Class 10 Social Science History Chapter 1 Question Answer | Partition of Bengal and Swadeshi Movement | English Medium

Class 10 Social Science History Chapter 1 Question Answer | Partition of Bengal and Swadeshi Movement | English Medium | ASSEB

Class 10 Social Science History Chapter 1 — Partition of Bengal and Swadeshi Movement

Welcome to HSLC Guru. Here you will find the complete English-medium notes, summary, textbook question-answers, and additional practice questions for Chapter 1 — Partition of Bengal and Swadeshi Movement of the ASSEB Class 10 Social Science (History) textbook. Every section has been organised in a clear, exam-friendly format to help you prepare confidently for the HSLC final examination.

Summary

The Partition of Bengal in 1905 was one of the most significant political events of the early twentieth century in India. It was carried out by Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India, who declared on 19 July 1905 that the Bengal Presidency would be divided into two provinces — Bengal (with Bihar and Orissa) and Eastern Bengal and Assam — with effect from 16 October 1905. Officially the British government described the partition as an “administrative necessity” because the existing province was too large to govern. In reality, however, the partition was an attempt to weaken the rising tide of Indian nationalism in Bengal, which had become the centre of the freedom movement, by dividing the people on religious lines — Hindu-majority Bengal in the west and Muslim-majority province in the east. This was the famous British policy of “Divide and Rule”.

The announcement provoked a massive reaction across Bengal and the rest of India. 16 October 1905, the day the partition came into effect, was observed as a day of mourning. Under the leadership of Rabindranath Tagore, the people celebrated the famous Rakhi Bandhan Day — Hindus and Muslims tied rakhis on each other’s wrists as a symbol of brotherhood, unity, and protest against the British policy of communal division. The day witnessed processions, fasts, the singing of Bande Mataram, and the immortal song “Amar Sonar Bangla” composed by Tagore. Out of this protest were born the twin movements that shaped the next phase of the Indian freedom struggle — the Swadeshi Movement and the Boycott Movement.

The Swadeshi Movement urged Indians to use only Indian-made goods, while the Boycott Movement called for the rejection of all British products, courts, schools, titles, and government services. Foreign cloth was burnt in huge bonfires at Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, Poona and other cities. Leaders like Surendranath Banerjee, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal, Lala Lajpat Rai and Aurobindo Ghosh took the movement beyond Bengal and gave it a truly all-India character. The trio of Lal-Bal-Pal (Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal) emerged as the radical face of Indian nationalism. The Indian National Congress, in its Calcutta Session of 1906 presided over by Dadabhai Naoroji, formally adopted Swadeshi, Boycott, National Education and Swaraj as its goals.

The Swadeshi Movement gave a new direction to Indian industries, education, literature and art. New Indian-owned mills, banks, insurance companies and handloom centres were set up. The Bengal National College (with Aurobindo Ghosh as its first principal) and the National Council of Education (1906) were founded to give Indian students nationalistic education. Bengali poets, novelists and painters poured patriotic sentiment into their works — Rabindranath Tagore, Rajanikanta Sen, Mukunda Das, Dwijendralal Roy and Abanindranath Tagore became household names. After years of agitation and revolutionary activity, the British government was finally forced to annul the Partition of Bengal in 1911, when King George V announced its reunification at the Delhi Durbar; the capital of British India was simultaneously shifted from Calcutta to Delhi. The Swadeshi Movement thus marked the transition of Indian nationalism from moderate petitions to mass political action and prepared the ground for the Gandhian phase of the freedom struggle.

Textbook Question Answers — Very Short Answer Type (1 Mark)

Q1. Who was the Viceroy of India when Bengal was partitioned?

Answer: Lord Curzon was the Viceroy of India when Bengal was partitioned in 1905.

Q2. When was the Partition of Bengal officially announced?

Answer: The Partition of Bengal was officially announced on 19 July 1905.

Q3. On which date did the Partition of Bengal come into effect?

Answer: The Partition of Bengal came into effect on 16 October 1905.

Q4. What was the name given to 16 October 1905 by the people of Bengal?

Answer: 16 October 1905 was observed as Rakhi Bandhan Day (also called Anti-Partition Day) — a day of mourning, fasting and Hindu-Muslim brotherhood.

Q5. Who composed the song “Amar Sonar Bangla”?

Answer: Rabindranath Tagore composed the song “Amar Sonar Bangla” during the anti-partition agitation.

Q6. Who are the leaders known as “Lal-Bal-Pal”?

Answer: Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal are together known as Lal-Bal-Pal — the radical (extremist) leaders of the Indian National Congress.

