Partition of Bengal

Partition of Bengal

Partition of Bengal in 1905 was the most unpopular of all. The partition led to widespread protests all across India, starting a new phase of the Indian national movement.

The idea of partition was devised to suppress the political activities against the British rule in Bengal by creating a Hindu-Muslim divide.

(a) Hindu–Muslim Divide

It was openly stated that the objective of partition was to curtail Bengali influence and weaken the nationalist movement. By placing Bengal under two administrative units Curzon reduced the Bengali - speaking people to a linguistic minority in a divided Bengal. Curzon assured Muslims that in the new province of East Bengal Muslims would enjoy a unity, which they never enjoyed since the days of the Mughals.

Instead of dividing the Bengali people along the religious line partition united them. The growth of regional language newspapers played a role in building a sense of proud Bengali identity.

(b) Anti- Partition Movement

With the failure to annul the partition moderate leaders were forced to rethink their strategy and look for new techniques of protest. The boycott of British goods was one such method. However, the agenda of Swadeshi Movement was still restricted to secure an annulment of partition and the moderates were very much against utilising the campaign to start a full-fledged passive resistance. The militant nationalists, on the other hand, were in favour of extending the movement beyond Bengal and to initiate a full-scale mass struggle.

The day Bengal was officially partitioned – 16 Oct 1905 – was declared as a day of mourning. Thousands of people took bath in the Ganga and marched on the streets of Calcutta singing Bande Mataram.

(c) Boycott and Swadeshi Movement in Bengal (1905–1911)

Boycott and swadeshi were always interlinked to each other and part of the wider plan to make India self-sufficient. Four major trends can be discerned during the Swadeshi Movement in Bengal.

1. The Moderate Trend

2. Constructive Swadeshi

3. Militant Nationalism

4. Revolutionary terrorism

Constructive Swadeshi

The constructive programmes largely stressed upon self-help. It focused on building alternative institutions of self-governance that would operate free of British control. Swadeshi shops sprang all over the place selling textiles, handlooms, soaps, earthenware, match and leather goods.

Passive Resistance

From 1906 the Swadeshi Movement took a turn. Under this new direction, the swadeshi programme included four points: boycott of foreign goods, boycott of government schools and colleges, courts, titles and government services, development of Swadeshi industries, national schools, recourse to armed struggle if British repression went beyond the limits of endurance.

Militant Nationalism

Lala Lajpat Rai of Punjab, Bala Gangadhar Tilak of Maharashtra and Bipin Chandra Pal of Bengal were three prominent leaders during the Swadeshi period and were referred to as Lal-Bal-Pal triumvirate. Punjab, Bengal, and Maharashtra emerged as the hotbed of militant nationalism during the Swadeshi Movement. In South India Tuticorin became the most important location of Swadeshi activity with the launch of a Swadeshi Steam Navigation company by V.O. Chidambaranar.

Swaraj or Political Independence

One of the common goals of the extremist leaders was to achieve Swaraj or Self Rule. However, the leaders differed on the meaning of Swaraj. For Tilak Swaraj was the attainment of complete autonomy and total freedom from foreign rule.