Question

State the reaction of the masses to the proclamation of the partition of bengal?

Answer 1

The Partition of Bengal in 1905, was made on October 16, by then Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon. Partition was promoted for administrative regions; Bengal was as large as France but with a significantly larger population. The eastern region was thought to be neglected and under-governed. By splitting the province, an improved administration could be established in the east where, subsequently, the population would benefit from new schools and employment opportunities. However, other motives lurked behind the partition plan. Bengali Hindus were in the forefront of political agitation for greater participation in governance; their position would be weakened, since Muslims would now dominate in the East. Hindus tended to oppose partition, which was more popular among Muslims. What followed partition, however, stimulated an almost national anti-British movement that involved non-violent and violent protests, boycotts and even an assassination attempt against the Governor of the new province of West Bengal.
Partition barely lasted half a decade, before it was annulled in 1911. Britain's policy of divide et imperawhich lay behind partition, however, continued to impact on the re-united province. In 1919, separate elections were established for Muslims and Hindus. Before this, many members of both communities had advocated national solidarity of all Bengalis. Now, distinctive communities developed, with their own political agendas. Muslims, too, dominated the Legislature, due to their overall numerical strength of roughly twenty eight to twenty two million. Nationally, Hindus and Muslims began to demand the creation of two independent states, one to be formed in majority Hindu and one in majority Muslim areas with most Bengali Hindus now supporting partitioning Bengal on this basis. The Muslims wanted the whole province to join the Muslim state, Pakistan. In 1947, Bengal was partitioned for the second time, this time specifically on religious grounds. It became East Pakistan. However, in 1971, for cultural reasons, East Pakistan became the independent state of Bangladesh. Partition may sometimes be necessary as a pragmatic strategy to avoid bloodshed but more often than not this leads to new problems that divide even more people. Almost always, partition produces discontent among minorities on both sides of the border. Both partitions of Bengal saw bloodshed, ruined lives and made the world a less united place. A partitioned world will not be able to make our planet a common home, so that it becomes a shared, not a contested space. As a race, people need to find ways of building bridges instead of barriers.

Reason for Partition





Lord Curzon, architect of the 1905 Partition of Bengal.

Partitioning Bengal was first considered in 1903. There were also additional proposals to separate Chittagong and the districts of Dhakaand Mymensingh from Bengal, attaching them to the province of Assam. The government officially published the idea in January 1904, and in February, Lord Curzon the Governor-General of India made an official tour to eastern districts of Bengal to assess public opinion on the partition. He consulted with leading personalities and delivered speeches at Dhaka, Chittagong and Mymensingh, explaining the government's stand on partition. Curzon explained the reason for partition as an administrative improvement; "under the British the province of Bengal was as large as France, with a population of seventy-eight and a half million, nearly as populous as contemporary France and Great Britain combined," says Hardy. The province included Bihar and Orissa and the eastern "region was notoriously under-governed." According to Hardy, Curzon did not intend to divide Hindus, who were the majority in the West, from Muslims, the majority in the East but "only Bengalis."[1] The plan was to re-unite the eastern region with Assam (which had been part of Bengal until 1874) and to form a "new province with a population of thirty-one millions, of whom 59 percent would be Muslims

Answer 2

Partition of Bengal ( 1905 )

Bengal was partitioned in 1905 by Lord Curzon, based on the Risley Report of 1904 which stayed that ' Bengal United is a power : Bengal divided will pull in several different ways.' East Bengal was given to the Muslims and West Bengal to the Hindus. The reason given to the people was that the partition was necessary for administrative convenience. But the real reason was because Bengal was the centre of all Revolutionary activity.

The Partition of Bengal created widespread education among the people of Bengal. Hindus and Muslims came out into the street singing Vande Mataram. The movement soon spread to other parts of India. People decided to Boycott foreign goods and Institutions and use Indian goods. Thus the movement came to be called the  'Swadeshi Movement. The success of the movement led some National leads to advocate revolutionary terrorism' as a means to end British rule. Bengal was reunited in 1911.