Q7. In which session of the Indian National Congress was the Swadeshi resolution formally adopted?

Answer: The Swadeshi resolution was formally adopted at the Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress in 1906, presided over by Dadabhai Naoroji.

Q8. Who was the first principal of the Bengal National College?

Answer: Aurobindo Ghosh (Sri Aurobindo) was the first principal of the Bengal National College, founded in 1906.

Q9. When was the Partition of Bengal annulled?

Answer: The Partition of Bengal was annulled in 1911 by King George V at the Delhi Durbar.

Q10. Who founded the All India Muslim League and in which year?

Answer: The All India Muslim League was founded in 1906 at Dhaka under the leadership of Nawab Salimullah of Dhaka, Aga Khan and others.

Textbook Question Answers — Short Answer Type (2-3 Marks)

Q1. State the official reason given by the British for the Partition of Bengal.

Answer: The official reason given by the British government was that the Bengal Presidency had become too vast and populous to be governed efficiently by a single Lieutenant-Governor. The province covered Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and Assam, with a population of more than 78 million people. The British argued that for better administration, public order and revenue collection, it was necessary to divide the province into smaller, more manageable units. They presented the partition as a purely administrative measure.

Q2. What was the real (political) motive behind the Partition of Bengal?

Answer: The real motive of the Partition of Bengal was political and was based on the British policy of “Divide and Rule.” Bengal had become the nerve-centre of Indian nationalism, with its educated middle class, vibrant press, and active political leadership. By splitting Bengal into a Hindu-majority western half and a Muslim-majority eastern half, Curzon’s government wanted to (i) weaken Bengali nationalism, (ii) sow communal discord between Hindus and Muslims, and (iii) reduce the political influence of the Bengali-speaking intelligentsia.

Q3. What was the Rakhi Bandhan ceremony of 16 October 1905?

Answer: On 16 October 1905, when the Partition of Bengal came into force, the people of Bengal observed the day as one of mourning. At the suggestion of Rabindranath Tagore, men and women — Hindus and Muslims alike — tied rakhis (sacred threads) on each other’s wrists as a symbol of unbreakable unity. People walked barefoot to the Ganges, fasted, sang patriotic songs like Bande Mataram and Amar Sonar Bangla, and held huge processions. The Rakhi Bandhan ceremony became a powerful symbolic protest against the British attempt to divide Bengal on communal lines.

Q4. What is meant by the Boycott Movement?

Answer: The Boycott Movement was a programme of protest that called upon the Indian people to refuse all forms of British rule and British goods. Its main features were: (i) boycott of foreign cloth, sugar, salt and other manufactured items; (ii) boycott of British schools, colleges, courts and government offices; (iii) refusal to accept British titles and honours; (iv) public burning of foreign cloth in huge bonfires. The Boycott Movement went hand in hand with the Swadeshi Movement and was, in effect, the negative side of the same coin.

Q5. What was the contribution of Rabindranath Tagore to the Swadeshi Movement?

Answer: Rabindranath Tagore made an outstanding contribution to the Swadeshi Movement. He composed the immortal song “Amar Sonar Bangla” (later the national anthem of Bangladesh) and many other patriotic songs that fired the imagination of the people. He proposed and led the Rakhi Bandhan ceremony of 16 October 1905. He led barefoot processions through the streets of Calcutta, addressed huge gatherings, and gave the movement a moral and cultural depth. Through his writings, lectures and music he made nationalism a deeply emotional and cultural experience.

Q6. What was the impact of the Swadeshi Movement on Indian education?

Answer: The Swadeshi Movement gave a tremendous push to national education. The British government’s Carlyle Circular (1905) had banned students from joining the agitation; the response was the founding of independent Indian institutions. The National Council of Education was set up in 1906. The Bengal National College (with Aurobindo Ghosh as its first principal), the Bengal Technical Institute, and a network of national primary and secondary schools came up across Bengal and the rest of India. Education was given in the mother tongue, with emphasis on Indian history, literature, science and patriotism.

Q7. Why and when was the Partition of Bengal annulled?

Answer: The Partition of Bengal was annulled in 1911 because of (i) six years of relentless mass agitation by the Swadeshi and Boycott Movements; (ii) the rise of revolutionary terrorism in Bengal that made the eastern province ungovernable; (iii) the realisation by the British that the partition had inflamed rather than divided Indian opinion; and (iv) the desire of the new King-Emperor George V to begin his reign with a popular gesture. The annulment was announced at the Delhi Durbar of 12 December 1911, and the capital of British India was simultaneously shifted from Calcutta to Delhi.

