In 1947, after a referendum, almost all of Sylhet as a district became a part of East Bengal at the time and remained so after Bangladeshi independence. The Karimganj subdivision became part of the new Indian state of Assam. The referendum was held on 3 July 1947. There were a total of 546,815 votes cast on 239 polling stations. A majority of 43.8 per cent voted in favour of East Bengal. There were protests about false votes, but the referendum was acknowledged during India's independence on 18 July 1947. In 1971, Sylhet became part of the newly formed country of Bangladesh.