1. 1905
Md. Sajib Chowdhury
id No: 16411069 SeCtioN: a
departMeNt of iNterNatioNal
relatioNS
faCulty of SeCurity aNd
StrategiC StudieS (fSSS)
baNgladeSh uNiverSity of
profeSSioNalS

2. Discussion Points
Introduction
Background
Origin
 Reasons for partition
Hindu Muslim Response
 The Anti Partition Movement
Reaction of the British Government
Significance of the Movement
Reunited of Bengal
Conclusion

3. INTRODUCTION
The Partition of Bengal in 1905, was made on 16
October by then Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon. Due
to the high level of political unrest generated by
the partition, the eastern and western parts of
Bengal were reunited in 1911.
The opening years of the twentieth century
were stormy
The British were beginning to feel a bit uneasy
Discontentment was brewing. Political
discontent was growing due to the inability
of the government to organize effective
relief during the period of plague and

4. BEHIND THE SCENES
 For the first time, they used their divide-and-rule
political game with great force.
From 1870 onwards, the British started inciting the
Hindus and the Muslims to form their own political
parties to establish their distinct religious
identities.
That was perhaps, the beginning of the
communalization of politics.
The British not only encouraged the two
communities to form political parties along
religious lines, they took various constructive steps
to create a situation whereby Hindus and Muslims
would be forced to think in a way as if their
religious identity is at peril.

5. ORIGIN
 The province of Bengal had an area of 489,500sq.km
and a population of over 80 million.
Eastern Bengal was almost isolated from the western
part by geography and poor communications.
In 1836, the upper provinces were placed under a
lieutenant governor, and in 1854 the Governor-
General-In-Council was relieved of the direct
administration of Bengal.
In 1874 Assam, including Sylhet, was severed from
Bengal to form a Chief-Commissionership, and the
Lushai Hills were added to it in 1898.

6. Continue……
 This effort culminated in the partition of Bengal in
1905. West Bengal, Orissa and Bihar was on one side
and the erstwhile east Bengal and Assam was on the
other.
The partition was made along communal lines.
This partition provided an impetus to the religious
divide and, as a result of that, All India Muslim League
and All India Hindu Mahasabha was formed. Both the
organisations aimed at fanning communal passions.

8. Hindu Muslim Response
Muslims’ Response : It received a favorable
response from the Muslims. It was thought that it
would bring the emancipation of Muslims socially and
econom
Hindus Response: The Hindus did not accept it, as it
dealt a telling blow to their monopolies and exclusive
hold on economic, social, Political life of the whole of
Bengal. They called it as a deliberate attempt by British
Government.

9. The reasons behind The
partition

10. Continue……
The main reason for the Partition was purely
political.
The Hindus were in a better position in terms of
economic status, professional qualities etc, than the
Muslims.
During the pre-Sepoy Mutiny period, section of
Hindu traders greatly helped the British while their
Muslim counterparts did not.
The British were angry. With the spread of Western
education Hindus made a big way, but the Muslims
could not.
A sense of deprivation crept in. Perhaps, the sense of
deprivation was engineered.

11. When the discontentment grew in the beginning of
this century, the British capitalised on this sense of
deprivation.
A feeling of inferiority was there. The British merely
added fuel to fire. Suddenly both the communities
became aware of their religious identities. The net
result is the Partition of Bengal. The sear of Partition is
yet to heal.
The reason behind the partition that was officially
announced was that the Bengal province was too large
to be administered by a single governor and therefore
was partitioned on administrative purpose.
But the real reason behind the partition was political
and not administrative. East Bengal was dominated by
the Muslims and West Bengal by the Hindus.
Continue….