Textbook Question Answers — Long Answer Type (5-6 Marks)

Q1. Discuss in detail the causes of the Partition of Bengal in 1905.

Answer: The Partition of Bengal carried out by Lord Curzon in 1905 was the result of a combination of administrative pretexts and deeper political motives.

(i) Administrative reason: The Bengal Presidency was the largest province in British India, covering Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and Assam, with an area of about 1,89,000 square miles and a population of nearly 7.85 crore. The British argued that such a vast area could not be efficiently administered by a single Lieutenant-Governor. They claimed that partition was necessary for better collection of revenue, maintenance of law and order, and supervision of police.

(ii) Weakening of Bengali nationalism: Bengal had become the heart of Indian nationalism. The earliest political associations, the Indian Association, the British Indian Association, and many newspapers were based in Calcutta. The Bengali educated middle class led the political life of India. By dividing Bengal, the British wanted to weaken this leadership.

(iii) Divide and Rule — communal angle: The new province of Eastern Bengal and Assam had a Muslim majority while the western Bengal had a Hindu majority. The British hoped that this would create a permanent communal divide between Hindus and Muslims, weaken the unified Indian nationalist movement, and create a loyal Muslim political base.

(iv) Reduction of Bengali influence: Within the new western province, Bengali speakers became a minority alongside Bihari, Oriya and Hindi speakers; in the eastern province, the Bengali Muslim majority was placed under a new capital at Dhaka. Both halves thus reduced the political weight of the Bengali-speaking nationalist class.

(v) Strategic and economic reasons: By placing Assam (rich in tea, oil and timber) inside the new eastern province with Dhaka as its capital, the British sought tighter control over the region’s resources and a stronger administrative grip on the north-east frontier.

Q2. Describe the main features and programmes of the Swadeshi Movement.

Answer: The Swadeshi Movement (1905–1911) was the constructive face of the anti-partition agitation. Its main features and programmes were:

(i) Use of Swadeshi (Indian-made) goods: People were urged to use only Indian-produced cloth, sugar, salt, soap, paper and ink. Khadi and handloom became symbols of Swadeshi.

(ii) Boycott of British goods: Foreign cloth, especially Manchester cotton, was burnt in massive bonfires at Calcutta, Bombay, Madras and Poona. British schools, courts, titles and government services were boycotted.

(iii) Promotion of Indian industry: Indian-owned mills, banks, insurance companies, soap factories, match factories, and chemical works were established. The Bengal Chemical and Pharmaceutical Works of P. C. Ray, the Bengal Steamer Company and the Indian-owned Banga Lakshmi Cotton Mill were direct outcomes of the Swadeshi spirit.

(iv) National education: Indian-owned schools and colleges, the Bengal National College, the National Council of Education, and the Bengal Technical Institute provided patriotic, mother-tongue-based education to the youth.

(v) Cultural awakening: Patriotic songs, plays, novels and paintings inspired the people. Rabindranath Tagore, Rajanikanta Sen, Mukunda Das, Dwijendralal Roy, and the painter Abanindranath Tagore (with his famous “Bharat Mata”) were leading figures.

(vi) Mass mobilisation: The movement drew in students, women, peasants and workers in unprecedented numbers. Volunteer organisations (Samitis) like the Anushilan Samiti and the Swadesh Bandhab Samiti carried the message to the villages.

Q3. Examine the role of Surendranath Banerjee, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal, Lala Lajpat Rai and Aurobindo Ghosh in the Swadeshi Movement.

Answer: The Swadeshi Movement was led by a galaxy of nationalist leaders whose combined effort gave it an all-India character.

(i) Surendranath Banerjee: Often called the “Father of Indian Nationalism,” he was the moving spirit of the early anti-partition agitation in Bengal. As editor of The Bengalee and leader of the Indian Association, he organised mass meetings, public petitions, and the famous boycott resolution. He coined the slogan that united the people: “We must use our own goods and shun foreign goods.”

(ii) Bal Gangadhar Tilak: The Maharashtra leader spread the Swadeshi message through his newspapers Kesari and Maratha. He gave India the immortal slogan “Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it.” He took the movement out of Bengal and made it a pan-Indian programme.

(iii) Bipin Chandra Pal: A fiery orator from Bengal, Pal toured Madras, Bombay and Punjab, electrifying audiences with his speeches on Swaraj, Swadeshi, Boycott and National Education. He edited the journal New India and was one of the foremost theoreticians of the new nationalism.

