Partition Of Bengal

PARTITION OF BENGAL 1905

INTRODUCTION
The Partition of Bengal in 1905, was made on 16 October by then Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon. Due to the high level of political unrest generated by the partition, the eastern and western parts of Bengal were reunited in 1911.

INTRODUCTION
The opening years of the twentieth century were stormy
The British were beginning to feel a bit uneasy
Discontentment was brewing. Political discontent was growing due to the inability of the government to organize effective relief during the period of plague and famine

BEHIND THE SCENES
For the first time, they used their divide-and-rule political game with great force.
From 1870 onwards, the British started inciting the Hindus and the Muslims to form their own political parties to establish their distinct religious identities.
That was perhaps, the beginning of the communalisation of politics.
The British not only encouraged the two communities to form political parties along religious lines, they took various constructive steps to create a situation whereby Hindus and Muslims would be forced to think in a way as if their religious identity is at peril.

ORIGIN
The province of Bengal had an area of 489,500sq.km and a population of over 80 million.
Eastern Bengal was almost isolated from the western part by geography and poor communications.
In 1836, the upper provinces were placed under a lieutenant governor, and in 1854 the Governor-General-In-Council was relieved of the direct administration of Bengal.
In 1874 Assam, including Sylhet, was severed from Bengal to form a Chief-Commissionership, and the Lushai Hills were added to it in 1898.

ORIGIN
This effort culminated in the partition of Bengal in 1905. West Bengal, Orissa and Bihar was on one side and the erstwhile east Bengal and Assam was on the other.
The partition was made along communal lines.
This partition provided an impetus to the religious divide and, as a result of that, All India Muslim League and All India Hindu Mahasabha was formed. Both the organisations aimed at fanning communal passions.

REASONS FOR PARTITION
The main reason for the Partition was purely political.
The Hindus were in a better position in terms of economic status, professional qualities etc, than the Muslims.
During the pre-Sepoy Mutiny period, section of Hindu traders greatly helped the British while their Muslim counterparts did not.
The British were angry. With the spread of Western education Hindus made a big way, but the Muslims could not.

A sense of deprivation crept in. Perhaps, the sense of deprivation was engineered.
When the discontentment grew in the beginning of this century, the British capitalised on this sense of deprivation.
A feeling of inferiority was there. The British merely added fuel to fire. Suddenly both the communities became aware of their religious identities. The net result is the Partition of Bengal. The sear of Partition is yet to heal.

The reason behind the partition that was officially announced was that the Bengal province was too large to be administered by a single governor and therefore was partitioned on administrative purpose.
But the real reason behind the partition was political and not administrative. East Bengal was dominated by the Muslims and West Bengal by the Hindus.

To Strike at the roots of Bengali Nationalism: The real motive was to break "the growing solidarity of Bengali nationalism". Bengal at that time was considered to be "the nerve-centre of India nationalism". Lord Curzon decided to crush the new spirit by Dividing the politically advanced communities into separate provinces.
The Policy Of Divide & Rule: Another motive was to drive a wedge between the Hindus and the Muslims .In February 1904,Curzon went on a tour of East Bengal, where he addressed a number of meetings. He explained the Muslims that "His object in partitioning Bengal was not only to relieve the Bengal administration, but also to create a Mohammedan province".
To demonstrate the strength of the British Raj: Lord Curzon was reactionary, having great dislike for democratic ideals. He believed that people of India, illiterate as the were, could have no political aspiration

The Anti Partition Movement
16 th Oct: a day of mourning.
People protested, fasted, walked barefoot to the Ganges, singing patriotic songs.
Tagore suggested to observe as Raksha Bandhan Day signifying brotherhood between people of East and West Bengal.
People embarked on Swadeshi and Boycott Movements.

Boycott and Swadeshi Movements
Initially partition was opposed by using conventional moderate methods.
Those methods failed.
Boycott of British goods resulted as an effective method.
Arandhan is a rite of mourning. The hearth is not lit. The food is not prepared. Nothing is kept on fire for boiling or baking in the house. Thus, the rite is performed.
This custom was made the mode of protest during the Bengal partition. It was adopted along with Rakhi Bandhan and Boycott.
It was suggested by Ramendrasunder Trivedi. The Rakhi Bandhan was suggested by Rabindranath Tagore.
The method of protest in form of Boycott, Rakhi Bandhan and Arandhan was a new dimension in the freedom struggle of India. It was adopted in case of anti-Bengal partition movement .

Boycott and Swadeshi Movements
Boycott was complimented by another method of protest and resistance called Swadeshi.
Swadeshi means ‘of one’s own country’
Implies that : people should use goods produced within the country.
Also has the Implication of : self- help and self-reliance.
Swadeshi brought into politics a new class of people without any distinction of class or creed.
It taught the press to be fearless, Hindus & Muslims to co-operate, students to defy unjust authority and to make sacrifices for the sake of the freedom of their motherland.

Spread of the Movement
Under Tilak’s inspiring leadership, the movement gained momentum.
Youth of Bengal marched protest against the partition.
British goods were burnt at public places.
Confectionaries stopped using foreign sugar
Washermen stopped washing foreign clothes.
Women stopped wearing foreign bangles
Students refused to use foreign paper.
Doctors refused to patronize dealers of British goods.
Picketing was combined with social ostracism.

Reaction of the British Government
British Government was shaken but it reacted sharply.
Protestors were arrested and sent to jails.
Peaceful and non violent were subjected to lathi charges.
Educational institutions were warned.
Grants were cancelled to educational institutions who were suspected of participating in Swadeshi movements.
Several leaders were arrested and deported
Thus the movement lost its momentum.

Surat Split of 1907
The movement affected negatively the unity of the INC.
It led to a dispute in the Congress.
Clash broke out in the Congress session at Surat in 1907.
Radical were excluded from Congress for a decade.
Moderates did not support the Radicals instead fell victim to Minto Morley Reforms.
In 1916 the two wings of Congress were united in Lucknow Session and the Congress regained its lost strength

Significance of the Movement
Strength to the national movement.
Stimulus to native industries.
Stimulus to culture
People’s sacrifice and new mode of protest

1. Strength to the national movement.
Intention of Lord Curzon: To weaken the national movement by using the policy of divide and rule.
But the partition united the people of India.
It became a mass movement.
Swadeshi and boycott movement encouraged nationalism and patriotism.
Indian writers wrote new nationalist poetry and prose embodying patriotism.
Raised the state of nationalist unrest to the high plane of bitter anti – imperialist struggle

Partition Of Bengal

by Girish R Arabbi on Nov 20, 2009

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