Partition of bengal

 Partition of Bengal

On January 6, 

1899, Lord Curzon 

was appointed the new 

Governor General 

and Viceroy of India. 

This was a time when 

British unpopularity 

was increasing due to 

the impact of recurring 

famine and the plague. Curzon did little to change 

the opinion of the educated Indian class. Instead 

of engaging with the nationalist intelligentsia, 

he implemented a series of repressive measures. 

For instance, he reduced the number of 

elected Indian representatives in the Calcutta 

Corporation (1899). The University Act of 1904 

brought the Calcutta University under the direct 

control of the government. The Official Secrets 

Act (1904) was amended to curb the nationalist 

tone of Indian newspapers. Finally, he ordered 

partition of Bengal in 1905. The partition led 

to widespread protest all across India, starting a 

new phase of the Indian national movement.Bengal Presidency as 

an administrative unit was 

indeed of unmanageable in 

size; the necessity of partition 

was being discussed since 

the 1860s. The scheme of 

partition was revived in 

March 1890. In Assam, when Curzon went on a 

tour, he was requested by the European planters 

to make a maritime outlet closer to Calcutta 

to reduce their dependence on the Assam–

Bengal railways. Following this, in December 

1903, Curzon drew up a scheme in his Minutes 

on Territorial Redistribution of India, which 

was later modified and published as the 

Risely Papers. The report gave two reasons in 

support of partition: Relief of Bengal and the 

improvement of Assam. The report, however, 

concealed information on how the plan was 

originally devised for the convenience of British 

officials and the European businessmen.

From December 1903 and 1905 this initial 

idea of transferring or reshuffling some areas 

from Bengal was changed to a full-fledged plan 

of partition. The Bengal was to be divided 

into two provinces. The new Eastern Bengal 

and Assam were to include the divisions of 

Chittagong, Dhaka, parts of Rajshahi hills of 

Tippera, Assam province and Malda.