Lord Curzon, the British viceroy in India, carried out The Partition of Bengal in 1905 despite strong Indian nationalist opposition. East Bengal, because of isolation and poor communications, had been neglected in favour of west Bengal and Bihar. Curzon chose one of several schemes for partition: to unite Assam with 15 districts of east Bengal and thus form a new province with a population of 31 million. The capital was Dacca, and the people were mainly Muslim. Nevertheless, Sen was acquainted with local Hindu Raja and Rani, and had conversations about caste.
The Hindus of west Bengal, who controlled most of Bengal’s commerce and professional and rural life, complained that the Bengali nation would be split in two, making them a minority in a province including the whole of Bihar and Orissa. They regarded the partition as an attempt to strangle nationalism in Bengal, where it was more developed than elsewhere. Agitation against the partition included mass meetings, rural unrest, and a swadeshi (native) movement to boycott the import of British goods. The partition was carried through despite the agitation, and the extreme opposition went underground to form a terrorist movement.
In 1911, the year that the capital was shifted from Calcutta to Delhi, east and west Bengal were reunited. The aim was to combine appeasement of Bengali sentiment with administrative convenience. This end was achieved for a time, but the Bengali Muslims, having benefited from partition, were angry and disappointed. This resentment remained throughout the rest of the British period.
Sources:
“Partition of Bengal”. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Partition-of-Bengal
Sen, Haimabati. Because I am a Woman.