The Partition of Bengal 1905 and its Reversal 1911

This handout covers why the British divided Bengal in 1905, how Hindus and Muslims reacted, and why the partition was reversed in 1911. It sits at the end of Section 1 and the start of Section 2 of the syllabus, as part of the background to the emergence of Pakistan 1906-47.

Key dates

Date	Event
1899	Lord Curzon becomes Viceroy of India
July 1905	The decision to partition Bengal is announced
16 October 1905	The partition comes into effect; Hindus observe a day of mourning
1905 onwards	The Swadeshi movement and the boycott of British goods
October 1906	The Simla Deputation meets the Viceroy, Lord Minto
December 1906	The All-India Muslim League is founded at Dhaka
1908	The Congress leader Tilak is imprisoned; new press laws are used against the protests
1909	The Morley-Minto Reforms are introduced
December 1911	King George V announces the reversal of the partition at the Delhi Durbar; the capital is to move from Calcutta to Delhi

Background: Bengal before 1905

Bengal was the largest province of British India. It included not only Bengal itself but also Bihar and Orissa, and it had a population of about 80 million people. Its capital, Calcutta, was also the capital of British India. Hindus were the majority in the western part of the province. Muslims were the majority in the eastern part, where most were poor peasants working on land owned by Hindu landlords. Trade, education and the professions were centred on Calcutta and were mostly in Hindu hands.

Why was Bengal partitioned?

1. The province was too large to govern well. The British said that one governor could not manage such a huge area and population. The eastern districts were far from Calcutta and were neglected. They had poor roads, few schools and weak policing. Lord Curzon argued that two smaller provinces would be governed more efficiently.
2. To develop the eastern region. A new province with its own capital at Dhaka would have its own officials, courts and spending. The British said this would bring progress to an area that had been held back. Assam, which was small and less developed, could be joined to it.
3. Political motives. Many Hindus, and many historians since, believed that the real aim was to "divide and rule". Bengal was the centre of the Indian National Congress and of educated Hindu opinion, which was becoming more critical of British rule. Dividing the province would weaken this opposition and would win Muslim support for the British by creating a Muslim-majority province.

The two new provinces were:

Province	Area included	Majority
East Bengal and Assam	Eastern Bengal with Assam; capital Dhaka	Muslim
Bengal (western)	Western Bengal with Bihar and Orissa; capital Calcutta	Hindu

The Muslim reaction

Most Muslims welcomed the partition, for these reasons:

1. A Muslim-majority province. For the first time in many years Muslims were the majority in a province. They hoped to have more influence in its government.
2. Freedom from Hindu economic control. Muslim peasants hoped to escape the hold of Hindu landlords and moneylenders, and Muslim traders hoped to grow without competition from Calcutta.
3. Better chances in education and jobs. A new capital at Dhaka meant new schools, colleges, courts and government posts, with more opportunities for Muslims.

Muslim leaders such as Nawab Salimullah of Dhaka supported the new province and thanked the government for it.

The Hindu reaction

Most Hindus, led by the Congress, strongly opposed the partition.

1. They saw it as "divide and rule". They believed the British wanted to split the Bengali people and to set Muslims against Hindus in order to weaken the national movement.
2. Loss of position. Bengali-speaking Hindus would become a minority in both provinces: outnumbered by Muslims in the east and by speakers of other languages from Bihar and Orissa in the west.
3. Economic interests. Hindu landlords, lawyers and businessmen in Calcutta feared the loss of their income and influence in the eastern districts.

The Hindu protest took several forms:

• 16 October 1905 was kept as a day of mourning, with strikes, processions and meetings.
• Petitions were sent to the government, and newspapers attacked the decision.
• Some extremist groups turned to violence, including bomb attacks and attempts on the lives of British officials.

The Swadeshi movement

"Swadeshi" means "of one's own country". The movement called on Indians to refuse British goods, especially cloth, salt and sugar, and to buy Indian-made goods instead. British cloth was burned on bonfires, and people wore locally made cloth as a sign of protest. The movement spread beyond Bengal to other parts of India. Sales of British goods fell sharply, which hurt British manufacturers and traders.

The British response

At first the British refused to give way. They restricted newspapers and public meetings and arrested leaders. Tilak, a leading Congress radical, was imprisoned in 1908. At the same time they tried to win over moderate opinion with the Morley-Minto Reforms of 1909, which enlarged the councils.

