The Bengal Partition of 1905: Curzon's Divide and Rule

In 1905, Viceroy Lord Curzon carved Bengal into two halves, splitting a people who shared a language, a culture, and an economy. Hindus in the west, Muslims in the east—a policy that was meant to weaken Bengal's nationalist movement but instead lit a fire that would burn for decades. This episode follows the politics behind the partition: the anti-partition movement led by Surendranath Banerjee, the swadeshi boycott that turned into a mass uprising, the split of the Indian National Congress in Surat in 1907, and the eventual annulment in 1911. We also explore how the map carved out Assam and Orissa, and how this seemingly bureaucratic redrawing of lines planted seeds for the partition of 1947. Along the way, we meet Rabindranath Tagore, who wrote the song 'Banglar Mati Banglar Jol' and led the Rakhi Bandhan protest, and we consider the long shadow of 'divide and rule' in British imperial strategy.

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