one of the Inter-Services Intelligence's earliest projects, but then I could be wrong!
Since Suhrawardy Avenue must have been named subsequent to his chief ministership, in all likelihood after independence, a reasonable doubt that does arise is: Why would the State Government name the road after such a controversial Pakistani politician. One could even be forgiven for wondering as to who was the Chief Minister who initiated this proposal, and even more importantly, what was he thinking — or was he thinking at allIJ Interestingly, Pakistan has a thoroughfare in Islamabad named after him while Dhaka has a hospital and a maidan named in his honour, making him probably the only sub-continental politician honoured by three countries, though why West Bengal should be honouring him remains unclear. Tellingly, an attempt to petition the Government to rename the road received not a single signature from any Kolkata resident. Was that because he was a much-loved son of Bengal or was there something completely different at work hereIJ
In a country where large chunks of the population are ignorant of our pre-independence leaders, it appears to be unlikely that Suhrawardy is remembered for having been the last pre-independence Chief Minister or for the fact that in March 1946 he publicly supported, with other eminent Bengalis, the formation of an independent unified Bengal as an independent country. Therefore, it is more than likely it was the fear of offending Ms Banerjee for obvious reasons that was the cause for such lacklustre support. This attitude is at the heart of what ails Bengal today.