what were the factors that led the British to divide Bengal?
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The first Partition of Bengal (Bengali: বঙ্গভঙ্গ) was a territorial reorganization of the Bengal Presidency implemented by the authorities of the British Raj in 1905. The partition separated the largely Muslim eastern areas from the largely Hindu western areas on 16 October 1905 after being announced on 20 July 1905 by Lord Curzon, the then Viceroy of India.
The Hindus of West Bengal, who dominated Bengal's business & rural life, complained the division would make them a minority in a province that would incorporate the province of Bihar and Orissa. Hindus were outraged at what they saw as a "divide and rule" policy (gaining and maintaining power by breaking up larger concentrations of power into pieces), even though Curzon stressed it would produce administrative efficiency. The ultimate motive remains questionable, as in two letters dated 7 February and 6 December 1904, Herbert Risley, Lord Curzon's Home Secretary, wrote,"Bengal united is a force,Bengal divided will go in different ways. That the Partition Plan is opposed by the Congress is its merit for us.Our principal motive is to weaken a united party against the government." The partition animated the Muslims to form their own national organization along on communal lines. To appease Bengali sentiment, Bengal was reunited by Lord Hardinge in 1911, in response to the Swadeshi movement's riots in protest against the policy and they began an angry agitation, featuring belief among Hindus that East Bengal would have its own courts and policies.