Extremists and Swadeshi

The partition of Bengal, announced in July 1905 and effective from 16 October 1905, triggered the Swadeshi and Boycott movement, the first mass agitation of the national movement. It brought the Extremists to the front, produced the fourfold programme of swadeshi, boycott, national education and passive resistance, and ended in the Surat split of 1907.

Partition of Bengal

Lord Curzon justified the partition on administrative grounds - Bengal with Bihar and Odisha had about 78 million people - but the real aim was to weaken Bengali nationalism by dividing it, creating a Muslim majority province of East Bengal and Assam. The announced day of partition, 16 October 1905, was observed as a day of mourning with rakhi tied across communities and Rabindranath Tagore's Amar Sonar Bangla sung. The partition was annulled in 1911, when the capital also moved from Calcutta to Delhi.

The Swadeshi programme

• Extremist leaders: Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal, Lala Lajpat Rai - the Lal-Bal-Pal trio - and Aurobindo Ghosh
• Tilak's slogan 'Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it' defined the phase
• Tilak used the Ganapati festival from 1893 and the Shivaji festival from 1895 for mobilisation
• Newspapers: Kesari and Maratha by Tilak, New India by Bipin Chandra Pal, Punjabee by Lajpat Rai
• Women, students and some sections of the urban poor participated, but the movement had limited reach among Muslims and in the countryside

Surat split, 1907

At the Surat session of December 1907 the Congress split between Moderates and Extremists over the presidentship and over resolutions on swaraj, boycott and national education. The Moderates retained control of the organisation, the Extremists were excluded, and Tilak was sentenced to six years in Mandalay in 1908. The two groups reunited only at the Lucknow session of 1916.

Surat 1907 split → Lucknow 1916 reunion, along with the Congress-League Pact

✗ The Swadeshi movement succeeded in getting the partition cancelled immediately  |  ✓ The partition was annulled only in 1911, after the movement had already declined

Morley-Minto Reforms, 1909

The Indian Councils Act of 1909 expanded the legislative councils, allowed a non-official majority in provincial councils, admitted Indians to the executive councils - Satyendra Prasad Sinha became the first Indian member of the Viceroy's executive council - and, most importantly, introduced separate electorates for Muslims, which Morley himself doubted and which later historians treat as the institutional beginning of communal politics.

FAQ

Why was Bengal partitioned in 1905?

Officially for administrative convenience, since Bengal with Bihar and Odisha was too large. In practice it divided Bengali-speaking nationalists between two provinces and created a Muslim majority in East Bengal and Assam, which is why it was seen as a deliberate attempt to weaken the national movement.

What were the four parts of the Swadeshi programme?

Swadeshi or use of Indian goods, boycott of British goods and institutions, national education outside the government system, and passive resistance to government authority. Together they moved the movement from petitioning to direct action.

What did the Morley-Minto reforms introduce?

The Indian Councils Act of 1909 enlarged legislative councils, gave provincial councils a non-official majority, admitted Indians to executive councils, and introduced separate electorates for Muslims, which institutionalised communal representation in Indian politics.