Agrarian Transformation and Bengali Identity: An analysis on Post Partition (1947) Bengal

Abstract

The 1947 Partition altered not only the political landscape of Bengal but also its social and economic framework. People often talk about things like displacement, communal violence, and national identity when they talk about Partition, but the agricultural side of it is still not very well understood. This article examines how changes in farming made it more challenging to reconstruct the Bengali identity in Bengal after Partition. The partition of Bengal altered the way people owned land, relocated peasant communities, and prompted many, including farmers and landless workers, to migrate across the new borders. The economy of the village and the way people interacted with each other changed when zamindari ended, refugees were moved to rural areas, and agricultural relationships were changed. The article asserts that the agrarian economy played a crucial role in the reorganization of social order and the negotiation of cultural identity in both East Bengal (later East Pakistan) and West Bengal, as analyzed through these structural changes. The study utilizes archival documents, oral testimonies, and contemporary writings to elucidate the impact of land, livelihood, and community on the evolution of Bengali identity following Partition. Agrarian transformation is not just an economic change; it is also a key place in Bengal where memory, belonging, and identity were constantly being rebuilt after Partition.