The Partition of Bengal and the Swadeshi Movement

In 1905 Viceroy Lord Curzon divided the huge province of Bengal into two, arguing that it was too large to govern efficiently. The new eastern province had a Muslim majority and the western part a Hindu majority, and many Bengalis, especially Hindu nationalists in Calcutta, saw the partition as a deliberate attempt to divide and weaken them. Protest exploded into the Swadeshi movement, which called on Indians to boycott British goods, especially cloth, and to buy Indian-made products.

Bonfires of foreign cloth, national schools and new Indian businesses spread, and some young radicals turned to violence. The All-India Muslim League was founded in Dhaka in 1906, partly to protect Muslim interests as these tensions grew. Facing sustained protest, Britain reversed the partition in 1911 and moved the capital of India from Calcutta to Delhi. The episode showed the power of mass boycott and highlighted religious divisions that would shape the later independence struggle.