gPartition of Bengal 1905

1.Who was Lord Curzon? 4

In 1899 he was appointed Viceroy of India. During his tenure, he pursued a number of reforms of the
British administration, attempted to address the British maltreatment of Indians, undertook the
restoration of the Taj Mahal and sent a British expedition to Tibet to counter Russian ambitions. In 1903,
he proposed the partition of Bengal over administrative issues and also presided over the 1905 Partition
of Bengal. His decision created severe resentment among Hindus.

2.What was the Swadeshi Movement? 4

The partition of Bengal created fury among Hindus. They decided to introduce a boycott of British goods.
Instead of buying British salt, cloth, or any other manufactured product, Hindus vowed to buy Indian
produced goods. The Swadeshi Movement spread rapidly. British cloth was thrown onto bonfires and it
became a matter of honour to wear locally produced clothes. At the same time some Indian workers,
such as those in Calcutta, began a series of strikes to show their opposition. Soon, the sale of British
goods dropped dramatically and British economy faced a blow.

What does source A tell you about the partition of Bengal?

How did the Hindus react to the partition of Bengal?4/7

The partition aroused fury amongst the Hindus. They proclaimed 16th October1905, the day partition
was put into effect, as a day of mourning. There were hundreds of protest meetings and many petitions
sent to the government. Later, there was even an assassination attempt on the future viceroy, Lord
Minto. The Hindus also decided to introduce a boycott of British goods. Instead of buying British salt,
cloth, or any other manufactured product, Hindus vowed to buy Indian produced goods. This ‘swadeshi
movement’ spread rapidly. Arya Samaaj movement was held.

British reaction to Hindus protest:

 Restrictions were placed on newspaper and public meeting. Between 1906 and 1908 editors were
prosecuted and some were imprisoned. In 1908, a press Act gave the government even greater control
over newspapers. Tilak, a nationalist leader was arrested in June 1908 and he was sentenced to six
years’ imprisonment. Other radical leaders left India to avoid arrest. Soon local prisons were filled with
those the British considered to be ‘revolutionaries’. In June 1910, Sir John Jenkins, a member of viceroy’s
Executive Council, made a proposal for the capital of the British Indian Empire to be shifted from
Calcutta to Delhi and suggested that the partition of Bengal should be reversed.

Why was the Bengal partitioned in 1905? 7

Bengal was partitioned for administrative reasons. It was the largest of the provinces of India and had a
population of 85 million people including Hindu and Muslim majority groups. This was a huge area to
govern as one unit. The British claimed that Bengal was too large to govern as one province and that it
would be more efficient to govern it as two smaller provinces.

Bengal was a centre of political awareness and was the most politically active province. Many nationalist
movements including Arya Samaj were started and growing stronger there. The British wanted to stop
the growing nationalism. The Hindus believed that the partition was done to weaken the political
awakening, promote communal differences between Hindus and Muslims and break the Hindu power.

British wanted to improve their relations with Muslims. The Muslim majority areas of Bengal were the
most underdeveloped. With the partition of province and the creation of different administrative units,
there was a hope That Muslims’ condition would improve thus leading to better ties between British and
Muslims.

Explain how the British reacted to Hindu-led protests against the Partition of Bengal between 1906
and 1908.7

The newspapers and public meetings had restrictions placed upon them and editors of newspapers /
journalists were prosecuted and imprisoned. The Press Act of 1908 placed further restrictions on
newspapers and gave the government greater control over them.

One organiser of Hindu-led demonstrations, Tilak of Poona was sentenced to 6 years imprisonment.
Others were deported or left the country of their own accord rather than face imprisonment

Another approach intended to win support of the more moderate Hindus by making reforms. Lord
Minto the Viceroy worked with John Morley, the Secretary of State for India, on reforms that became
the Morley Minto reforms in 1909.
Why was the partition of Bengal reversed in 1911? 7

enthusiastically. The use of

local products became a matter
of pride. Foreign clothes were
thrown on bonfires. By 1908,
imports from Britain had fallen
off significantly and sales of
British goods in Indian
markets dropped drastically.
So the British had to reverse
the
decision.
[British Measures Failed] The
British took several measures to
bring the situation under
control but political unrest kept
on growing. Restrictions were
imposed on newspapers
and public gatherings. Editors
were imprisoned. The prisons
were filled with revolutionary
activists. Tilak was also arrested
in June 1908 and put behind the
bars for 6 years. Apart
from repressive measures, the
British turned to reconciliation
also by introducing Morley-
Minto reforms in 1909 to win
support of the Hindus, but the
reforms also could not pacify
them. The situation was
becoming difficult for peaceful
administration and ultimately
the
British had to move towards
annulment of the partition
enthusiastically. The use of
local products became a matter
of pride. Foreign clothes were
thrown on bonfires. By 1908,
imports from Britain had fallen
off significantly and sales of
British goods in Indian
markets dropped drastically.
So the British had to reverse
the
decision.
[British Measures Failed] The
British took several measures to
bring the situation under
control but political unrest kept
on growing. Restrictions were
imposed on newspapers
and public gatherings. Editors
were imprisoned. The prisons
were filled with revolutionary
activists. Tilak was also arrested
in June 1908 and put behind the
bars for 6 years. Apart
from repressive measures, the
British turned to reconciliation
also by introducing Morley-
Minto reforms in 1909 to win
support of the Hindus, but the
reforms also could not pacify
them. The situation was
becoming difficult for peaceful
administration and ultimately
the
British had to move towards
annulment of the partiti
The partition of Bengal created a Muslim-majority province, the East Bengal. The elite Hindus of West
Bengal, who were collecting taxes from Muslim peasants in east Bengal, would now lose their influence
in the new province. They, therefore, rejected the decision and launched a series of violent protests and
demonstrations against the partition. The tide of anger rapidly spread to other parts of India. The
reaction was so strong that it gave birth to the development of extremism. A number of small extremist
groups came into existence that launched attacks on the British officials. They succeeded in killing a few
ones. Lord Minto, the future viceroy, escaped an assassination attempt. Many extremists were
imprisoned for long time, but the law and order situation was alarming to the British. Finally, they had to
bow down before the Hindu agitation and thus revoked the Bengal partition.
 The British reversed the partition of Bengal due to economic reasons also. The Hindus of West Bengal
started Swadeshi Movement, which also spread to other parts of India. It was a massive campaign for
boycotting the British goods and using home-made products. The Hindus responded to the movement
enthusiastically. The use of local products became a matter of pride. Foreign clothes were thrown on
bonfires. By 1908, imports from Britain had fallen off significantly and sales of British goods in Indian
markets dropped drastically. So the British had to reverse the decision.

The British took several measures to bring the situation under control but political unrest kept on
growing. Restrictions were imposed on newspapers and public gatherings. Editors were imprisoned. The
prisons were filled with revolutionary activists. Tilak was also arrested in June 1908 and put behind the
bars for 6 years. Apart from repressive measures, the British turned to reconciliation also by introducing
Morley-Minto reforms in 1909 to win support of the Hindus, but the reforms also could not pacify them.
The situation was becoming difficult for peaceful administration and ultimately the British had to move
towards annulment of the partition.