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'''Ponabalia Massacre''' was the [[mass murder]] of 20 [[Bengali Muslims]] in Ponabalia by members of the [[Indian Imperial Police]] on orders of the district magistrate on 7 March 1927.<ref name="tmk">{{cite web|title=Twenty Moslems killed|url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000540/19270303/332/0009|website=British Newspaper Archive|publisher=The Scotsman|accessdate=21 August 2017|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Husain|first1=Syed Sajjad|title=Pakistan: An Anthology|date=1964|publisher=Society for Pakistan Studies|page=231|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BqI9AAAAMAAJ&q=Ponabalia+1927|accessdate=21 August 2017|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Sarkar|first1=M.L.|title=The Congress and the National Movement (from a Bengali Standpoint)|date=1928|page=96|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1v4HAQAAIAAJ&q=Ponabalia+1927|accessdate=21 August 2017|language=en}}</ref>
'''Ponabalia Massacre''' ({{lang-bn|পোনাবালিয়া হত্যাকান্ড|Ponabaliẏa Hôttakanḍô}}) was the [[mass murder]] of 20 [[Bengali Muslims]] in Ponabalia by members of the [[Indian Imperial Police]] on orders of the district magistrate on 7 March 1927.<ref name="tmk">{{cite web|title=Twenty Moslems killed|url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000540/19270303/332/0009|website=British Newspaper Archive|publisher=The Scotsman|accessdate=21 August 2017|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Husain|first1=Syed Sajjad|title=Pakistan: An Anthology|date=1964|publisher=Society for Pakistan Studies|page=231|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BqI9AAAAMAAJ&q=Ponabalia+1927|accessdate=21 August 2017|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Sarkar|first1=M.L.|title=The Congress and the National Movement (from a Bengali Standpoint)|date=1928|page=96|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1v4HAQAAIAAJ&q=Ponabalia+1927|accessdate=21 August 2017|language=en}}</ref>


==History==
==History==
On 7 March 1927, Bengali Hindus were going towards the Ponabalia Shiva temple in a procession on the occasion of [[Shivaratri]] in Ponabalia, [[Nalchity Upazila|Nalchity]], [[Jhalokati District]], [[Barisal Division]], [[East Bengal]], [[British India]]. The procession was singing [[Sankirtan]] and beating drums. The processions was passing by a mosque where Muslims were praying. The Muslims asked to the Hindus to observe silence, which they refused. The Muslims tried to stop the procession by creating a human barricade. Satindranath Sen, an Satyagraha activist, asked the Hindus to perform Sankirtan louder. The District Magistrate, E. N. Blandy, and Superintendent of Police, Taylor rushed to the scene along with a Police force.<ref name="tmk" /><ref name="pmb">{{cite web|last1=Halim|first1=MA|title=Ponabalia Massacre|url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Ponabalia_Massacre|website=en.banglapedia.org|publisher=Banglapedia|accessdate=21 August 2017|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Chatterjee|first1=Partha|title=Bengal, 1920-1947|date=1984|publisher=Centre for Studies in Social Sciences|page=78|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M31uAAAAMAAJ&q=Ponabalia+1927|language=en}}</ref>
On 7 March 1927, Bengali Hindus were going towards the Ponabalia Shiva temple in a procession on the occasion of [[Shivaratri]] in Ponabalia, [[Nalchity Upazila|Nalchity]], [[Jhalokati District]], [[Barisal Division]], [[East Bengal]], [[British India]]. The procession was singing [[Sankirtan]] and beating drums. The processions was passing by a mosque where Muslims were praying. The Muslims asked the Hindus to observe silence, which they refused. The Muslims tried to stop the procession by creating a human barricade. Satindranath Sen, a Satyagraha activist, asked the Hindus to perform Sankirtan louder. The District Magistrate, E. N. Blandy, and Superintendent of Police, Taylor rushed to the scene along with a Police force.<ref name="tmk" /><ref name="pmb">{{cite web|last1=Halim|first1=MA|title=Ponabalia Massacre|url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Ponabalia_Massacre|website=en.banglapedia.org|publisher=Banglapedia|accessdate=21 August 2017|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Chatterjee|first1=Partha|title=Bengal, 1920-1947|date=1984|publisher=Centre for Studies in Social Sciences|page=78|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M31uAAAAMAAJ&q=Ponabalia+1927|language=en}}</ref>