(iv) Lala Lajpat Rai: The “Lion of Punjab” carried the Swadeshi message to North India. He led the boycott of British goods in Punjab, helped found the Punjab National Bank (1894) and the Lakshmi Insurance Company, and was deported to Mandalay in 1907 for his anti-British activities.

(v) Aurobindo Ghosh: The most radical theorist of the movement. Through his journal Bande Mataram, his book “The Doctrine of Passive Resistance,” and his work as principal of the Bengal National College, he transformed Swadeshi into a spiritual and political call for total independence.

Q4. What were the impacts of the Swadeshi Movement on Indian society and the national movement?

Answer: The impacts of the Swadeshi Movement on Indian society and the freedom struggle were far-reaching and permanent.

(i) Political awakening: The movement transformed Indian nationalism from a polite movement of petitions and prayers into a mass political movement. It introduced new techniques like boycott, picketing, hartal, and passive resistance which were later perfected by Mahatma Gandhi.

(ii) Economic impact: The movement gave a strong push to Indian-owned industries — textile mills, banks, insurance companies, soap and match factories, chemical works, handloom and cottage industries flourished. Imports of British cotton goods fell sharply during 1905–1908.

(iii) Educational impact: The National Council of Education, the Bengal National College, and a network of national schools popularised mother-tongue, science-and-history-rich nationalist education.

(iv) Cultural and literary impact: The Swadeshi spirit inspired a flood of patriotic songs, novels, plays and paintings. Bande Mataram became the war cry of the nation. Tagore, Mukunda Das, Rajanikanta Sen and Abanindranath Tagore left a permanent imprint on Indian culture.

(v) Mass participation: For the first time students, women, peasants and workers entered politics in large numbers. Women came out of their homes to picket foreign cloth shops.

(vi) Rise of revolutionary nationalism: The repression of the movement gave birth to revolutionary groups like the Anushilan Samiti and Jugantar in Bengal, which inspired later revolutionaries such as Khudiram Bose, Prafulla Chaki and Bhagat Singh.

(vii) Annulment of partition (1911): The most direct political result was the reunification of Bengal in 1911 — a clear admission by the British that the policy had failed.

Q5. Why is the Partition of Bengal considered a turning point in the history of the Indian national movement?

Answer: The Partition of Bengal of 1905 is rightly regarded as a turning point in the history of the Indian national movement for the following reasons:

(i) End of moderate politics: Until 1905 the Indian National Congress was dominated by moderates who relied on petitions, prayers and protests. The partition exposed the failure of moderate politics and gave rise to the extremists (Lal-Bal-Pal and Aurobindo).

(ii) Birth of mass politics: For the first time politics moved out of the drawing rooms and into the streets. Boycott, hartal, processions, public meetings, picketing and bonfires became regular weapons of the freedom movement.

(iii) Demand for Swaraj: The Calcutta Congress (1906) for the first time formally adopted Swaraj (self-rule) as the goal of the national movement — a goal which earlier Congress had not openly demanded.

(iv) Beginning of revolutionary nationalism: The repression of the Swadeshi Movement gave birth to organised revolutionary groups in Bengal, Maharashtra and Punjab — Anushilan Samiti, Jugantar, Abhinav Bharat — paving the way for the Ghadar Movement, the activities of Khudiram Bose, Prafulla Chaki and later Bhagat Singh.

(v) Surat Split (1907): The internal differences between moderates and extremists, which surfaced during the Swadeshi agitation, led to the famous Surat Split of the Congress in 1907.

(vi) Foundation of the Muslim League: The communal angle of the partition encouraged the formation of the All India Muslim League at Dhaka in 1906, which would have far-reaching consequences for Indian politics.

(vii) Cultural and intellectual awakening: The movement nurtured a generation of writers, artists, scientists and political leaders who would lead the freedom struggle until 1947.

Additional Questions — Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ)

Q1. The Partition of Bengal was carried out by:
(a) Lord Dalhousie (b) Lord Curzon (c) Lord Minto (d) Lord Hardinge

Answer: (b) Lord Curzon

Q2. The Partition of Bengal came into effect on:
(a) 19 July 1905 (b) 16 October 1905 (c) 7 August 1905 (d) 12 December 1911

Answer: (b) 16 October 1905

Q3. The song “Amar Sonar Bangla” was composed by:
(a) Bankim Chandra Chatterjee (b) Rabindranath Tagore (c) Dwijendralal Roy (d) Mukunda Das

