Assam Board Class 10 English medium Social Science Chapter-1 Partition of Bengal and Swadeshi Movement (1905-1911A.D.)

Partition of Bengal and Swadeshi Movement (1905-1911A.D.)


TEXTUAL QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

■ EXERCISE ■

VERY SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS :

1. In which Viceroy’s time did the partition of Bengal take place?

 Ans. Lord Curzon.

2. On which date in 1905 the partition of Bengal came into force?

 Ans. 16 October 1905.

3. In which meeting the proposal of giving up foreign commodities accepted?

 Ans. In a huge public meeting held at Dinazpur on 20th July 1905 under the presidentship of King of Dinazpur.

4. Who was the editor of the journal Jugaantar published in the time of Swadeshi Movement?

Ans. Bhupendra Dutta.

5. When was the institution named National Education Council (Jatiya Siksha Parishad) established in Bengal?

Ans. 11 March 1906.

6. Who was the main introducer of the industry named Bengal Chemicals? 

Ans. Acharya Prafulla Ray.

7.Under whose presidentship did the conference of Indian National Congress accept the proposal of ‘Swaraj for Indians’?

Ans. In its annual session at Calcutta in 1906 under the presidentship of Dadabhai Naoroji.

8. When did the unification of Bengal take place?

 Ans. 11th December 1911.

Class 10 Social Science Chapter-1 Partition of Bengal and Swadeshi Movement (1905-1911A.D.)

SHORT/LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS :

1. Mention three main geographical regions of Bengal which were annexed to the province of East Bengal and Assam created after the partition of Bengal.

Ans. With a view to stem the tide of nationalism which was fast emerging in the province of Bengal as well as to break the Hindu-Muslim unity that existed in the province, the British government under Viceroy Lord Curzon decided to split Bengal into two provinces. A new province called ‘East Bengal and Assam’, was created by adding the following three regions to Assam :

(1) Dhaka

(ii)Chattagram

(iii) Rajshahi

2. Write briefly about what were the intentions of the partition of Bengal.

Ans. Although the official purpose declared by the British government in India for the partition of Bengal was administrative convenience yet the real intentions and aims of this move were different. The main intentions of the partition of Bengal by the British government were:-

  • To stem the tide of nationalism which was fast emerging in the province of Bengal.Bengal was considered to be the hotspot of nationalism. 
  • To break the Hindu-Muslim unity which could threaten the stability of the British empire in India.
  • To divide the province of Bengal in such a way that Hindus became a minority in the newly created province, while the Muslims became a minority in the retained province of Bengal. This would destroy any chances of both groups joining together and fightingagainst the government.
  • To please Muslim leaders and to weaken the Hindu-Bengalis who were in the forefront of the national movement. 
  • To dominate and control the growing anti-British extremists within the Congress Party.

3. Why was the anti-partition of Bengal movement named a Swadeshi Movement? Discuss briefly.

Ans. The proposal of the partition of Bengal was raised by the British authorities on 6th December 1903. Soon there emerged a strong anti-partition movement in Bengal by leaders like Surendra Nath Banerjee, Bipin Chandra Paul, Arabinda Ghose, Rabindra Nath Tagore, Rasbihari Bose, Ramendra Sundar Trivedi, etc. They felt that the move was an attempt to break the Hindu Muslim unity that existed in the province. They started a signature collecting campaign to create strong public opinion and awareness among the people. They submitted 70,000 protest papers to the Secretary General, but the British government remained adamant. The people then ruse up unitedly against this plan of the British by launching massive public protests and agitations

Many places in Bengal were marked by strong protest marches against the move. People irrespective of caste, creed and religion joined the movement. The national congress leaders realising the great potential of this new mass movement decided to turn the movement into a national movement. During its session at Benares in December 1905, they decided to go beyond the partition issue. They termed the new movement as Swadeshi Movement because it went beyond the borders of Bengal and people across the country accepted the idea of boycotting wem foreign items, using home-made goods and rejecting government given titles and posts Students were asked to come away from government schools and colleges and join national institutions set up by patriotic Indian leaders. Thus, this phase of the movement against the British in India came to be known as Swadeshi Movement and it lasted for more than six years from 1905 to 1911

(4) Discuss the contributions of Swadeshi Movement towards national education.

Ans. One of the major contributions of Swadeshi Movement was in the field of the development of national education .

