THE PARTITION OF

BENGAL

By
Minahil Javed

Contents:

Introduction
Background
Reasons for Partition
Political Crises
Anti Partition Movement
Spread of the Movement
Reaction of the British government
Reunification and Aftermath
Significance of the Movement
Strength to the National Movement

INTRODUCTION
The decision to effect the Partition of Bengal was announced in July
1905 by the Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon. The partition took place in 16
October 1905 and separated the largely Muslim eastern areas from the
largely Hindu western areas.
The partition animated the Hindus and led the Muslims to form their
own national organization on communal lines. Bengal was reunited in
1911 in an effort to both appease the Bengali sentiment and have easier
administration but it caused resentment among the Bengali Muslims who
thought that they benefited from the partition and the resentment lasted
until the end of the British rule which ended with the partition
of Bengal in 1947.

BACKGROUND
The provincial state of Bengal had an area of 189,000 miles2 and a
population of nearly 8 crores (80 million).
With the growing efforts of the Indian National Congress to secure
the independence of India, Lord Curzon decided to address both
these problems by partitioning Bengal into two entities, which would
result in a Muslim-majority in the eastern half, and a Hindu-majority
in the western half.
This he hoped would reduce the administrative pressures as well
divide the population on religious grounds, quelling the
Indian Independence Movement.

Partition of BENGAL

Reasons for Partition

The partition took place in Bengal in 1905, because of some main
purposes.
Firstly, because of vastness of the province, the British viceroy Lord
Curzon parted Bengal. The overall population of this province was 85
million people. It was very difficult for the present Governor to control
such a large population and that is why Bengal was divided into East
Bengal and West Bengal.
Secondly, because of the difference of religions of both Hindus and
Muslims, both the parties were not ready to live together on one land
and were very disrespectful for each other. There was a strike of anger
among the two nations and that is why Bengal was parted so that the
peace could be maintained in the province.
Thirdly, because of the political reasons as the east Bengal was
dominated by the Muslims and the west Bengal by the Hindus.

Partition sparked a major political crisis along religious lines. Hindu

resistance exploded as the Indian National Congress began the
Swadeshi movement that included boycotting British goods and public
institutions, meetings and processions, forming committees, propaganda
through press, and diplomatic pressure. Hitherto untouched sections of
Indian society participated in these movements, providing base for later
movements. Richness of the movement extended to culture, science and
literature. Masses were educated for a bolder form of politics and colonial
hegemony was undermined. The Muslims in East Bengal hoped that a
separate region would give them more control over education and
employment, hence, they opposed those movements.

POLITICAL CRISES

Anti-Partition Movement

The Anti-Partition Movement was the work of the entire national

leadership of Bengal and not of any one section of the movement.
Its most prominent leaders at the initial stage were moderate leaders like
Surendranath Banerjea and Krishna Kumar Mitra; militant and
revolutionary nationalists took over in the later stages.
The Anti-Partition Movement was initiated on 7 August 1905. And that
day a massive demonstration against the partition was organised in the
Town Hall in Calcutta.
The partition took effect on 16 October 1905. The leaders of the protest
movement declared it to be a day of national mourning throughout
Bengal. It was observed as a day of fasting. There was a hartal in
Calcutta. People walked barefooted and bathed in the Ganga in the early
morning hours.
The streets of Calcutta were full of the cries of 'Bande Mataram' which
overnight became the national song of Bengal

Anti-Partition Movement

Reaction of the British

Government
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)

British Government was shaken but it reacted sharply.

Protestors were arrested and sent to jails.
Peaceful and non-violent were subjected to lathi charges.
Educational institutions were warned.
Several leaders were arrested and deported.
Thus the movement lost its momentum.

Reunification

Due to these political protests, the two

parts of Bengal were reunited in 1911. A
new partition which divided the province
on linguistic, rather than religious grounds
followed, with the Hindi, Oriya and
Assamese areas separated to form separate
administrative units:
Bihar and Orissa Province was created to
the west, and Assam Province to the east.
The administrative capital of British India
was moved from Calcutta to New Delhi as
well.

Aftermath

In 1909, separate elections were established for Muslims and Hindus.

With separate electorates, distinctive political 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.
In 1947, Bengal was partitioned for the second time, solely on religious
grounds, as part of the Partition of India following the formation of the
nations India and Pakistan. In 1955, East Bengal became East Pakistan,
and in 1971 became the independent state of Bangladesh after a
successful war of independence with West Pakistan.

Significance

The partition left a significant impact on the people of Bengal as well

as the political scene of the Indian Subcontinent. After the annulment
of the partition, the people of East Bengal were immersed into
disappointment and anger. This event also created a sense of political
awareness among the Muslims of East Bengal. To mollify the people
of East Bengal, Lord Curzon declared that a university as a centre of
excellence would be established in Dacca (which would later be
named as University of Dhaka) and formed a committee in this
regard consisting Khwaja Salimullah, A. K. Fazlul Huq and others.
The decision was severely criticized by some Hindu leaders in West
Bengal. The most significant impact of this event was greater
communal dissonance between the Hindus and Muslims of Bengal.

Bengal Today
Bengal is one of the most densely populated regions on Earth,with
an estimated population of more than 250 million people.
In the southern part of the delta lies the Sundarbans, the world's
largest mangrove forest and home of the Bengal tiger.
The Bengal region has a rich literary and cultural heritage.

Subject History
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7 A:
CAPTAIN: MINAHIL JAVED
TEAM: HAMNA, NEEHA, ALIZA,
KOHAIBA AND ZAINAB.