Previous Year Question
With reference to the Civil Administration in 1905, which of the statements is/are correct?
Lord Curzon decided to rearrange the provincial boundaries.
A new province was constituted, called East Bengal and Assam.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
1 only
Both 1 and 2
2 only
Neither 1 nor 2
Correct Answer: B
Detailed Solution
Both Statement 1 and Statement 2 are correct.
Statement 1 is correct. During the administration of Lord Curzon, a scheme was prepared for the reorganisation of the administrative boundaries of Bengal and adjoining areas. The British Government formally justified it on the grounds of administrative convenience and more effective administration of the very large Bengal province. The announcement of 19 July 1905 presented the plan for altering provincial boundaries.
At that time, the Bengal Presidency covered a very extensive administrative area. Under the proposal, the eastern parts of Bengal were to be combined with Assam to form a separate administrative unit. Indian nationalists strongly opposed this reorganisation, and the anti-partition agitation gave major momentum to the Swadeshi and boycott movements.
Statement 2 is also correct. As a result of the Partition of Bengal, a new province called Eastern Bengal and Assam was constituted. The eastern parts of Bengal were combined with Assam and Dacca became its capital. According to the Assam State Archives, Assam was joined with Eastern Bengal in 1905 to constitute the new province.
Earlier, in 1874, Assam had been separated from Bengal and constituted as a Chief Commissionership. After the reorganisation of 1905, it became part of the new unit of Eastern Bengal and Assam, which was placed under a Lieutenant-Governor.
The Partition of Bengal came into effect on 16 October 1905. Under the new arrangement, Eastern Bengal and Assam formed one province, while the remaining Bengal province included Bengal along with Bihar, Orissa and Chota Nagpur. The partition generated a widespread political agitation.
Later, the Partition of Bengal was annulled in 1911, and the separate Chief Commissionership of Assam was restored in 1912.
Thus, Lord Curzon's reorganisation of provincial boundaries and the creation of the new province of Eastern Bengal and Assam are both correct statements.