Write about the partition of Bengal and Swadeshi movement
Answers
Answer:
On 20 July, 1905, Lord Curzon issued an order dividing the province of Bengal into two parts: Eastern Bengal and Assam with a population of 31 mn and the rest of Bengal with a population of 54 mn.
Reason given: the existing province of Bengal was too big to be efficiently administered by a single provincial government
The partition expected to weaken the nerve centre of Indian Nationalism, Bengal.
The partition of the state intended to curb Bengali influence by not only placing Bengalis under two administrations but by reducing them to a minority in Bengal itself as in the new proposed Bengal proper was to have seventeen million Bengali and thirty seven million Oriya and Hindi speaking people.
The partition was also meant to foster division on the basis of religion.
Risley, Home Secretary to the GoI, said on December 6, 1904 – ‘one of our main objects is to split up and thereby weaken a solid body of opponents to our rule.’
the nationalists saw it as a deliberate attempt to divide the Bengalis territorially and on religious grounds
The Swadeshi Movement
The Swadeshi movement had its genesis in the anti-partition movement which was started to oppose the British decision to partition Bengal.
Mass protests were organized in opposition to the proposed partition.
Despite the protests, the decision to partition Bengal was announced on July 19, 1905
It became obvious to the nationalists that their moderate methods were not working and that a different kind of strategy was needed.
Several meetings were held in towns such as Dinajpur Pabna, Faridpur etc. It was in these meetings that the pledge to boycott foreign goods was first taken.
Answer:
The main motive behind the partition of Bengal, according to the British rulers, was the administrative necessity. It was intended to curb the influence of Bengal by placing Bengalis under two administrations and reducing them to a minority in Bengal itself. It was also meant to foster division on the basis of religion wherein East Bengal would comprise of Muslim majority and West Bengal would comprise of Hindu majority.
Explanation:
Swadeshi' literally means 'of one's own country'. The Swadeshi movement aimed at the promotion of indigenous industries for strengthening the nation. Boycott movement meant 'abstaining from the purchase of British goods' which included the boycott of English cloth, salt, sugar, etc.