Page 70 - SST Class 08

Quiz Time they tried to sow the seeds of discord between
Fill in the blanks :
1. The British treated India as a single
___________ and ___________ unit.
2. The ___________ of printing press helped in
wide circulation of ideas.
3. The first President of the Indian National
Congress was ___________ . the real intention of the British government was to
4. Indian Association was formed by ___________ .
5. The Afghan war adversely affected the
___________ resources of India.
SECOND PHASE : 1905-1919
The petitions of the Congress brought no change
in the policies and administration of the British in
India. A feeling grew among young Indians that
no purpose could be achieved without struggle.
So, they lost faith in the constitutional process and
proceeded gradually towards conflict with the
British government. It resulted in the rise of
extremism within the Congress and terrorism
outside it. Therefore, the second phase is also
called the extremist phase. The chief causes for
this phase were the following :
q No change was perceptible in the British
attitude and administration in response to
moderate petitions.
q Economic exploitation of the people continued
at the hands of the British.
q Political activity resulted in social and religious
awakening.
q The famine in 1896-97 and plague in 1899-
1901 added to the plight of the Indians
because the British measures were inadequate
and untimely.
q The maladministration by Lord Curzon further
aggravated the situation by holding the Delhi
Durbar and partition of Bengal.
Partition of Bengal
What disturbed the British more than anything
else was the Hindu-Muslim unity who had fought
shoulder to shoulder during the revolt of 1857, so
Contemporary Social Science-8
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them. They adopted such means that would create
suspicion in the minds of the two communities.
They left no opportunity which was in tune with
their policy of ‘divide and rule’.
The British contended that Bengal was a very large
province and it was necessary to divide it into two
for the convenience of administration. However,
divide the province on communal lines, as the
Muslims formed a majority in the eastern part
while the Hindus formed a majority in the western
part. At that time, Bengal comprised of territories
presently forming Bangladesh, West Bengal,
Orissa and some parts of Bihar. The British
divided the province into eastern Bengal and
western Bengal in 1905, and thus a new province
of East Bengal and Assam came into existence.
The people of Bengal came to know the real
intention of the British government, so they rose
in reaction. They could see through the mischief
that Lord Curzon had made. They realized that the
British wanted to divide the people on communal
lines. So, they opposed the partition tooth and
nail. A long struggle resulted in success when the
partition was repealed in 1911.
The partition of Bengal had the following effects :
q The people lost faith in the British.
q The national sentiments got strengthened.
q The extremists got an opportunity to lead the
Indian National Congress.
Info Bits
Info Bits
Surendranath Banerjee was the first Indian to be
selected to the Indian Civil Service, but was
dismissed on baseless charges.
Extremist Leaders and Their Working
Let us first understand that the extremist leaders
did not believe in violence. They had great faith in
self-eliance, self-confidence and self-respect of the
Indian people. They believed that petitions could
serve no purpose, so the better way was to
organise mass protests, criticise the government
policies, boycott foreign goods and use Swadeshi