7.5   Partition of Bengal

. Partition of Bengal Partition of Bengal in was the most unpopular of all. The partition led to widespread protests all across India, starting a new phase of the Indian national movement. The idea of partition was devised to suppress the political activities against the British rule in Bengal by creating a Hindu-Muslim divide. (a) Hindu–Muslim Divide It was openly stated that the objective of partition was to curtail Bengali influence and weaken the nationalist movement. By placing Bengal under two administrative units Curzon reduced the Bengali - speaking people to a linguistic minority in a divided Bengal. Curzon assured Muslims that in the new province of East Bengal Muslims would enjoy a unity, which they never enjoyed since the days of the Mughals. Instead of dividing the Bengali people along the religious line partition united them. Lord Curzon Anti-Colonial Movements and the Birth of Nationalism Swaraj or Political Independence One of the common goals of the extremist leaders was to achieve Swaraj or Self Rule. However, the leaders differed on the meaning of Swaraj . For Tilak Swaraj was the attainment of complete autonomy and total freedom from foreign rule.