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| Eastern Bengal and Assam | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Province of British India | |||||||||||||
| 1905–1912 | |||||||||||||
 Coat of arms | |||||||||||||
 Eastern Bengal and Assam in 1907, bordered byBengal,Nepal,Bhutan,Burma andTibet | |||||||||||||
| Capital | Dacca | ||||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||||
| Lieutenant-Governor | |||||||||||||
• 1905–1906 | Sir Bampfylde Fuller | ||||||||||||
• 1911–1912 | Sir Charles Stuart Bayley | ||||||||||||
| Legislature | Legislative Council | ||||||||||||
| Historical era | New Imperialism | ||||||||||||
| 16 October 1905 | |||||||||||||
• Creation ofBihar and Orissa Province andAssam Province | 21 March 1912 | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Today part of | Bangladesh India | ||||||||||||
Eastern Bengal and Assam was aprovince of British India between 1905 and 1912. Headquartered in the city ofDacca, it covered territories in what are nowBangladesh,Northeast India andNorthern West Bengal.
As early as 1868, the government saw the need for an independent administration in the eastern portion of theBengal Presidency. They felt thatFort William inCalcutta, the capital of British India, was already overburdened. By 1903, it dawned on the government on the necessity of partitioning Bengal and creating prospects for Assam's commercial expansion. It was promised to increase investment in education and jobs in the new province called Eastern Bengal and Assam.[1]
Lord Curzon, theViceroy of India, proposed thePartition of Bengal and put it into effect on 16 October 1905. Dacca, the former Mughal capital of Bengal, regained its status as aseat of government. SirBampfylde Fuller was the province's first Lieutenant Governor. He served for a year in office, and resigned in 1906 after disagreements withLord Minto and pressure from theBritish Parliament. He was succeeded bySir Lancelot Hare (1906–1911), who in turn was succeeded bySir Charles Stuart Bayley (1911–1912).
The partition stoked controversy among Indian nationalists, who described it as an attempt to "divide and rule" the Bengali homeland.[2] The merchant class in Calcutta also feared losing their economic influence in the region. In 1906, theAll India Muslim League was formed in Dacca during theAll India Muhammadan Educational Conference, as a response to rising Hindu nationalism. This in turn sparked the creation of theAll India Hindu Mahasabha. At theDelhi Durbar in 1911, King-EmperorGeorge V announced that the British government had decided to annul the partition. This move was seen as an appeasement of hardlinecommunal forces. Eastern Bengal was reunited with western Bengali districts, and Assam was made a chief commissioner's province.
Eastern Bengal and Assam had a total area of 111,569 sq miles and was situated between 20° 45' and 28° 17' N., and between 87° 48' and 97° 5' E. It was bounded byTibet and theKingdom of Bhutan to the north,British Burma to the east and theBay of Bengal to the south. Within these limits, were the princely states ofHill Tippera,Cooch Behar andManipur.
TheViceroy represented theBritish monarch and theLieutenant Governor was the chief administrator. Dacca was the provincial capital, with the Legislative Council and the High Court. Five commissioners acted under the Lieutenant Governor.
TheEastern Bengal and Assam Legislative Council was composed of 40 members. Elected councillors included representatives of municipalities, district boards, Muslim electorates, the landowning gentry, the tea industry, the jute industry and the Port of Chittagong. Nominated members included government officials, educationists and commercial leaders.[3]
TheHigh Court of Dacca was subordinate to theJudicial Committee of the Privy Council in London.
Shillong was thesummer capital of Eastern Bengal and Assam.[4]
There were 4 administrative divisions in the province, including the Assam Valley Division, Chittagong Division, Dacca Division, Rajshahi Division and the Surma Valley Division. There were a total of 30 districts, includingDacca,Mymensingh,Faridpur andBackergunge in Dacca Division,Tippera,Noakhali,Chittagong and theHill Tracts in Chittagong Division,Rajshahi,Darjeeling,Dinajpur,Jalpaiguri,Rangpur,Bogra,Pabna,Malda in Rajshahi Division,Sylhet,Cachar, theKhasi and Jaintia Hills, theNaga Hills and theLushai Hills in Surma Valley Division, andGoalpara,Kamrup, theGaro Hills,Darrang,Nowgong,Sibsagar andLakhimpur in Assam Valley Division.[1]
Coach Behar fell under the jurisdiction of Rajshahi Division,Hill Tripura under Chittagong Division andManipur under the Assam Valley Division. The provincial government in Dacca also managed relations with theKingdom of Bhutan.
