Varanasi, in the modern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, in the north-east of India, a historic and religious cultural center, was used by the British as an important commercial hub. The area was made a new Indian state in 1910, in the midst of nationalistic political unrest and a reformed attitude towards India by the British government. The division is one of several novel provincial designations made by the British at this time in recognition of their inability to control the largest areas of population: the solution, the creation of new, divided states, contained two, opposite impulses. In some small measure, there was an effort to increase self-governance regionally, attempting to eliminate various hypocrisies in the narrative of imperial control. Yet at the same time, divisions sought to undercut nationalist movements and undermine popular unity. Benares is a critical location for Sen at various points throughout her account, and this event highlights its larger political significance in the narrative of colonial rule.
Sources
Wolpert, Stanley A.. "British raj". Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 Sep. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/event/British-raj.
"Varanasi". Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 Mar. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/place/Varanasi.
Rahman, Aziz; Ali, Mohsin; and Kahn, Saad "The British Art of Colonialism in India: Subjugation and Division," Peace and Conflict Studies: Vol. 25 : No. 1 , Article 5. 2018. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/pcs/vol25/iss1/5