Lord Curzon and the Partition of Bengal

Question	Answer
What did Curzon do to try and protect India's northern border?	Created the North West Frontier Province in 1901
Why was a buffer zone needed?	To protect the 'wild north west' - notoriously difficult to control border with Afghanistan.
Name three improvements made by Curzon that benefitted the Indian people.	Communications - the telegraph system was installed. Transport - built new roads, increased the railway network by 10,000km Agriculture - Increased area of irrigated land by 3 million hectares. Established the Indian Archaeological Survey - worked to preserve important buildings esp. Taj Mahal.
When was the partition of Bengal?	1905
Why did Curzon say he partitioned Bengal?	To make it easier to govern - it was a huge province (78 million people) and therefore difficult to control efficiently. There were also often floods and famines.
Why is the partition of Bengal seen by some as an attempt to 'divide and rule'?	Because it helped to drive a wedge between Hindus and Muslims. It created a Muslim majority stat which made Hindus unhappy.
Who was the partition of Bengal a particular attack on?	Congress - Bengal was where their main powerbase was. The partition was at least partly about breaking the power of Congress.
How did nationalists react to the Partition of Bengal?	National protest - Newspapers articles and letters, Swadesh (boycotts), Terrorism (1909 Member of the India Office was shot in London)

Resource summary

	Created by Tom Lea over 8 years ago

	Copied by Alston Pereira over 8 years ago