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Abstract

The study deals with the administrative reorganisation and territorial redistribution of, the province of Bengal. Chapter I examines the unwieldy nature of the pre-partition province and reviews the various plans propounded by successive Lieutenant-Governors and Viceroys for the reconstruction of Bengal. Chapter II deals with the proposals to curtail the boundaries of Bengal. It also examines the plans for the general territorial redistribution of the provinces of British India so as to throw light on the evolution of the partition scheme of 1903. An examination of the public reaction to the scheme of 1903 as well as the official response to the objections put forward against the original plan has been made in Chapter III. Chapter IV discusses the partitioning of Bengal into two provinces - Bengal and East Ben al and Assam, bringing into light the role of St. John Brodrick, the Secretary of State, and its impact on subsequent events. Chapter V deals briefly with the anti-partition agitation. Chapter VI examines the problems which confronted Lord Hardinge on his assumption of power, his stand on the partition question, the need of a boon on the occasion of the visit of King George V and the final undoing of the partition in 1911 and the shifting of the capital to Delhi. Finally, Chapter VII examines the aftermath of the annulment - reaction of the Bengalis and the Muslims - as well as the attitude of certain officials and members of Parliament towards the changes.