The movement caught the attention of the student community and many of them took active participation in the Swadeshi movement. The result was that the chief secretary of the province of Bengal, R.W. Carlyle circulated a notice on 10th October 1905 warming students not to join the movement against the government. The student community made a strong protest against this order and observed a walk-out of the classroom as a mark of protest. On 4th November 1905, Rabindranath Tagore organised a vast student rally at Pataldanga Mallikbari against the unjustified circular of the government and an “anti-circular society was formed to disobey the order of the government Prominent leaders like Bipin Chandra Paul, Rabindranath Tagore, Abdul Rasul, etc. called upon the students to come away from government schools and colleges Satish Ch. Mukherjee started a national institution named “Dawn Society. This society expressed its displeasure over Lord Curzon’s University Law (1904) and Carlyle’s circular (1905). These leaders promoted the concept of national education following certain national goals. On 8th November 1905, Rabindranath Tagore established a set of educational institutions named “Banga Jatiya Vidyalaya’ in Calcutta and at Rangpur.

Following Rabindranath Tagore’s example, many eminent personalities set up different schools all over Bengal. Under the leadership of Rasbihari Bose, the National Education Council (Jatiya Siksha Parishad) was formed on 11th March 1906 at Town Hall, Calcutta. Bengal National College was established on 15th August 1906. In this manner, over 62 secondary schools and 3000 primary schools were established during the Swadeshi Movement. “Bengal Technical Institute which eventually became Jadavpur University was also established during this period. Similarly national schools were established in different parts of the county as part of the Swadeshi movement. They included Bihar Vidyapeeth, Patna, Samarth Vidyalaya, Maharastra and Gujarat Vidyalaya, etc.

5. How did the national industries develop during Swadeshi Movement? Explain in short. 

Ans. The Swadeshi Movement led to the emergence of the spirit of self-development which led to the development of Indian industries. As foreign goods were rejected, people now turned to locally made goods. The result was that several big industries and many small-scale industries came up in different parts of the country. Spinning machines, small and medium handloom industries, industries for producing mustard oil, soap, sugar, match box, biscuit, etc. were established. During this period, national banks and national insurance companies also came into existence. One of the establishments set up during this period was “The Swadeshi Bhandar which became a reputed textile firm. It was started by Rabindranath Tagore. Yogesh Ch. Choudhury and Krishna Bihari Sen jointly established “Indian Stores’ at Bou Bazaar, Calcutta. Sarala Devi Choudhurini started ‘Lakshi Bhandar’ at Cornwallis Street in Calcutta. ‘The United Bengal Stores’ was also established during this period.

The heavy industries sector also witnessed some initiatives during this period. Nilaratan Sarkar started ‘Banga Lakshi Cotton Mill’ in August 1906 while Acharya Prafulla Ray established Bengal Chemicals’ in July 1906. A significant initiative was the the establishment of Tata Iron factory in Jamshedpur in 1907 by Jamshedji Tata. On 17th December 1905, the first Indian Industrial Summit was held at Benares with R.C. Dutta as the chairman. The summit created awareness among the Indian people about the prospects of the indigeneous industries. Thus the Swadeshi Movement spurred industrial growth in the country.

6. What were the anti-movement measures taken by the British to dominate Swadeshi Movement?

 Ans. The anti-movement measures taken by the British to dominate Swadeshi Movement were :

(1) The government offered various titles, posts and medals to moderate leaders of the Indian National Congress in the hope that they would support the government in its various acts. The moderate congress leaders were also offered posts of judges of High Court, membership of British Parliament, membership in Viceroy’s Council, etc. The congress leaders such as Surendranath Banerjee, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Bipin Chandra Paul, etc. however stood firm and rejected all the concessions offered by the government.      

(ii)The British tried to please Muslim leaders to woo them away from the Indian National Congress. They encouraged them to start a political party of Muslims to oppose the moves of the Indian National Congress. To a great extent, they succeeded in this venture. 

Class 10 Social Science Chapter-1 Partition of Bengal and Swadeshi Movement (1905-1911A.D.)

7. Mention three results of Swadeshi Movement. 

Ans. The Swadeshi Movement which began in 1905 and continued up to 1911 is considered to be a glorious chapter in the history of the freedom struggle in India. Three main results of this movement were the following: 

(1)Development of national literature: During this period many magazines, newspapers, books, dramas, songs and articles encouraging the spirit of nationalism and patriotism were published. These had a profound impact on the national movement in the country. Bangia Kala Sangsad, a national institution was set up under the leadership of Abanindranath Thakur to create foundation of Indian Fine Arts free from western influence.

(ii) Women participation: In the Swadeshi movement, women were encouraged to break the social barriers and participate in the movement. Sarala Devi Choudhurini, a prominent female leader organised festivals like, “Binastami Brat, Pratapaditya Keshab, Udayaditya Utsav, Byayam Samittee, etc. She trained the youth in wrestling, stick play, etc. and edited a magazine named ‘Bharati’, thus preparing the young to take active part in the national movement. Another prominent woman leader was Sister Nibedita who was involved with different societies and encouraged the youth and the women to be independent by getting involved in local industries.