12. Major Reasons
 To Strike at the roots of Bengali Nationalism: The real motive
was to break "the growing solidarity of Bengali nationalism". Bengal at that
time was considered to be "the nerve-centre of India nationalism". Lord
Curzon decided to crush the new spirit by Dividing the politically advanced
communities into separate provinces.
 The Policy Of Divide & Rule: Another motive was to drive a wedge between
the Hindus and the Muslims .In February 1904,Curzon went on a tour of East
Bengal, where he addressed a number of meetings. He explained the Muslims
that "His object in partitioning Bengal was not only to relieve the Bengal
administration, but also to create a Mohammedan province".
 To demonstrate the strength of the British Raj: Lord Curzon was
reactionary, having great dislike for democratic ideals. He believed that people
of India, illiterate as the were, could have no political aspiration

13. The Anti Partition Movement
1. 16th
Oct: a day of mourning.
2. People protested, fasted, walked barefoot to the
Ganges, singing patriotic songs.
3. Tagore suggested to observe as Raksha Bandhan Day
signifying brotherhood between people of East and
West Bengal.
4. Meetings and appeals
5. Proposal of boycott
6. Boycott movement
7. Swadeshi movement

14. Boycott and Swadeshi Movements
1. Initially partition was opposed by using conventional
moderate methods.
2. Those methods failed.
3. Boycott of British goods resulted as an effective method.
4. Arandhan is a rite of mourning. The hearth is not lit. The
food is not prepared. Nothing is kept on fire for boiling or
baking in the house. Thus, the rite is performed.
5. This custom was made the mode of protest during the
Bengal partition. It was adopted along with Rakhi
Bandhan and Boycott.
6. It was suggested by Ramendrasunder Trivedi. The Rakhi
Bandhan was suggested by Rabindranath Tagore.
7. The method of protest in form of Boycott, Rakhi Bandhan and
Arandhan was a new dimension in the freedom struggle of
India. It was adopted in case of anti-Bengal partition

15. Continue….
1. Boycott was complimented by another
method of protest and resistance called
Swadeshi.
2. Swadeshi means ‘of one’s own country’
3. Implies that : people should use goods
produced within the country.
4. Also has the Implication of : self- help and
self-reliance.
5. Swadeshi brought into politics a new class
of people without any distinction of class
or creed.
6. It taught the press to be fearless, Hindus
& Muslims to co-operate, students to defy
unjust authority and to make sacrifices

16. Spread of the Movement
1. Under Tilak’s inspiring leadership, the
movement gained momentum.
2. Youth of Bengal marched protest against the
partition.
3. British goods were burnt at public places.
4. Confectionaries stopped using foreign sugar
5. Washermen stopped washing foreign clothes.
6. Women stopped wearing foreign bangles
7. Students refused to use foreign paper.
8. Doctors refused to patronize dealers of British
goods.
9. Picketing was combined with social ostracism.

17. Reaction of the British Government
1. British Government was shaken but it reacted
sharply.
2. Protestors were arrested and sent to jails.
3. Peaceful and non violent were subjected to
lathi charges.
4. Educational institutions were warned.
5. Grants were cancelled to educational
institutions who were suspected of
participating in Swadeshi movements.
6. Several leaders were arrested and deported
7. Thus the movement lost its momentum.

18. Consequences and Significance of Partition
1. Strength to the national movement.
2. Stimulus to native industries.
3. Stimulus to culture
4. People’s sacrifice and new mode of protest
5. The partition united the people of India.
6. It became a mass movement.
7. Swadeshi and boycott movement encouraged
nationalism and patriotism.
8. Indian writers wrote new nationalist poetry and prose
embodying patriotism.
9. Disheartening Muslim community
10. Amar sonar Bangla written by Tagore
11. Raised the state of nationalist unrest to the high plane of
bitter anti – imperialist struggle

19. Reunited of Bengal in 1911
Due to these political protests, the two parts of Bengal
were reunited in 1912. 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.
The administrative capital of British India was moved
from Kolkata to New Delhi as well.
However, conflict between Muslims and Hindus
resulted in new laws having to be introduced so as to
satisfy the political needs of both groups.

20. Conclusion
The Partition of Bengal of 1905 left a profound
impact on the political history of India. The
partition left a significant impact on the people of
Bengal as well as the political scene of the Indian
Subcontinent. The Partition of Bengal indeed marks
a turning point in the history of nationalism in
India. It may be said that it was out of the travails of
Bengal that Indian nationalism was born.