Partition of bengal and anti-partition movement - class-IX

The Swadeshi movement was launched in 1905 as a direct response to Lord Curzon's decision to partition the province of Bengal.

The song Vande Mataram, composed in Sanskrit by Bankimchandra Chatterji, was a source of inspiration to the people in their struggle for freedom. The first political occasion when it was sung was the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress. 

The congress was divided into two camps-Extremist and Moderates at the Surat session of 1907. The Moderates believed in the constitutional methods of protests like petitions, prayers, meetings,etc. Extremists, on the other hand, believed in agitation, strikes and boycotts to force their demands. This difference in ideologies was one of the main reasons that led to the split in the Congress.

The Swadeshi and boycott movement was an effort by Indian people to oppose British rule. It began in 1905 when British officials decided to separate the Bengal province. The decision to effect the partition of Bengal was announced in July 1905 by the Viceroy of India Lord Curzon. Indians responded by boycotting British products and using only Indian-made goods.

Vande Mataram is a Bengali poem written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1870s and composed by Rabindranath Tagore. It was included in the 1881 novel Anandamath by BC Chattopadhyay. It became a popular marching song for political activism and the Swadeshi movement in 1905. 

Rabindranath Tagore composed National Anthem of India i.e. Jana Gana Man. 

Lord Curzon ordered partition of Bengal for the first time. The order was made public in 1903 and the official reason given was that Bengal with a population of 78 million had become too big to be administered. The reason was true to an extent but the real motive was to weaken the nerve centre of the movement by dividing it on the lines of religion. The decision met with wide opposition in the form of Swadeshi movement. It was decided to annul the partition of Bengal in 1911 mainly to control the danger of revolutionary terrorism.

Swadeshi Movement was started in 1905 to oppose the British decision of partitioning of Bengal.  It involved boycotting British products and the revival of domestic products and production processes. The objective was to exert sufficient pressure on the Government to prevent the unjust partition of Bengal from being implemented. But still the government went on with the decision and announced the partition in July 1905.

Vandemataram Movement is also known as the Swadeshi Movement. It was an anti-Bengal partition movement. The Viceroy Lord Curzon divided Bengal province into two in 1905. Bengal people observed 16th October as a day of mourning when partition came into force. The song Vandemataram written by Bakim Chandra Chatterjee became the prayer song for meetings on anti-partition movement. Hence, option C is the correct answer.

The Partition of Bengal led to a mighty upsurge which brought people and political leaders together. The Indian National Congress and the nationalists of Bengal opposed the partition. Within Bengal, different sections of population- zamindars, merchants, lawyers, students and women rose up in opposition to the partition of their province.

The Early Nationalists and the Assertive Nationalists cooperated with one another during the course of Anti Partition movement. The leaders condemned partition through newspapers like Bengali, Hitabadi and Sanjibani.

Many protest meeting were held by eminent leaders like Surendranath Banerjee, Krishna Kumar Mitra, P.C. Ray, B.C. Pal and Ananda Mohan Bose. The Early Nationalists and the Assertive Nationalists cooperated with one another during the course of movement. The leaders condemned partition through newspapers like Bengali, Hitabadi and Sanjibani.

The Anti-Partition Movement was initiated on August 7, 1905. On the day a massive demonstration against the Partition was organised in the Town Hall in Kolkata. from this meeting, the delegates dispersed to spread the movement to the rest of the province.

The Partition of Bengal led to a mighty upsurge which brought people and political leaders together. The Indian National Congress and the nationalists of Bengal opposed the partition. Within Bengal, different sections of population- zamindars, merchants, lawyers, students and women rose up in opposition to the partition of their province.

The Partition came into effect on October 16, 1905. The leaders of the protest movement declared it a day of national mourning throughout Bengal. It was observed as a day of fasting. There was hartal in Kolkata. People walked barefooted and bathed in the Ganga in the early morning hours.

The Early Nationalists and the Assertive Nationalists cooperated with one another during the course of Anti Partition movement.

The Anti-Partition agitation backfired the plans of Lord Curzon. It gave added strength to the National Movement. The methods adopted by the Early Nationalists lost their appeal and gave an opportunity to the Assertive Nationalists to lead the National Movement.

