The Partition of Bengal Presented by Mrs.Kirti Chaturvedi Dept. of History

Background to the Partition of Bengal The early 1900’s saw the revolutionary movements in India gathering momentum and the spirit of nationalism among the Indians was at it’s peak. This worried the British and many say that the partition was used as an excuse to drive a wedge into the heartfelt spirit of nationalism by separating the Muslim dominated East Bengal from the Hindu dominated West. On the other hand, the British stated that the Bengal presidency was too large a province to be governed efficiently by a single Governor and so the partition, according to them was an administrative necessity.

The Partition In February 1905, Lord Curzon sent the partition proposal to the Secretary of State for India in London. The Proposal was sanctioned in June, and the proclamation of a new province was issued in September. By October 16th 1905 a new state was carved out of the Chitagong, Dhaka, and Rajshahi Divisions. Lord Curzon

Reasons The Indians knew that the real reasons for the partition was to divide the Hindu dominated West and Muslim dominated East Bengal. The British maintained that the real reason for the partition was solely on administrative lines and Bengal was too large to be governed as a single Province.

Anti-Partition Movement The Anti Partition Movement gave birth to a number of movements, the largest being the Swadeshi and Boycott Movement. Mass meeting, picketing, burning of foreign goods, and social boycotts followed the partition. The 16th of October 1905 was celebrated as Rakhi Bandhan as people from both provinces proclaimed that they would not be separated.

Reaction of the People The Bengalis reacted by- Holding mass meetings Picketing shops and Govt. offices Burning and boycotting foreign goods Boycotting those who did not conform to the movement Markets remained closed and the streets echoed to ‘Vande Mataram’ Lala Lajpat Rai

Reaction of the British The Government was no silent spectator to the events in Bengal- The Government tried to further the communal divide by appeasing the Muslims and neglecting Hindu communities. Meetings were forcibly dispersed and leaders were confined without trial. Students were debarred from examinations Singing ‘Vande Mataram’ was banned The police roughing up Satyagrahis.

Reasons for Failure Inhuman repressive policy of the Government Spontaneous and no efforts to organize it Broke down due to the onslaught of the Government Congress split at Surat in 1907 Extremists lost their leadership Swadeshi Movement lost its driving force Supporters of Swadeshi, Boycott and National Education were turned out of Congress