Lesson 1/45 min
Congress and the Partition of Bengal (1905)
On 28 December 1885 the first session of the Indian National Congress began in Mumbai. Twenty years later, on 16 October 1905, Viceroy Lord Curzon's order split the province of Bengal in two.
Organisations before Congress
- India League: seen as the first sign of political awakening; its founders included Sisir Kumar Ghosh and Krishnamohan Bandyopadhyay
- Indian Association: founded in 1876 by Surendranath Banerjee and Ananda Mohan Bose
- Ilbert Bill: it proposed to let Indian judges try Europeans; the Association was active in this period
- Successes: an amendment of the civil service rules and national awareness among the educated
Indian National Congress
| Item | Fact |
|---|---|
| Founded | 28 December 1885 |
| Founder | Allan Octavian Hume, a retired English civil servant; also the first general secretary |
| First session | 28–31 December 1885, Mumbai (Bombay) |
| First president | Umesh Chandra Bandyopadhyay (W. C. Bonnerjee), a Bengali barrister |
| Policy | ‘United India’ |
Did you know?: Congress is the oldest political party of India. The order for general elections in India in 1946 came from the British prime minister Clement Attlee.
The partition
- In force: 16 October 1905, on the order of Viceroy Lord Curzon
- Since 1765 Bihar and Orissa had been part of Bengal, so the province grew too big to run from Calcutta
- Besides administration there was a political aim: to weaken the Calcutta-based anti-British movement by making Dhaka a capital
- The province covered 189,000 square miles; the definite proposal was officially put forward in 1903
The two provinces after the split
| Province | Capital and features |
|---|---|
| Eastern Bengal and Assam | Capital Dhaka; area 106,540 square miles; first lieutenant governor Bampfylde Fuller; Sylhet was inside it |
| West Bengal | Capital Calcutta; Bihar and Orissa were inside it |
Watch out: Zubair's book prints 1 September 1905. The verified date is 16 October 1905; on that day Rabindranath led the Rakhi-bandhan observance and a hartal was held.
Reactions
- Support: Nawab Salimullah and the Muslim Sahitya Sansad of Calcutta, who saw it as favouring Muslims
- Opposition: the upper-class, upper-caste Hindu community that backed Congress
- Hartal in protest on 16 October 1905; Rabindranath Tagore wrote ‘Amar Sonar Bangla’ (1905)
- At the Simla Deputation Muslim representatives met Viceroy Lord Minto
Check yourself
Which new province did the 1905 partition create, and where was its capital?
At a glance
- 1
Congress was founded on 28 December 1885; founder Allan Octavian Hume; first president Umesh Chandra Bandyopadhyay.
- 2
The Indian Association was built in 1876 by Surendranath Banerjee and Ananda Mohan Bose.
- 3
The partition took effect on 16 October 1905 on the order of Viceroy Lord Curzon.
- 4
The new province was Eastern Bengal and Assam (capital Dhaka, first lieutenant governor Bampfylde Fuller); the other was West Bengal (capital Calcutta).
- 5
Nawab Salimullah supported the partition; Congress and the upper-caste Hindus opposed it.