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Partition of Bengal and Swadeshi Movement Notes with PDF

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The Partition of Bengal (1905) & The Swadeshi Movement

1. The Partition of Bengal (1905)

A. Key Figures

  • Lord Curzon: Viceroy of India (1899-1905) who declared and implemented the Partition.
  • Sir Andrew Fraser: Lieutenant Governor of Bengal (1903-1908) at the time of the Partition.
  • Surendranath Banerjee: A key leader who initiated and led the agitation against the Partition.

B. Nature of the Partition

  • A rearrangement of provincial boundaries by Lord Curzon.
  • Bengal was split into two parts:
    • Western Bengal: Included the rest of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa.
    • Eastern Bengal and Assam: A new province constituted from the eastern part of Bengal.
  • The stated purpose was administrative efficiency.
  • The underlying motive was to break the political unity and growing nationalism in Bengal.

C. Chronology of Events

  • 19th July 1905: Formal declaration of the Partition.
  • 7th August 1905: First major protest meeting at Calcutta Town Hall, where the Swadeshi Movement was formally proclaimed.
  • 16th October 1905: The Partition of Bengal officially came into effect.

D. Annulment of the Partition (1911)

  • The Partition was cancelled in 1911 by King George V.
  • The announcement was made during the Delhi Durbar on December 12, 1911.

E. Consequences of the Annulment

  • The capital of British India was shifted from Calcutta to Delhi.
  • Bengal was restructured into a new province.
  • Bihar and Orissa were separated from Bengal.
  • Assam was made a separate province, with the district of Sylhet merged into it.

2. The Nationalist Response & Swadeshi Movement

A. Origins of Protest

  • The Anti-Partition movement was initiated on 7th August 1905.
  • Krishna Kumar Mitra was the first to suggest the boycott of British goods in his journal Sanjibani.

B. Key Programs & Methods

  • Boycott: Adopted as a national policy in 1905. It involved boycotting British goods, government services, and educational institutions.
  • Swadeshi: Promotion and use of indigenous goods and industries.
  • National Education: Establishment of indigenous institutions to provide education free from government control.

C. Leaders and Regional Spread

  • National Leaders: Surendranath Banerjee, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, and Aurobindo Ghosh.
  • Regional Leaders:
    • Madras Presidency: Chidambaram Pillai
    • Delhi: Syed Haidar Raja
    • Barisal (Peasant Agitation): Ashwani Kumar Dutta

D. Participation and Impact

  • Strong Participation:
    • Women participated actively and in large numbers for the first time.
    • Intellectuals were the main leaders of the movement.
  • Limited/No Participation:
    • Farmers/Peasants were largely unaffected and did not join, except in certain areas like Barisal.
    • Muslims, as a community, did not join the movement; only specific individuals participated.
  • Impact:
    • Primarily impacted the higher and middle classes.
    • Successfully contributed to the revival of indigenous artisan crafts and industries.
    • Fostered a spirit of national awakening and self-reliance.
    • It was not limited to Bengal; it spread throughout India.

E. Cultural and Educational Aspects

  • The song “Vande Mataram” became the theme song of the movement.
    • First published in Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s novel Anandmath (1882).
    • Gained political significance after being recited by Rabindranath Tagore at the Congress session in 1896.
  • Abanindranath Tagore founded the ‘Indian Society of Oriental Art’ to revive ancient Indian art traditions.
  • The Bengal National College was founded in 1906 with Aurobindo Ghosh as its principal.
  • The scheme for national education was formulated by Satish Chandra Mukherjee in 1889.
  • Rabindranath Tagore preached the cult of Atmasakti (self-reliance), focusing on the social and economic regeneration of villages.

F. Critical Perspectives and International Attention

  • Rabindranath Tagore was a critic of certain aggressive methods of the Swadeshi movement. He pleaded for a better understanding between Eastern and Western cultures instead of narrow nationalism and confrontation.
  • British journalist H.W. Nevinson documented the movement in his book ‘The New Spirit in India’.

3. Broader British Policies (Chronological Context)

Correct Chronological Order:

  1. Permanent Settlement: Introduced by Lord Cornwallis in 1793.
  2. Subsidiary Alliance: Developed by Lord Wellesley from 1798-1805.
  3. Annexation Policy (Doctrine of Lapse): Created by Lord Dalhousie from 1848 to 1856.
  4. The partition of Bengal (1905) occurred last.

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