The population of Eastern Bengal and Assam was 30,961,459 in 1901.[1] The densely populated districts in East Bengal and the Surma and Brahmaputra Valleys were home toIndo-Aryan ethnic groups, including theBengalis (27,272,895) and theAssamese (1,349,784).[1] Hill districts were home to a predominantlyTibeto-Burman population, including groups like theTripuri peopleTiprasa,Chakmas,Mizos,Nagas,Garos andBodos. There were 18,036,688Muslims and 12,036,538Hindus.[1] The remainder includedBuddhists,Christians andanimists.
With reference to the census in 1911, the population of Dhaka was 21% higher than that of 1906, when it was made the capital of the newly formed state.[2]
Eastern Bengal and Assam possessed one of the most fertile lands in theBritish Empire. The eastern Bengal delta was therice basket of the Indian subcontinent. It produced 80% of the world'sjute, and dominated supply in the once thriving globaljute trade. The Assam andSylhet Valleys were home to the largesttea plantations in the world, and became famous for producing high-qualityAssam tea. The province was also a center of thepetroleum industry, due tocrude oil production in Assam. ThePort of Chittagong began to flourish ininternational trade, and was connected to its hinterland by theAssam Bengal Railway.Shipbuilding was a major activity in coastal Bengal, and catered to the British naval and merchant fleets.Dyeing industries were set up in several districts, particularly inPabna and Dhaka.
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The two main rail lines in Eastern Bengal and Assam were theEastern Bengal Railway and theAssam Bengal Railway. The port city of Chittagong was the main rail terminus, as routes connected the interior hinterland with the main regional maritime gateway. Railways were vital for the export of tea, jute and petroleum.
A number of new ferry services were introduced connecting Chittagong, Dhaka, Bogra, Dinajpur, Rangpur, Jalpaiguri, Maldah and Rajshahi. This improved communication network created a positive impact on overall economy, boosting trade and commerce. Newly built highways connected the inaccessible areas of Assam and the Chittagong Hill Tracts. All district capitals were connected by an inter-district road network.[2]
TheBritish Indian Army had cantonments in Dacca, Chittagong, Shillong, Comilla and Gauhati. TheAssam Rifles guarded the eastern frontier of the province, while theGurkha regiments and the Bengal Military Police patrolled northern borders.
Within its short lifespan, the Provincial Education Department promoted a significant expansion and improvement of higher education. Persian, Sanskrit, mathematics, history and algebra were among different disciplines introduced in the college level curriculum. Female colleges were established in each district. School enrollment increased by 20%.[2] A committee was formed for the creation of theUniversity of Dacca, which was established later in 1921, and came to be known as the "Oxford of the East".
Thefirst partition of Bengal created a precedent for thesecond partition of Bengal.Bengal was partitioned again in 1947, making Muslim-majority districts a part ofPakistan. Later renamedEast Pakistan, the region gained independence as the country ofBangladesh in 1971.[citation needed]
TheAssam Province became a part of theUnion of India, and was eventually divided into several states for theStates Reorganisation Act, 1956; these states includeNagaland,Mizoram,Meghalaya,current-day Assam,Tripura andManipur.
In modern times, Bangladesh and India have sought to revive British-era transport links. TheBBIN Initiative has taken shape to promote economic integration and development in the region. The Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar (BCIM) grouping also seeks to stimulate economic growth in this Asian sub-region.[citation needed]
23°42′00″N90°21′00″E / 23.7000°N 90.3500°E /23.7000; 90.3500
