The condition during the 1905 partition; Image Source- groundreport.in

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> During the 1900s, The British were at the zenith of their power and Bengal was the jewel in the British crown. This wouldn’t be the case for long due to political developments in Bengal and the conspiracies of one shrewd colonist who wanted to strike the very heart of the nation and dismantle its intellectual muscle. The individual was Lord Curzon, his target- the growing nationalism in Bengal.
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The architect of the partition - Lord Curzon; Image Source- journeysfaith,com

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At that point in history, Bengal was going through a phase of militant nationalism under institutions like Anushilan Samiti which wanted to employ violent aggressive methods to snatch away their homeland. Apart from this Bengal was the intellectual heartland of Indian with a sea of writers and rebel poets being extremely critical of the measures taken by the British government in India.

The symbol of Anushilan Samiti - one of the many militant secret societies of Bengal; Image Source- civilaspirant,in 

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“Bengal united is a power, Bengal divided will pull several different ways” were the exact words of Lord Risley. Thus began conspiracies within the upper echelons of the British administration in India to divide Bengal. The architect of this plan would be the then Viceroy of India Lord Curzon and his infamous “Divide and Rule” policy.

On 19th July 1905, Lord Curzon announced the partition of Bengal. The logic on paper was this – Bengal was too huge a province to administer efficiently and dividing it would allow the government to devote more attention to the neglected. Undivided Bengal at that time consisted of modern-day West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Bangladesh and parts of Chhattisgarh. Bengal boasted of a population of 78 million which could easily accommodate 5 England.

The expanse of undivided Bengal; Image Source- Quint

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The mandate was laid down. Bengal was to be divided into religious lines between Hindu dominated West Bengal and Muslim Dominated East Bengal. East Bengal would consist of parts of Assam and Bangladesh and its capital would be Dacca. While West Bengal would consist of Bengal, Orissa and the rest of Bengal, its capital would be Calcutta.

The ramifications of such a partition were disastrous. This single decision would reduce the Bengalis into a linguistic and numeric minority within their own state. In addition to this, it would be an everlasting dent on the strong Bengali voices which spoke out against the British government. Bengal was one of those annoying humming flies that the British just wanted to smash.

Tagore called 15th October 1905 (the day of the partition) a day of national mourning. The British expected the Bengalis to subserviently accept the partition and accepted their divided fate however something of the very opposite nature happened. Bengal witnessed a new vigorous wave of nationalism after the partition.

> The air of Calcutta was filled with the lines of Rabindranath Tagore, Kavi Nazrul Islam and other rebel poets who spoke about solidarity and fraternity through their lines. “Hindus and Muslims are the two flowers of the same branch” were the words of Kavi Nazrul Islam. People came out on the streets and tied each other rakhis as a symbol of their solidarity. The dark is remembered in Bengali texts as “Bongo Bhongo Andolon” ( The Movement to Break up Bengal)
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"The air of Calcutta was filled with the lines of Rabindranath Tagore, Kavi Nazrul Islam and other rebel poets who spoke about solidarity and fraternity through their lines."; Image Source- knappily.com

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> In addition to this, shops were burnt and British made goods were rejected by the masses of Bengal giving rise to the Swadeshi Movement. This would be a big blow to the British treasury. The movement was spearheaded by leaders like Surendranath Bannerjee, Aurobindo Ghosh, Masterda Surya Sen and Bipin Chandra Pal.
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Surendranth Bannerjee was one of the pioneers of the post-partition agitation in Bengal; Image Source- inc.in

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After doing his dirty deed, Lord Curzon left and the British tried to implement force to implement the partition but they could not hold up the dominant nationalist trifecta of Lal-Bal-Pal who launched mass agitations against such a vile decision.

Finally, the partition was reversed in 1911 under Lord Hardinge. Although Bengal had won this time the plague of division on religious line would finally defeat Bengal in 1947 and later again in 1971 however that is another spine-chilling chapter of history.

The partition of 1947 still haunts the memories of every Indian but few remember the Bengal partition of 1905 and its ramifications on the Indian Freedom Struggle.