Correct Option
The Partition of Bengal, enacted by Lord Curzon in 1905, was primarily aimed at weakening the burgeoning nationalist movement in Bengal and fostering communal divisions. This administrative measure led to widespread protests and the launch of the Swadeshi and Boycott movements across British India. Faced with sustained nationalist agitation and political unrest, the British government decided to reverse the partition. The annulment was officially declared by King George V at the Delhi Durbar in December 1911. At the same event, it was also announced that the capital of British India would be shifted from Calcutta to Delhi.
Incorrect Options
- Option 1: The First World War commenced in 1914, three years after the annulment of the Bengal Partition in 1911. The partition was revoked due to nationalist pressure and not as a consequence of the war or the need for Indian troops.
- Option 3: Mahatma Gandhi's Civil Disobedience Movement began in 1930, nearly two decades after the annulment of the Bengal Partition. This movement was a distinct phase of the Indian independence struggle, unrelated to the 1905 partition issue.
- Option 4: While Bengal was indeed partitioned again in 1947 during the Partition of India, resulting in the creation of East Pakistan, this was a separate historical event. The specific partition made by Lord Curzon in 1905 was reversed in 1911.