reversal of POB Flashcards
political protest
one of the reason was the political protest by the Hindus who rejected the partition of Bengal right after its announcement. meetings, strikes, processions and nationalist propaganda took place. these massive large scale protests, rallies and meetings put so much pressure on the British that they began to reconsider their decision hence the political protest led to the reversal.
outbreak of terrorist activities
another reason for the reversal was the outbreak of terrorist activities. a number of young men turned to revolutionary activities to undo the partition. assassination attempts, bombing of government buildings took place and even officers were shot dead, this spread an atmosphere of terrorism across Bengal. there was an assassination attempt on the viceroy lord minto and two English ladies were murdered. therefore this violence put a pressure on the British who in order to protect their people and officials decided to reverse the partition.
swadeshi movement
another major reason was the swadeshi movement. the movement was a boycott of British good and the promotion of Indian produced goods, this movement gained a lot of supporters and British sugar,cloth and cotton suffered the most e.g British cloth was thrown in bonfires and became a matter of honour to wear locally produced goods. therefore this led to the decline of British sale which hurt their economy hence the British reversed the partition to restore their trade and profit
Hindu-Muslim riots
the most serious result of Hindu anger was the rise in Muslim-Hindu conflict. the Muslims who refused to participate in this anger against the partition were persecuted, Muslim leaders were insulted and their meetings broken up. swadeshi movement also increased the fire, Muslims shops were picketed who refused to close it and Hindus boycotted Muslims shops and traders. in other parts of the country the clashes increased which created the fear of civil war hence to control this violence and creating civil war the partition was reversed.
divide and rule policy
the Hindus viewed this partition as the British policy of divide and rule in an attempt to break Hindu unity. many Bengali Hindus called the day of partition the day of national mourning or black day, the closed businesses, wore black dresses and smeared their forehead with ash. Hindu Bengali press carried out violent propaganda against the partition. as a result, the partition created feelings of discomfort and people stood united against the government for the first time and the partition was opposed by both high and low castes for number of social political and economic reasons. thus, the outcry of Hindus were so much that the British felt pressure and decided to reconsider their decisions
congress sent a delegation
another reason was the delegation that congress had sent to London with important political leaders. there leaders met with the parliament to convince them that the partition of Bengal was unfair to the people of Bengal and that the whole nation of Bengal was against this partition, they also manage to convince them that the partition would only political and economic problems to the British government. hence the argument convinced the British and they decided to reverse the partition.
civil disobedience movement
lastly, the civil disobedience movement was another reason. the congress urged people not to accept the partition and started the civil disobedience movement. under this movement, the Hindus refused to work in the government offices or attend school, they also refused to obey laws, pay taxes and rent. therefore the British felt that instead of creating a better situation they worsened these matters hence they reversed the partition.