Answer: (b) Rabindranath Tagore

Q4. “Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it” — this slogan was given by:
(a) Bipin Chandra Pal (b) Lala Lajpat Rai (c) Bal Gangadhar Tilak (d) Aurobindo Ghosh

Answer: (c) Bal Gangadhar Tilak

Q5. The Indian National Congress formally adopted Swadeshi and Boycott as its programme at the:
(a) Surat Session 1907 (b) Calcutta Session 1906 (c) Bombay Session 1885 (d) Lahore Session 1929

Answer: (b) Calcutta Session 1906

Q6. The first principal of the Bengal National College was:
(a) Rabindranath Tagore (b) Surendranath Banerjee (c) Aurobindo Ghosh (d) Ashutosh Mukherjee

Answer: (c) Aurobindo Ghosh

Q7. The All India Muslim League was founded in:
(a) 1885 at Bombay (b) 1906 at Dhaka (c) 1916 at Lucknow (d) 1907 at Surat

Answer: (b) 1906 at Dhaka

Q8. The Partition of Bengal was annulled in:
(a) 1909 (b) 1911 (c) 1919 (d) 1947

Answer: (b) 1911

Q9. The trio “Lal-Bal-Pal” refers to:
(a) Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal (b) Lala Hardayal, Balwantrai Mehta, Bipin Pal (c) Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Krishna Sharma, Bipin Pal (d) None of these

Answer: (a) Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal

Q10. The capital of British India was shifted from Calcutta to Delhi in:
(a) 1905 (b) 1909 (c) 1911 (d) 1919

Additional Questions — Fill in the Blanks

1. The Partition of Bengal was officially announced on ________ . (Answer: 19 July 1905)

2. The day 16 October 1905 was observed as ________ Day under the leadership of Rabindranath Tagore. (Answer: Rakhi Bandhan)

3. The Swadeshi resolution was formally adopted at the ________ Session of the Indian National Congress in 1906. (Answer: Calcutta)

4. The famous slogan “Swaraj is my birthright” was given by ________ . (Answer: Bal Gangadhar Tilak)

5. The All India Muslim League was founded at ________ in 1906. (Answer: Dhaka)

Additional Questions — True / False

1. The Partition of Bengal was carried out by Lord Dalhousie. — False (It was carried out by Lord Curzon.)

2. The Rakhi Bandhan ceremony was led by Rabindranath Tagore. — True

3. The Swadeshi Movement called for the use of foreign goods. — False (It called for the use of Indian-made goods.)

4. The Indian National Congress split at the Surat Session of 1907. — True

5. The Partition of Bengal was annulled in 1947. — False (It was annulled in 1911.)

Glossary / Key Terms

Term	Meaning
Partition of Bengal	The administrative division of the Bengal Presidency by Lord Curzon in 1905 into two provinces — Bengal (with Bihar and Orissa) and Eastern Bengal and Assam.
Swadeshi	Literally “of one’s own country” — the use of Indian-made goods in place of foreign products.
Boycott	The refusal to use, buy or deal with British goods, schools, courts and offices as a form of political protest.
Rakhi Bandhan Day	The mass tying of rakhis on 16 October 1905 between Hindus and Muslims as a symbol of unity against the partition.
Bande Mataram	The patriotic song from Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s novel Anandamath; became the war cry of the Swadeshi Movement.
Lal-Bal-Pal	The trio of extremist leaders — Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal.
Swaraj	“Self-rule” — the demand for Indian self-government, formally adopted by the Congress in 1906.
Divide and Rule	British policy of weakening Indian unity by encouraging divisions on religious, linguistic and regional lines.
National Education	An educational system started by Indians (e.g., Bengal National College, NCE 1906) free from British government control, with emphasis on the mother tongue and patriotism.
Anushilan Samiti	A revolutionary secret society formed in Bengal in 1902 that became active during the Swadeshi Movement.
Surat Split (1907)	The split of the Indian National Congress at its Surat Session into Moderates (led by Gokhale) and Extremists (led by Tilak).
Delhi Durbar (1911)	The royal assembly held at Delhi where King George V announced the annulment of the Partition of Bengal and the shifting of the capital from Calcutta to Delhi.
All India Muslim League	Political organisation of Indian Muslims founded at Dhaka in 1906, partly as a result of the political climate created by the Partition of Bengal.

This concludes the complete English-medium notes for ASSEB Class 10 Social Science (History) Chapter 1 — Partition of Bengal and Swadeshi Movement. Keep visiting HSLC Guru for more chapter-wise notes, summaries and question-answers prepared specifically for the ASSEB HSLC examination.