Noakhali Genocide - Background

Background

The districts of Noakhali and Tipperah lay in the south eastern corner of Bengal, in the division of Chittagong and bordering the princely state of Hill Tippera. The district of Noakhali constituted of two sub-divisions Sadar and Feni covered a total area of 1,658 square miles. Noakhali was situated on the eastern bank near of Meghna near its confluence and therefore included in its domain several river islands, known as chars in Bengali, the Sandwip and Hatia being the largest two of such islands. Mainland Noakhali itself was crisscrossed by a network of small rivers and canals. The economy was mainly agrarian, with extensive plantations of jute, betel, betel nuts and coconuts. Given the physiographic nature of the district, country boats were the primary means of transport with hardly any motorable roads in the district. A metre gauge railway connecting Comilla and Chittagong ran through Feni, branching off at Laksham to connect Noakhali town.

Muslims constituted 80.57% of the population in Noakhali to 19.31% Hindus, reflecting a demographic pattern characteristic of the districts of eastern Bengal, where the Muslims were in overwhelming majority. Agriculture being the economic mainstay of the region, a majority of the population, Hindus and Muslims alike were cultivators, majority of them sharecroppers and landless agricultural labourers. Apart from agriculture, the Hindus were engaged in handloom, banking and small businesses. The educated Hindu gentry were white collared job holders, mainly teachers, lawyers and doctors, some of them small landowners.