Centuries ago the Bengal Presidency covered a vast land comprising West Bengal, Bangladesh, parts of present-day Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Assam. Being the largest province under the British India with a population of whopping more than 79 million Though the British managed the entire area effectively as much as they could. , considering the size of the land, the eastern regions remained neglected for a long period time.
Actually the hidden intention of Curzon was to carve out a new province for Muslim. It meant Majority Hindu population would live in the Western region along with minority Muslims. The western districts formed the other province with Orissa and Bihar. The union of western Bengal with Orissa and Bihar obviously reduced the native speakers of the Bengali language to a minority. Muslims led by the Nawab Sallimullah of Dhaka agreed with Curzon over the partition, but Hindus never supported supported the partition. They thought this would create more animosity between two different faiths.
The first Partition of Bengal (1905), a territorial reorganization of the Bengal Presidency implemented by the authorities of the British Raj. The reorganization visibly separated the largely Muslim eastern areas from the largely Hindu western areas. Officially the partition came into effect on 20 July 1905 by Lord Curzon, then Viceroy of India, with high concentration of Hindus in the west and that of Muslim in the East region. This province had been together since 1765).
This shocked the national leaders and also prominet Bengali leaders There was a series of protest in Bengal and across the subcontinent and it became a serious issue. To save the Empire the partition of Bengal was withdrawn six years later.
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| Viceroy of India Lord Curzon and his wife christies.com |
Above image: The Lord Curzon of Kedleston (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925) between 1898 and 1911, and The Earl Curzon of Kedleston between 1911 and 1921, was a prominent British statesman, Conservative politician and writer who served as Viceroy of India from 1899 to 1905 and Foreign Secretary from 1919 to 1924. He was the one who established the highest 18 hole Naldehra Golf Course near Shimla, HP (in early 1900s) and named one of his daughters as Alexandrea Naldehra..........
The unwanted Bengal partition gave a rare opportunity for the freedom fighters and the struggle for freedom the onward accelerated. Hindus were very much agitated over the "divide and rule" policy introduced by Lord Curzon . Though he said this would improve the \administrative efficiency.
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| Viceroy Lord Curzon with Nehru, et al. .msrblogs.com |
The British king George V understood the lurking danger to the empire as the Swadeshi movement's riots in protest against the policy were on the increase. Prominent freedom fighters, notably Gandhiji, Surendranath Banerjee, Aurobindo and Bengalis were furious. This partition cause embarrassment for national leaders like Gokhale Dadabhai Naoroji and Tilak. Particularly Aurrobindo became a sort of extremist.
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| colonial India Bengal partition media.geeksforgeeks.org |
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| map of India after 1947.bbc.com |
Further, in the famous Alipore bomb case involving Aurabindo's friends during that time Aurobindo was also convicted and sent to jail in Alipore where he was visited by Sri Vivekananda. After acquittal he became less politically active. After 1910 he moved down to Pondicherry, then a French colony. there he established a Ashram which has become popular one now at Pondicherry city.
To appease Bengali sentiment, Bengal was reunited by King George V in 1911. King George V announced at Delhi Durbar on 12 December 1911 that eastern Bengal would be assimilated into the Bengal Presidency. Curzon despite his good record as an effective administrator made a wrong move and was highly criticized for his poorly planned partition of Bengal policy. He carried the blot for the rest of his life.
In the present day political scenario East Pakistan which became Bangladesh in 1971 after a long period of peace and prosperity has not only turned against India, but also become a source of headache. Historians say it will soon become yet another breeding place for radical Islam just like Pakistan. In the near future, like Pakistan it may become economically broke and doomed by anarchy.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-40643413
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partition_of_Bengal_
.jpg&description=Partition Of Bengal in 1905 By Viceroy of India Lord Curzon Accelerated India's freedom struggle ){kind=link}