Partition of Bengal (1905)

Causes

Administration difficulty: its population of 78 million people

Divide and Rule policy: aim to weaken Indian nationalists by dividing them

Course

1905 15th October, plan approved by the secretary of state and came into effect

Divided into East and West.

![[RV prac/history/India/India Independent Movement/_resources/Pasted image 20250411205001.png]]

Perspectives

• Hindu: outraged by the clear “divide and rule” motive, affecting unity of the Bengali-speaking community in order to create a majority Muslim province with equal status.
• Muslims: delighted, provided power base and elect their own provincial government

Protest Methods

Swadeshi

aim: create a feeling of “self-respect” actions: boycott of buying British goods and Lancashire cotton

Terrorism

what happened: - In 1908, two European women were killed when a bomb, intended for a local judge, was thrown into the wrong carriage. - In 1909, the terrorism came to London, when an official at the India Office was shot in the street by a Punjabi seeking political martyrdom.

Effect: - tension in Congress between moderates and radicals

Protest’s effect

Congress’s aim shifted to independence, as both radicals and moderates agreed British would never be good to Indians. (Gokhale, leader of the moderates, complained about the lack of consultation over the partition of Bengal.)

Muslim believed ruling by Hindu will not bring fairness because of the anger of Muslim majority province creation.

The Simla Deputation​ (1906)

What was the Simla deputation? What did it hope to achieve?​

It was a meeting between Indian Muslim leaders and Viceroy. It aimed to “win the sympathies of the Raj on their side concerning matters relating to their interests as a community” (banglapedia), so that their representation of Muslim will increase.

What did it achieve?​

Lord Minto showed indirect support to the Muslim leaders’ demand issued during the meeting. In 1909, “the morley-minto reforms made provisions for a separate electorate for the Muslims of India”. Therefore, the movement is successful. (banglapedia)

What was the significance of the agreement they reached with the viceroy?

The seperate electorate for Muslims of India enabled the Muslims to gain constitutional status as a independent community, This sparked the Muslim nationalism and foreshadowed the creation of Pakistan in 1947. (banglapedia)

It was the first time that the Hindu-Muslim conflict was lifted to the constitutional plane. (historypak)

Indian Councils Act​ (1909)

To what extent did the 1909 constitutional reforms represent continuity rather than change in the British administration of India?

Theme	Change	Continuity
Legislative Council Structure	- The legislative councils at the Centre and the provinces increased in size. Central Legislative Council – from 16 to 60 membersLegislative Councils of Bengal, Madras, Bombay and United Provinces – 50 members eachLegislative Councils of Punjab, Burma and Assam – 30 members each	- The legislative councils at the Centre and the provinces were to have four categories of members as follows: Ex officio members: Governor-General and members of the executive council. Nominated official members: Government officials who were nominated by the Governor-General. Nominated non-official members: nominated by the Governor-General but were not government officials. Elected members: elected by different categories of Indians. - In the provincial councils, non-official members were in the majority. However, since some of the non-official members were nominated, in total, a non-elected majority was there.
Electoral Process & Representation	- It introduced separate electorates for the Muslims. Some constituencies were earmarked for Muslims and only Muslims could vote their representatives.	- The elected members were elected indirectly. The local bodies elected an electoral college that would elect members of the provincial legislative councils. These members would, in turn, elect the members of the Central legislative council. - The elected members were from the local bodies (minority or higher hierachy), the chambers of commerce, landlords, universities, traders’ communities and Muslims.
Indian Participation in Governance	- Indians were given membership to the Imperial Legislative Council for the first time. - Lord Minto appointed (on much persuasion by Morley) Satyendra P Sinha as the first Indian member of the Viceroy’s Executive Council. - Two Indians were nominated to the Council of the Secretary of State for Indian affairs.	/
Legislative Powers	/	- The members could discuss the budget and move resolutions. They could also discuss matters of public interest. - They could also ask supplementary questions. - No discussions on foreign policy or on relations with the princely states were permitted.

From the table, Indian people were given more power and representation in governance, and the division between Hindu and Muslim was increased. However, still, non-elected majority existed; the election was indirect; and discussions on broader political scope was banned. Therefore, the change was limited but steadily improved Indian representation in policy making, while the policy kept the restriction put on Indian by British Crown.