Noakhali Genocide - Repercussions in Bihar

Repercussions in Bihar

As a reaction to the Noakhali Genocide, a riot rocked Bihar towards the end of 1946. Between 30 October and 7 November, mass communal massacres in Bihar brought Partition closer to inevitability. Severe violence broke out in Chhapra and Saran district, between 25 and 28 October. Very soon Patna, Munger and Bhagalpur also became the sites of serious turbulance. Begun as a reprisal for the Noakhali riot, it was difficult for authorities to deal with because it was spread out over a large area of scattered villages, and the number of casualties was impossible to establish accurately: "According to a subsequent statement in the British Parliament, the death-toll amounted to 5,000. The Statesman's estimate was between 7,500 and 10,000; the Congress party admitted to 2,000; Mr. Jinnah claimed about 30,000." However, By 3 November, the official estimate put the figure of death at only 445. According to some independent source, the death toll was around 8000 human lives.

Some worst riot also took place in Garhmukteshwar in United Provinces where a massacre occurred in November 1946 in which "Hindu pilgrims, at the annual religious fair, set upon and exterminated Muslims, not only on the festival grounds but in the adjacent town" while the police did little or nothing; the deaths were estimated at between 1,000 and 2,000.