Rabindranath Tagore composed the patriotic song, Amar Sonar Bangla for the occasion of Partition of Bengal which was sung by huge crowds parading the streets against Partition of Bengal.

In the afternoon on 16 October 1905, there was a great demonstration when the veteran leader Ananda Mohan Bose laid the foundation of a Federation Hall to mark the indestructible unity of Bengal, All gathered there took the vow to follow Swadeshi.

Lord Curzon, the British Viceroy at the time ordered partition of Bengal. The decision met with wide opposition in the form of Swadeshi movement. People were on the streets tying rakhi signifing unity, shouting slogans and songs like Vande Mataram, Amar Sona Bangla (My Golden Bengal), etc. It was decided to annul the partition of Bengal in 1911 mainly to control the danger of revolutionary terrorism.

In order to check the Swadeshi and the Boycott movement, the government used all forms of repression. Their repressive measures not only generated anger among the youth but also inflamed their patriotic fervor. As a result, a number of patriotic revolutionary groups began to operate. They were active in Bengal, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Punjab.

'Swadeshi literally means of one's own country.' It aimed at the promotion of indigenous industries for strengthening the nation. According to Lala Lajpat Rai, "The Swadeshi movement ought to make us self-respecting, self-reliant, self-supporting."

On July 20, 1905 Lord Curzon announced the division of the province of Bengal into following two provinces. The scheme of the partition of Bengal was implemented on October 16, 1905.

The people lost their faith in the fair play and justice of the British. Lord Curzon refused to concede to the demands of annulling the partition of Bengal. He said, “Partition of Bengal is a settled fact and what is settled cannot be unsettled.”

A new scheme of partition of Bengal was implemented on linguistic rather than on religious grounds. Hindi, Oriya and Assamese speaking areas were separate administrative units. The administrative capital of British India was shifted from kolkata to Delhi in 1911. 

The idea of swadeshi and boycott, born of the popular feeling in 1905, took shape and it was realised that Swadeshi and boycott were complementary and one would not succeed without the other.

The partition of Bengal was revoked in 1911. A new scheme of partition of Bengal was implemented on linguistic rather than on religious grounds. Hindi, Oriya and Assamese speaking areas were separate administrative units. The administrative capital of British India was shifted from kolkata to Delhi in 1911. 

The Swadeshi movement cast its shadow on the growing differences between the Early Nationalists and the Assertive Nationalists. The Assertive Nationalists wanted to extend the Swadeshi and boycott to the rest of India and make it a vehicle for a full-fledged political mass struggle leading to Swaraj. The Early Nationalists did not approve it for the whole of India and wanted it to confined to Bengal only. Due to which the dispute between the two wing of Congress on the issue of Swadeshi, Swaraj and National Education was not resolved.

The Assertive Nationalists did a great service to the National Movement. They clarified its objectives, taught people self-reliance and prepared the social base of the movement to include the middle class, students, youth, and women. They introduced new methods of waging political struggle. Thus, this movement with a wide social base paved the way for future mass movements led by Gandhiji.
Mahatma Gandhi wrote that the real awakening in India "took place after the partition of Bengal."

The British argued that the partition of Bengal was necessary for administrative efficiency, specifically by separating the Hindi-speaking region of Bihar and the Odiya-speaking region of Orissa from the Bengali-speaking core.

The Partition was meant to foster division o the basis of religion. East Bengal would be predominantly a Muslim majority state and West Bengal would have a Hindu majority.

On the grounds of controversy over Bengal partition, the radicals held agitations on swadeshi and prohibition of foreign goods. The moderates wanted to confine the protest only to Bengal. Moreover, they were not ready for the direct confrontation with the government. This led to the outburst of differences between the moderates and the radicals giving way to political confusions in the congress. In the 1907 congress session held at Surat, congress was split into two between moderates and radicals.

On the grounds of controversy over Bengal partition, the radicals held agitations on swadeshi and prohibition of foreign goods. The moderates wanted to confine the protest only to Bengal. Moreover, they were not ready for the direct confrontation with the government. This led to the outburst of differences between the moderates and the radicals giving way to political confusions in the congress. In the 1907 congress session held at Surat, congress was split into two between moderates and radicals.