Why was the partition reversed in 1911?

1. The strength of Hindu protest. The protests did not die down. Year after year there were meetings, strikes and demonstrations, and the British found Bengal hard to govern.
2. The economic effect of Swadeshi. The boycott cut the sale of British goods in India. British businessmen put pressure on their government to end the cause of the trouble.
3. The threat of violence. Attacks on officials alarmed the British. They feared that the unrest might grow into a wider rising if nothing was done.
4. A change of policy. A new Viceroy, Lord Hardinge, and the government in London decided that ending the partition would restore calm. The visit of King George V to India gave them a suitable occasion to announce it.

The reversal was announced by King George V at the Delhi Durbar in December 1911. The Bengali-speaking areas were joined again, while Bihar and Orissa became a separate province and Assam was separated once more. It was also announced that the capital of India would move from Calcutta to Delhi.

Effects on Muslims

• Loss of trust in the British. Muslims had been loyal and had supported the partition. They felt betrayed when the British gave way to Hindu pressure. They concluded that the British could not be relied on to protect them.
• Fear of Hindu domination. The force of the Hindu campaign convinced many Muslims that Congress spoke for Hindu interests and that Muslims would suffer under a Hindu majority.
• The need for their own organisation. The reaction to the partition was one reason for the Simla Deputation and the founding of the All-India Muslim League in 1906. After 1911 the League became less ready to depend on the British. In 1913 it adopted the aim of self-government, and it moved towards cooperation with Congress in the Lucknow Pact of 1916.

How to judge it

Why was Bengal partitioned? The British reason, that the province was too big, was a real one: Bengal was very hard to administer, and the east had been neglected. However, the way the line was drawn created one Muslim-majority and one Hindu-majority province, and British officials knew that it would weaken the Congress in Bengal. Both administrative and political motives were present.

Why was it reversed? Hindu protest and the Swadeshi boycott were the main causes, since they made the partition costly both politically and economically. Violence added to the pressure. The change of Viceroy and the royal visit explain the timing more than the decision itself.

Judgement. The partition lasted only six years, but its effects were lasting. For Hindus it showed the power of mass protest. For Muslims it showed first the benefits of having a province of their own, and then how easily those benefits could be taken away. The partition and its reversal therefore widened the gap between the two communities and pushed Muslims towards separate political organisation, which makes it an important step on the road to Pakistan.

Key terms and people

• Partition: the division of a territory into separate parts.
• Lord Curzon: Viceroy from 1899 to 1905, who carried out the partition.
• Swadeshi: the movement to buy Indian goods and boycott British goods.
• Boycott: refusing to buy or use something as a protest.
• Divide and rule: keeping control by encouraging divisions among the people who are ruled.
• Nawab Salimullah: Muslim leader of Dhaka who supported the partition.
• Delhi Durbar 1911: the royal gathering at which the reversal was announced.
• Lord Hardinge: Viceroy at the time of the reversal.

Exam practice

1. Describe the Swadeshi movement. [4]
2. Why did the Muslims of Bengal welcome the partition of 1905? [7]
3. "Hindu protest was the main reason why the partition of Bengal was reversed in 1911." How far do you agree? Explain your answer. [14]

Outline answers

1. It began in 1905 as a protest against the partition of Bengal. Indians were asked to boycott British goods, especially cloth, and to buy Indian goods. British cloth was burned in public. Sales of British goods fell, and the movement spread to other parts of India.

2. Three explained reasons: (a) Muslims became the majority in East Bengal and Assam and expected more political influence; (b) they hoped to be free from the economic control of Hindu landlords, moneylenders and Calcutta businessmen; (c) the new capital at Dhaka promised more schools, jobs and development for a neglected area.

3. Agree: explain the day of mourning, continued meetings, strikes and press campaigns that made Bengal hard to govern. Other reasons: the Swadeshi boycott and its effect on British trade; violence and attempts on officials; the new Viceroy, Lord Hardinge, and the opportunity of the royal visit; the failure of repression and of the 1909 reforms to end the unrest. Judgement: most of the other reasons were themselves part of, or a result of, Hindu opposition, so the statement is largely correct, but the economic damage of the boycott was what made the protest effective.