Mahatma Gandhi visited Noakhali in 1946 during the communal riots with a message of nonviolent coexistence between Hindus and Muslims.
Eyewitnesses said that at that time, the common people were inspired by his non-communism, not only from his speeches but also from his lifestyle.
According to the book 'Mahatma in Noakhali' written by Sukumar Roy, it is learned that during the riots, Gandhi stayed at the house of Habibulla Patwari at his invitation in the remote village of Muraim in Ramganj upazila of Noakhali district (now Lakshmipur).
Raha Nabakumar, secretary of the Mahatma Gandhi Ashram Trust in Noakhali, said that Gandhi's diary preserved at the ashram also mentions that he stayed in Habibulla Patwari's house in Muraim village.
Anil Bihari Ladh, a retired teacher of Dalta Rahmania High School, who saw Gandhi firsthand, told the daily 'Khaborer Kagoj' that "I was 12/13 years old when Gandhi came to Noakhali during the communal riots in 1946.
"I remember everything clearly during his (Gandhi's) stay in the camp. He conveyed the message of non-violence, the message of anti-discrimination stance, not only through his words, but also through his actions," he said.
Giving an example, the teacher said, "Mahatma Gandhi was accommodated in the Chowdhury house in Dalta, but instead of staying in the financially and socially well-off Chowdhury house, he stayed in the house of the low-class Raiharan Mali. Through this, the common people could see his stand against the discrimination between the high and low castes in Hindu society."
Another elderly contemporary of Anil Bihari Ladh, Abdur Rahman, a resident of Jafarnagar village and former president of the management committee of Dalta Rahmania High School, said, on hearing the news of Mahatma Gandhi's arrival, people from all over rushed to Dalta to see him.
"My mother forbade me from going there for fear of drowning in the water, but I secretly went there. Although I did not get a chance to see Mahatma Gandhi up close due to the crowd," he said.
"But I had heard the people there praising Mahatma Gandhi. The elders were praising him because he stayed at the poor gardener's house instead of the Chowdhury house," he continued.
Noting that the book 'Mahatma in Noakhali', written by Sukumar Roy, was published on India's Independence Day on August 15, 1947, is about Gandhi's visit to Noakhali. The book was published by Orient Book Company of India.
Dipankar Dasgupta, Kolkata correspondent of the daily 'Khaborer Kagoj', said that Sukumar Roy was a correspondent for the daily 'Anandabazar' at that time. He covered Mahatma Gandhi's visit to Noakhali as a correspondent for Anandabazar. As an eyewitness to Mahatma Gandhi's visit to Noakhali, he later wrote the book 'Mahatma in Noakhali'.
Regarding Gandhi's visit to Dalta, the book states, "On Thursday, January 23, 1947, Gandhiji stayed in Dalta, the village next to Paniala. With the arrival of Paniala, Gandhiji's journey of about one hundred miles inside Noakhali was completed. Having started from the central part of Noakhali, Gandhiji has now reached the border of Tripura. From this place, he will again travel inside Noakhali.
Regarding the situation in Dalta at that time, the January 26th issue of 'Shanti Mission Dinlipi' stated that in Dalta, the houses of minority people were set on fire, converted to Islam, looted, etc. A monastery belonging to a family was demolished in broad daylight. The minority people who were under attack lived in fear because the attackers were known to them. At that time, during the discussion of the riot in the presence of an attacker, the minority felt that saying anything against them would be dangerous. Therefore, they would introduce the attackers as their protectors. Fear among the minorities is gradually disappearing here, as in other places. Once a few of us went there, this fear of minorities helped to ease a bit.
"Since there was no tubewell in Dalta village, a good pond had been set aside for drinking water for some time. A filter machine was given on this day by Gandhi so that they could use filtered water," it said.
"This day was the birthday of Netaji Subhash Chandra. Gandhiji paid tribute to Netaji's achievements in a prayer meeting on the occasion of Netaji's birthday and in his memory. For Netaji, there was no difference between Hindus and Muslims," it continued.
Noting that, in 1946, terrible Hindu-Muslim communal riots took place in various areas of the Noakhali district, especially in Ramganj police station. At that time, the then Congress leader Mahatma Gandhi rushed to Noakhali from Delhi with his companions to establish peace.
From January 2, 1947, Gandhi made that historic tour to Chandipur, Masimpur, Fatehpur, Daspara, Jagatpur, Lamchar, Karpara, Sahapur, Bhatialpur, Narayanpur, and Ramdevpur, Parakot, Badalkot, Atakhora, Shirndi, Kethuri, Paniala, Dalta, Muraim, Hirapur, Bangsha, Palla, Panchgaon, Jayag, Amki, Nabagram, Amishapara, Satgharia, Sadhurkhil, respectively.
It is worth noting that today, October 2, is Mahatma Gandhi's birthday and the International Day of Non-Violence. To honor him, the United Nations declared this day the International Day of Non-Violence in 2007.
*This report, originally published in the Khaborer Kagoj print and online edition, has been rewritten in English by Md Sahadad Hossain*