On the grounds of controversy over Bengal partition, the radicals held agitations on swadeshi and prohibition of foreign goods. The moderates wanted to confine the protest only to Bengal. Moreover, they were not ready for the direct confrontation with the government. This led to the outburst of differences between the moderates and the radicals giving way to political confusions in the congress. In the 1907 congress session held at Surat, congress was split into two between moderates and radicals.

On the ground of controversy over Bengal partition, the radicals held agitations on swadeshi and prohibition of foreign goods. The moderates wanted to confine the protest only to Bengal. Moreover, they were not ready for the direct confrontation with the government. This led to the outburst of differences between the moderates and the radicals giving way to political confusions in the congress. In the 1907 congress session held at Surat, congress was split into two between moderates and radicals.

On the grounds of controversy over Bengal partition, the radicals held agitations on swadeshi and prohibition of foreign goods. The moderates wanted to confine the protest only to Bengal. Moreover, they were not ready for the direct confrontation with the government. This led to the outburst of differences between the moderates and the radicals giving way to political confusions in the congress. In the 1907 congress session held at Surat, congress was split into two between moderates and radicals.

On the grounds of controversy over Bengal partition, the radicals held agitations on swadeshi and prohibition of foreign goods. The moderates wanted to confine the protest only to Bengal. Moreover, they were not ready for the direct confrontation with the government. This led to the outburst of differences between the moderates and the radicals giving way to political confusions in the congress. In the 1907 congress session held at Surat, congress was split into two between moderates and radicals.

On the ground of controversy over Bengal partition, the radicals held agitations on swadeshi and prohibition of foreign goods. The moderates wanted to confine the protest only to Bengal. Moreover, they were not ready for the direct confrontation with the government. This led to the outburst of differences between the moderates and the radicals giving way to political confusions in the congress. In the 1907 congress session held at Surat, congress was split into two between moderates and radicals.

The Surat split in 1907, divided the Congress into 2 parts : the moderates and the radicals. After the split of the congress the government took severe punitive measures against the radicals. Several of the radicals were sent to jail, few were sent on exile. Tilak was given blackwater punishment and was sent to Mandalay jail (Burma). To make the radicals politically inactive, the British tried to win the favour of the moderates and Muslims by giving greater representation in the legislature. To carry out this intention Morley-Minto reformations were implemented in 1909. In this act they created a separate election constituency for the Muslims. 

On the ground of controversy over Bengal partition, the radicals held agitations on swadeshi and prohibition of foreign goods. The moderates wanted to confine the protest only to Bengal. Moreover, they were not ready for the direct confrontation with the government unlike the Radicals. This led to the outburst of differences between the moderates and the radicals giving way to political confusions in the congress. In the 1907 congress session held at Surat, congress was split into two between moderates and radicals.

The Surat split in 1907, divided the Congress into 2 parts: the moderates and the radicals. After the split of congress the government took severe punitive measures against the radicals. Several of the radicals were sent to jail, few were sent on exile. Tilak was given blackwater punishment and was sent to Mandalay jail (Burma). To make the radicals politically inactive, the British tried to win the favor of the moderates and Muslims by giving greater representation in the legislature. To carry out this intention Morley-Minto reformations were implemented in 1909. In this act, they created separate election constituencies for the Muslims. 

The Surat split in 1907, divided the Congress into 2 parts : the moderates and the radicals. After the split of the congress the government took severe punitive measures against the radicals. Several of the radicals were sent to jail, few were sent on exile. Tilak was given blackwater punishment and was sent to Mandalay jail (Burma). To make the radicals politically inactive, the British tried to win the favour of the moderates and Muslims by giving greater representation in the legislature. To carry out this intention Morley-Minto reformations were implemented in 1909. In this act they created a separate election constituency for the Muslims. 