(iii) Establishment of Muslim League: The British government tried to divide the Indians on the basis of religion, caste, etc. so that their imperalism would remain intact. Influenced by Lord Curzon, the Muslims welcomed Bengal partition. After receiving special political gains from the British, the Muslims were encouraged to form a political organisation called the All India Muslim League. This league became a big force to reckon with as it weakened the efficacy of the Indian National Congress.

8.Mention three contributions of Swadeshi movement.

Ans. The major contributions of Swadeshi movement are :

(i) Gave awareness about mass movement: An important contribution of the Swadeshi movement was that Indians became politically aware of the power of mass movement. They realised that if the people came out together in majority for a common cause, the mass struggle would eventually bring success.

(ii)Attracted women towards mass movement: Swadeshi movement empowered the Indian women towards the mass movement. Each person in the Bengal province kept a fast on the day when Prafulla Chaki was executed. Moreover, Bhubanesari Devi called thousands of women for mass movement to protest police torture of her son, Bhupendra Nath Dutta.

(iii) Aroused demand for Swaraj : The Swadeshi movement aroused the passion for ‘Swaraj’. It was during this movement that Indians for the first time demanded Swaraj or self-governance from the British. This demand was raised during the Congress session at Calcutta in 1906 under the presidentship of Dadabhai Naoroji.

WRITE SHORT NOTES:

1.Kabiguru Rabindranath Tagore.

Ans. Rabindranath Tagore is looked upon as one of the finest personalities ever produced by Bengal for our country. He was a famous lyrist, dramatist, poet, story-writer, painter, educationalist, philosopher and revolutionary at heart. As a young man, he contributed much to the emergence of nationalism in Bengal particularly during the period of anti-partition and Swadeshi movement. His speech during a huge public rally at Calcutta on 7th August 1905 was the turning point in the anti-partition movement. Rabindranath Tagore turned 16th October 1905, the day partition of Bengal was implemented, into a day of Rakhibandan to strengthen and show Hindu-Muslim unity.

He encouraged people to tie rakhi on the hands of Muslims as a mark of brotherhood. His collection of 23 patriotic songs written and sung during this period is a treasure-house of patriotic feelings. His famous song ‘Amar Sonar Bangla Ami’ became the national anthem of Bangladesh. His article, ‘Bhai Bhai Ek Thai’ was heart-touching and boosted the spirit of Swadeshi movement. He is associated with the establishment of a series of national educational institutions named ‘Banga Jatiya Vidyalayas’ during this period. He also encouraged the development of local industries and started in this context a shop named ‘Swadesh Bandar’ which over the years became a reputed textile firm in Calcutta.

2. Margaret Elizabeth Noble.

Ans. Margaret Elizabeth Noble (1864-1911), known as Sister Nibedita is considered to be the best known woman national leader from Bengal during the period of the Swadeshi movement. She was an Irish lady who made India her homeland and accepted Hinduism as her religion. She was patriotic to her heart and contributed much to the development of national fervour in Bengal. During her stay in Calcutta, she was associated with Youngman’s Hindu Union, Vivekananda Society, Dawn Society and Anusilan Sammittee. She encouraged youth and women to be independent, patriotic and self-standing by being involved in indigeneous industries. In many ways, she promoted the cause of nationalism in the country. Her greatest contribution was she turned ‘Banga Mata’ devotion to ‘Bharat Mata’ devotion. It is in this backdrop that Sister Nibedita is reckoned as an immortal figure of the national movement in our country.

3. Nawab Salimullah.

Ans. Nawab Salimullah Khan is considered to be the founder of Muslim League formed in 1906 to protect the interests of Muslims in the country. He was a Nawab of a small principality near Dhaka. He was helped by Lord Curzon to organise the Muslims of East Bengal against the Hindu majority of West Bengal. When the Muslim leaders realised that British authorities were most willing to help them to form a party of their own, a group of Muslim leaders headed by Salimullah Khan and Agha Khan seized the opportunity. It was Salimullah Khan who organised the meeting of Muslim leaders on 30th December 1906 in Dhaka where he spearheaded the creation of the Muslim League. It was again Nawab Salimullah who outlined the aims and objectives of this new political party. In an atmosphere where Indians were protesting with the Swadeshi movement, Nawab Salimullah declared Muslim loyalty to the British, and thus weakened the Indian National Congress. After his demise, the conservative character of the Muslim League saw many changes.