The Partition of Bengal (1905) is both and event and a memory. As an event it is specific to the time of its occurrence. As any event it ushered in a combative phase of Indian nationalism and set the stage for more dramatic contestation with the Raj. As an event it was preceded by a prolonged period of gestation when colonial bureaucracy examined its feasibility either on administrative or political grounds or, sometimes, both. It was followed initially by Swadeshi and Boycott but when anti-Partition agitation seemed to have run out of steam, it culminated in extolling the cult of the bomb.
As a memory its significance transcends the limits of immediacy. More than one hundred years after the event, it still remains etched in public memory as a defining event in the history of Indian nationalism. Centenary of an event of such a magnitude is indeed an occasion for retrospective re-evaluation and, possibly, of introspection. It is not surprising, therefore, that the last couple of years had witnessed a robust outcrop of writings on Partition and its aftermath. The West Bengal State Archives organised a number of collaborative seminars and exhibitions with active support from the University of Calcutta, Asiatic Society, Bangiya Sahitya Parishad and other institutions. While most shared our perspective, there were others who thought otherwise. A few have even debunked the Swadeshi agitation for being elitist, parochial and even communal, if not in intent, at least in effect.
This is not an occasion to engage in polemics with the sceptics. We would particularly like to draw attention to some new source materials, especially the very rich Intelligence Branch records relating to Partition, to which many earlier historians who worked on the subject were denied access in the past. Much of these Intelligence Branch records have been transferred from the West Bengal Police repositories to the West Bengal State Archives and have been give access to scholars. A careful and systematic perusal of these records would serve to dispel some ill-informed indictments about the nature of the movement and its implications.
Let us begin by looking into the first allegation. It has sometimes been argued that the anti-Partition movement had a very limited geographical spread. According to the canonical version of this critique, the movement was supposedly confined to Bengal's metropolis and failed to make any meaningful dent in the countryside. In fact, this particular historiographical critique had a somewhat dubious ancestry. As section of British civilians, dipped in the anti-Bengali prejudice of the times, had already argued along these lines. They simply wished away any major reactions on the sub-continental scale. Andrew Fraser and H. H. Risley were arguably the most vocal members of this group but they had an equally voluble band of supporters. They pleaded that let the disgruntled and seditious baboos scream for a while; they would eventually lose their zeal and bow before the inevitable. They also thought that their screaming would hardly find any echo either in the countryside or outside Bengal. On the contrary, others might even enjoy the plight of the bombastic baboos publicly licking their wound. Curzon's own perception was no different. The outcry, he predicted, would be loud and fierce in the capital, where "the best wirepullers (of Congress) and its most frothy orators reside", but it would not last.
Perhaps unwittingly following this lead, the Swadeshi movement has often been situated in its metropolitan setting. Calcutta, Dacca, Mymensing, Rangpur or Barisal figured more prominently in the historical discourses on Swadeshi than the happenings in the remote countryside. The Intelligence Branch records quite clearly indicated that Swadeshi was as much a new gospel in the countryside as it was in Calcutta. Yet, contrary to what was being argued in official circles, and echoed by some later day critics, the countryside did not simply dance to the tunes of "wire-pullers from Calcutta". It is indeed true that during this period city-based leaders made it a practice to visit Bengal villages more frequently than they did in the past. They were using all their oratorical skills to implore people to embrace the spirit of Swadeshi. Much in the same way local leaders and, at times, even rural folk were converging on the city on appropriate occasions. All these indicate that the hitherto-prevailing rural-urban divide was breaking down and there were clear indications of greater interactions between the two. And yet not much has been written about how, under the impact of the Swadeshi, the relatively even tenor of life in Bengal villages was affected by the great wave of patriotism that swept through the province and beyond. Swadeshi in the Bengal countryside is, as yet, a somewhat under-explored terrain.
Hindu (888)
Agriculture (95)
Ancient (1021)
Archaeology (619)
Architecture (535)
Art & Culture (866)
Biography (598)
Buddhist (545)
Cookery (158)
Emperor & Queen (496)
Islam (235)
Jainism (274)
Literary (877)
Mahatma Gandhi (360)
Send as free online greeting card
Email a Friend
Manage Wishlist