4 reasons for the partition of Bengal in 1906.
Answers
The Partition of Bengal was the process of separating eastern parts of Bengal from rest of Bengal. The British Indian government stated the reason of Bengal partition as a measure to improve the administration efficiency. The western region of Bengal comparatively got more focus than that of the eastern region. British projected the partition process would help the administration process by
1) Reducing the burden of government of Bengal and form a separate government for the efficient administration of East Bengal and Assam.
2) Promoting the development of Assam by including it under the direct jurisdiction of government which was earlier administered by a Chief Commissioner.
3) Integrating the scattered sections of Orissa under a single administrative umbrella.
The majority of population in the western part of Bengal was Hindu and the eastern part was mainly dominated by Muslim. The Muslims were mostly in favour of the partition whereas the Hindu community opposed the partition of Bengal.
Bengal Partition
In 1905 AD, the Viceroy of India Lord Curzoncarried out the partition although there was a strong opposition from majority of Indians. The government announced its final decision on19thJuly 1905 and partition was completed with effect from 16thOctober 1905. The partition made original Bengal province to two separate provinces, 1) Bengal 2) Eastern Bengal and Assam. East Bengal was added with Assam and formed the Eastern Bengal and Assam province. Dhaka became the capital of Eastern Bengal and Assam. Chittagong, Dhaka Divisions, Rajshahi Division (excluding Darjeeling) and Malda District were separated from Bengal and transferred to the new province. State of Hill Tripura came under Eastern Bengal and Assam province.
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Originally Answered: What was the reason to divide Bengal in 1905 by Lord Curzon?
Lord Curzon earned an immortal fame in Indian history because of Partition of Bengal.
Till the time of Curzon, the whole area covering Bengal, Bihar and Orissa remained under one administration. It was too big in size with huge population. Lord Curzon thought it unwise to keep such a huge area as one province.
Lord Curzon justified the partition on administrative grounds. To him it was impossible for one Lt. Governor to bear the burden of a province which contained 80,000,000 people. The partition was announced in 1905.
The way in which Curzon partitioned Bengal appeared to many people as a politically motivated affair.
Firstly, as it appeared, Curzon had a deep hatred towards Bengalis and, therefore, he wanted to break their solidarity as a people.
Secondly, he divided Bengal in such a manner that the new province of Eastern Bengal and Assam became a Muslim majority Province. Thus, the Bengali Muslims were separated from the Bengali Hindus.
To the Indian mind, Curzon’s partition involved two serious issues.
In those days, the spirit of nationalism was growing in Bengal rapidly. The educated Bengali youth began to adopt revolutionary methods. It was suspected that in order to check the rising tide of anti-British feelings in Bengal, Lord Curzon decided to divide the Bengali-speaking people.
Secondly, Curzon wanted to introduce communalism in the name of administration. The partition was so cleverly done that the Hindus and Muslims were separated from each other in Bengal. Curzon knew the value of ‘divide and rule’ theory, which he wanted to apply to counteract nationalism.
Thus, the germs of communalism were introduced among the people to break their unity.
Bengal in 1905 was the hotbed for nationalist activity. Most of the anti-British sentiment and nationalist viewpoint came from Bengal.
To counter this, the British decided to partition Bengal. But they partitioned it in such a way that would not only reduce nationalist activity but also put a thaw in the social fabric of India.
The West Bengal became a region dominated by the Hindus (Biharis, Bengalis and Odias) while the East Bengal become Muslim dominated. The Indians saw right through this but the British claimed that the partition was done to better administer Bengal.
This partition was further used by the British to sow seeds of dissent among the two major communities. The British actions during this time led to the formation of Muslim League in 1906 with its headquarters in Dhaka in East Bengal! Later on, Muslim League became instrumental in the partition of India.
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