The Muslims were unable to communicate with the British officials, as they did not know English. So they tried to communicate to the officers through [[hand gesture]]s that they would rather die than have their prayers disturbed. The Hindus who were literate and could speak English, told the officers that the Muslims wanted to kill them. Blandy, misled, ordered the police to fire, killing 20 Muslims. More were wounded. Other reports suggested a Muslim speared a police officer.<ref name="pmb" /><ref>{{cite book|last1=Mitra|first1=Nripendra Nath|title=The Indian Quarterly Register|date=1927|publisher=Annual Register Office.|pages=81–83|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wIsZAAAAMAAJ&q=Ponabalia+1927|accessdate=21 August 2017|language=en}}</ref>
The Muslims were unable to communicate with the British officials, as they did not know English. So they tried to communicate to the officers through [[hand gesture]]s that they would rather die than have their prayers disturbed. The Hindus who were literate and could speak English, told the officers that the Muslims wanted to kill them. Blandy, misled, ordered the police to fire, killing 20 Muslims. More were wounded. Other reports suggested a Muslim speared a police officer.<ref name="pmb" /><ref>{{cite book|last1=Mitra|first1=Nripendra Nath|title=The Indian Quarterly Register|date=1927|publisher=Annual Register Office.|pages=81–83|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wIsZAAAAMAAJ&q=Ponabalia+1927|accessdate=21 August 2017|language=en}}</ref>


==Aftermath==
==Aftermath==
Few days later the All Bengal Muslim Conference called for inquiry commission into the incident. The commission was formed and it submitted a report, which was never published. The incident has been called an evidence of communal disharmony during the post-Noncooperation in rural Bengal and was highlighted by the Muslim press.<ref name="pmb" /><ref>{{cite book |last1=Das |first1=Suranjan |date=1991 |title=Communal riots in Bengal, 1905-1947 |publisher=Oxford University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nPJuAAAAMAAJ&q=Ponabalia+1927 |page=106 |isbn=0-19-562840-3 |accessdate=21 August 2017 |language=en |quote=The Muslim press also used the Ponabalia incident as a warning to its readers.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Sarkar|first1=Chandiprasad|title=The Bengali Muslims: A Study in Their Politicization, 1912-1929|date=1991|publisher=K.P. Bagchi & Company|isbn=9788170740964|pages=205–207|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6WduAAAAMAAJ&q=Ponabalia+1927|accessdate=21 August 2017|language=en}}</ref>
Few days later the All Bengal Muslim Conference called for an inquiry commission into the incident. The commission was formed and it submitted a report, which was never published. The incident has been called an evidence of communal disharmony during the post-noncooperation in rural Bengal and was highlighted by the Muslim press.<ref name="pmb" /><ref>{{cite book |last1=Das |first1=Suranjan |date=1991 |title=Communal riots in Bengal, 1905-1947 |publisher=Oxford University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nPJuAAAAMAAJ&q=Ponabalia+1927 |page=106 |isbn=0-19-562840-3 |accessdate=21 August 2017 |language=en |quote=The Muslim press also used the Ponabalia incident as a warning to its readers.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Sarkar|first1=Chandiprasad|title=The Bengali Muslims: A Study in Their Politicization, 1912-1929|date=1991|publisher=K.P. Bagchi & Company|isbn=9788170740964|pages=205–207|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6WduAAAAMAAJ&q=Ponabalia+1927|accessdate=21 August 2017|language=en}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
{{reflist|2}}
 
{{Jhalokati District}}
{{coord missing|Bangladesh}}
{{coord missing|Bangladesh}}
[[Category:1927 in British India]]
[[Category:1927 in British India]]
[[Category:Mass murder in 1927]]
[[Category:Mass murder in 1927]]
[[Category:Massacres in the 1920s]]
[[Category:Massacres in 1927]]
[[Category:March 1927 events]]
[[Category:March 1927 events]]
[[Category:1920s in Islam]]
[[Category:1920s in Islam]]
[[Category:History of Bangladesh]]
[[Category:Bengal Presidency]]
[[Category:Jhalakati District]]
[[Category:Jhalokati District]]
[[Category:Religious riots]]
[[Category:Religious riots]]
[[Category:Riots and civil disorder in India]]
[[Category:Riots and civil disorder in India]]