The Surat split in 1907, divided the Congress into 2 parts : the moderates and the radicals. After the split of the congress the government took severe punitive measures against the radicals. Several of the radicals were sent to jail, few were sent on exile. Tilak was given blackwater punishment and was sent to Mandalay jail (Burma). To make the radicals politically inactive, the British tried to win the favour of the moderates and Muslims by giving greater representation in the legislature. To carry out this intention Morley-Minto reformations were implemented in 1909. In this act they created a separate election constituency for the Muslims. 

A: Tilak (4), B: BC Pal (3), C: Lajpat Rai (2), D: Moderates (1). The matches are: Swaraj is my birth right (Tilak), It is not reforms but re-form (BC Pal), A subject people has no soul (Lajpat Rai), Policy of petitions (Moderates).

Partition of Bengal carried out by the British viceroy in India, Lord Curzon, despite strong Indian nationalist opposition. It divided Bengal into Hindu dominated west which consisted of Bihar, Odisha, etc. and Muslim dominated East Bengal with Assam.  There was a great protest by the Hindus and Muslims of Bengal against it and the plan had to be abandoned.

The slogan of 'Bande Mataram' was first adopted during the swadeshi movement which was against the partition of Bengal. It is a poem from Bankim Chandra Chattopahyay’s novel Anandmath in 1882, written in Bengali and Sanskrit. It became the prayer song during the anti-partition meetings.

• Lord Curzon was the viceroy of India between 1898-1905
• Announcement of partition of Bengal was made by British in 1903
• On October 16, 1905 Bengal was partitioned into West Bengal and East Bengal.
• This partition of Bengal was done during Curzon period.
  

The Swadeshi movement was not able to gain the support of the peasantry because government policy of divide and rule kept them separated. They did not actively join in the form of struggles such as boycott or passive resistance because their demand were not taken into the consideration, and Congress failed to gain the confidence of the peasants. Also, conditions of peasants were worst during that time, they felt that joining the movement would not improve their conditions because it was led by upper class and rich people.

Rabindranath Tagore used Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi Utsav to symbolize unity between Hindus and Muslims. It was held in 1905 to prevent Bengal partition. Thousands of Hindus and Muslims came forward to support Tagore and tied Rakhi on each other's hand. The thread became the symbol of unity and harmony.

The Indian National Congress (INC) split into two groups - the extremists and the moderates, at the Surat Session in 1907. The immediate cause of split in the INC at its Surat Session was Election of the President to the INC. Moderates wanted Lala Lajpat Rai whereas moderates wanted Rash Behari Gosh. Dr. Rash Behari Ghosh was elected but the extremists had an objection to this election.

The Swadeshi movement started as the response to the partition of Bengal in 1905 by Lord Curzon and continued till 1911. Its chief architect includes Aurobindo Ghosh, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, and Lala Lajpat Rai. The key strategy of this movement was Swaraj (self-rule). 

Tilak was charged with the seditious writings and was deported to Mandalay prison in Burma. After Tilak's deportation, Lala Lajpat Rai was deported to Mandalay, Burma (now Myanmar) without trial in May 1907. Along with him, Bipin Chandra Pal was also sent to Mandalay.

Aurobindo Ghose was an Indian Poet, Guru, Yogi, and Philosopher. In 1905 when VIceroy of India Lord Curzon partitioned the Bengal there was an outburst of public anger against British. At this time Aurobindo Ghosh also led a nationalist campaign by a group of revolutionaries and entered into the fold of Indian National Movement. He was also arrested in 1908 on charges of planning to kill the magistrate Kingsford but was released on May 6, 1909.

Lord Hardinge held a durbar in December, 1911 to celebrate the coronation of King George V. Here, the partition of Bengal was cancelled and the capital shifted from Calcutta to Delhi. The reason was the widespread oppoasition to the partition and in the face of growing Bengali nationalism, the partition was annulled.

The issue of Partition of Bengal and failure of National Congress as an active party gave birth of extremism in the Indian National Congress. The Congress followers then divided into two groups i.e extremist and moderates. In Surat (1907) Rash Bihari Ghosh became the president of INC who was a moderate. Whereas the extremists demanded Bal Gangadhar Tilak or Lala Lajpat Rai should become the president. In Surat meeting, the tug of war between these two groups became more prominent.