Anti-Partition Campaign Under the Moderates

At a Glance

• What it is The first phase of opposition to the partition, 1903-05
• Leaders Surendranath Banerjea, K.K. Mitra, Prithwishchandra Ray
• Methods Petitions, meetings, memoranda, newspapers
• Turning point Boycott Resolution, 7 August 1905; Swadeshi Movement proclaimed
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Modern History: Era of Militant Nationalism, 1905-1909

Where Does It Fit?

This is the third topic of the category on the era of militant nationalism. The previous topic described the partition and its motive. This topic describes the Moderate campaign against it and the beginning of Swadeshi. The next topic covers the movement under Extremist leadership. Previous topic: Partition of Bengal, 1905.

How Did the Moderates Oppose the Partition?

In 1903-05 the leadership was provided by men like Surendranath Banerjea, K.K. Mitra and Prithwishchandra Ray. The methods adopted were petitions to the government, public meetings, memoranda, and propaganda through pamphlets and newspapers such as Hitabadi, Sanjibani and Bengalee. Their objective was to exert enough pressure on the government through an educated public opinion in India and England to prevent the unjust partition from being implemented. The Moderate method is explained in Era of the Moderates, 1885-1905: Approach and Leaders.

What Happened When the Partition Was Announced?

Ignoring a loud public opinion against the partition proposal, the government announced the partition of Bengal in July 1905. Within days protest meetings were held in small towns all over Bengal. It was in these meetings that the pledge to boycott foreign goods was first taken. On 7 August 1905, with the passage of the Boycott Resolution at a massive meeting at the Calcutta Town Hall, the Swadeshi Movement was formally proclaimed. After this, the leaders dispersed to other parts of Bengal to propagate the message of boycott of Manchester cloth and Liverpool salt.

What Happened on 16 October 1905?

On 16 October 1905, the day the partition formally came into force, was observed as a day of mourning throughout Bengal. People fasted, bathed in the Ganga and walked barefoot in processions singing Bande Mataram, which almost spontaneously became the theme song of the movement. Rabindranath Tagore’s Amar Sonar Bangla, later the national anthem of Bangladesh, was sung by huge crowds marching in the streets. People tied rakhis on each other’s hands as a symbol of the unity of the two halves of Bengal. Later in the day Surendranath Banerjea and Ananda Mohan Bose addressed huge gatherings, perhaps the largest till then under the nationalist banner, and within a few hours of the meeting Rs 50,000 was raised for the movement.

How Did the Movement Spread Beyond Bengal?

Soon the movement spread to other parts of the country: to Poona and Bombay under Tilak, to Punjab under Lala Lajpat Rai and Ajit Singh, to Delhi under Syed Haider Raza, and to Madras under Chidambaram Pillai.

As an analytical point, the Moderate campaign shows both the strengths and the limits of the older method. It mobilised an educated public and a press, but the government ignored it, which is the same failure to win concessions that Extremist critics, in Why Militant Nationalism Grew, held against Moderate politics. The adoption of boycott and the move to mass action, treated in Swadeshi and Boycott Movement Under Extremist Leadership, grew from that disappointment. The Congress’s attitude to the movement is also set out there.

Why Is This Topic Important?

• Dates 7 August 1905 and 16 October 1905 are common Prelims dates
• Transition It shows the shift from petition to boycott
• Cultural symbols Bande Mataram, rakhi and Amar Sonar Bangla recur in questions

What Came Next?

The next topic covers the Swadeshi and Boycott Movement under Extremist leadership. Next topic: Swadeshi and Boycott Movement Under Extremist Leadership.

Key People and Terms

• Boycott Resolution The 7 August 1905 resolution at Calcutta Town Hall
• Swadeshi The use of goods made in one’s own country
• Bande Mataram The song that became the theme of the movement
• Amar Sonar Bangla Tagore’s song of 1905, later the national anthem of Bangladesh
• Rakhi bandhan Tying rakhis as a symbol of the unity of the two halves of Bengal
• Memorandum A written statement of grievances addressed to the government

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

Questions ask about the stages of the anti-partition movement. These points add depth.

• Moderate methods Petitions, memoranda and the press
• Shift to boycott Local meetings produced the first boycott pledges
• Symbolic unity Rakhi and Bande Mataram