history presentation

2. *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. 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

3. *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
communalization 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.

4. *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. 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
organizations aimed at fanning communal passions.

6. *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 capitalized 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.

7. *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-center of India nationalism". Lord Curzon decided to
crush the new spirit by Dividing the politically advanced
communities into separate provinces. 2. 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". 3. 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

8. *The Anti Partition Movement
* 16th 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.

9. *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. 1.
Boycott was complimented by another method of protest and resistance
called Swadeshi. 2. Swadeshi means ‘of one’s own country’ 3. Implies
that : people should use goods produced within the country. 4. Also has
the Implication of : self- help and self-reliance. 5. Swadeshi brought
into politics a new class of people without any distinction of class or
creed. 6. 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.

10. *Spread of the Movement
* 1. Under Tilak’s inspiring leadership, the movement gained
momentum.
* 2. Youth of Bengal marched protest against the partition.
* 3. British goods were burnt at public places.
* 4. Confectionaries stopped using foreign sugar
* 5. Washer men stopped washing foreign clothes.
* 6. Women stopped wearing foreign bangles
* 7. Students refused to use foreign paper.
* 8. Doctors refused to patronize dealers of British goods.
* 9. Picketing was combined with social ostracism.

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

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

13. *Significance of the Movement
*1. Strength to the national movement.
* 2. Stimulus to native industries.
* 3. Stimulus to culture
* 4. People’s sacrifice and new mode of protest

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

15. *THE END
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