Following Jinnah's declaration of 16 August as the Direct Action Day, the Muslim League Chief Minister of Bengal, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, declared a public holiday on that day.[1][16] Bengal Congress protested against the declaration of public holiday, arguing that a holiday would enable 'the idle folks' to successfully enforce hartals in areas where the Muslim League leadership was uncertain. Congress accused the League government for "indulging in communal policies' for narrow goal".[17] However, the League went ahead with the declaration, and Muslim newspapers published the program for the day.
The Star of India, an influential local Muslim newspaper, published detailed programme for the day. Calling it a Jehad, the programme called for complete hartal and general strike in all spheres of civic, commercial and industrial life except essential services. The notice proclaimed that processions would start from multiple parts of Calcutta, Howrah, Hooghly, Metiabruz and 24 Parganas, and would converge at the foot of the Ochterlony Monument (now known as Shaheed Minar) where a joint mass rally presided over by Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy would be held. The Muslim League branches were advised to depute three workers in every mosque in every ward to explain the League's action plan before Juma prayers and to report to the district headquarters about arrangements. Moreover, special prayer were arranged in every mosque on Friday after Juma prayers for the freedom of Muslim India, the Islamic world and the peoples of India and the East in general.[18]
The notice drew divine inspiration from the Quran, emphasizing on the coincidence of Direct Action Day with the holy month of Ramzaan, claiming that the upcoming protests were an allegory of Prophet Muhammad's conflict with heathenism and subsequent conquest of Mecca and establishment the kingdom of Heaven in Arabia. It appealed all Muslims to make the day a success by securing moral and physical purge of the nation.[18]
On the other hand, Hindu public opinion was mobilised around the Akhand Hindusthan (United India) slogan.[19] The Congress leaders in Bengal were not necessarily Hindu communalists. But since most of the party's support came from Hindus, a section of the Congressmen imbibed a strong sense of Hindu identity, especially in view of the perceived threat from the Pakistan movement.[8] Such mobilisation along communal lines was partly successful due to a concerted propaganda campaign which resulted in a 'legitimization of communal solidarities'.[8]
After his visits to neighborhoods (Mahallas), Suhrawardy claimed that he believed and found the Muslims peaceful and therefore had made arrangements so that the Police and the Military would not interfere with day's working plans.[4] Muslim League Volunteer Corps in Calcutta, however, took that comment of Suhrawardy to indicate that they were free to riot.[9] On the other hand, following the protests against the British after INA trials, the British administration decided to give more importance to protests against the government, rather than management of communal violence within the Indian populace, according to their "Emergency Action Scheme".[4] Frederick Burrows, the Governor of Bengal, rationalized the authorisation of the declaration of "public holiday" in his report to Lord Wavell —
“ ...many of the mischief-makers were people who would have had idle hands anyhow. If shops and markets had been generally open, I believe that there would have been even more looting and murder than there was; the holiday gave the peaceable citizens the chance of staying at home...