How Gandhi brought peace and united Hindus and Muslims a year after the mass violence in Calcutta

Author’s note: The excerpt below is from Chapter 4 titled “A Short-Lived Nine-Day Wonder”, from my recently published book, Gandhi: The End of Nonviolence. It describes Gandhi’s sojourn in Calcutta between August 9 and September 7, 1947. When Hindus and Muslims came out together in the streets of Calcutta to celebrate independence on August 14, Gandhi’s efforts to bring peace to the city that saw unprecedented mass violence exactly a year ago was described a “miracle”. Gandhi called it “a short-lived nine-day wonder” after he witnessed the death of two Muslim migrants on 1st September in a place close to Hydari Manzil/Mansion. Fresh riots were reported from Park Circus, Bada Bazar and Bau Bazar. The shadow of political violence fell over a temporary “miracle.”

On 20 August, the prayer meeting was held at Bara Bazar (a place that had a mosque, temple and church on three sides) where the Calcutta violence had begun and where truce was declared on 14 August. At dinner, Manu [Gandhi] confronted Suhrawardy on his not sleeping at the Hydari Mansion with Gandhi and his associates as decided but that he preferred the comforts of home. Manu disparaged him with striking intimacy and boldness,

‘I have no faith in you. You don’t...

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