Partition of Bengal

Q. What were the reasons which led to the partition of Bengal? [7]
The partition was long overdue but Lord Curzon (1899-1905) the viceroy gave serious
consideration to it and decided in favour of Partition for the following reasons:

1. Size of the province:

The province was 189000 miles in area and had a population of 85 million. Thus, it was the
largest and mostly thickly populated province of India. It was difficult for the governor to
control such a widely spread province from one central place of Calcutta. This problem was
pointed out in 1852 AD and again in 1868 AD. Further in 1874 AD Assam and 3 districts were
separated from Bengal. Still the province remained very large and unwieldly which forced the
administration to divide Bengal into two provinces.

2. The limited means of communication:

The province had limited means of communication. There were several rivers, marshy
lands and forests. The governor could visit Eastern districts only once in five years, the law-
and-order situation was highly unsatisfactory, the police was inadequate, thefts and dacoities
prevailed. Another problem was the agriculture of Eastern districts had been suffering a
terrible set back. The Land lords who were mostly Hindus lived at Calcutta while their lands
were in Eastern areas. Their agents victimized Muslim cultivators and never showed an
interest to improve the condition of cultivators. Thus, a separate provincial government was
needed in East Bengal to improve the administrative and worsening economic condition of
East Bengal.

3. Cultural and linguistic barriers:

There were also cultural and language differences between Eastern and Western districts
of Bengal. The people of Eastern districts were educationally backward. The people of Western
districts being educated and economically better off treated the people of Eastern areas with a
contempt. Thus, there existed a confrontation between the two areas. In order to curb such
hostile feelings partition became indispensable.