Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

  From 1900 to 1947 there were various types of movements in the Indian subcontinent, some local and others national. Two political parties became prominent: the Congress and the Muslim League. These two political parties became the symbol of hopes and aspirations of the ordinary people, particularly the Hindu and the Muslim middle class. The Communist Party of India (CPI) also flourished in this period and became strong in the 1930s and 1940s. In particular the CPI organized the movement of the peasants and workers. The influence of the national movements also affected eastern Bengal or Bangladesh. Prominent among these movements were the Swadeshi , which emphasized production and consumption of indigenous goods and rejection of British goods, Non-cooperation , the Khilafat , and the Pakistan movement. Many of the armed resistance or “terrorist” movements starting from 1900 to 1930 took place in East Bengal. Perhaps the most dramatic was the struggle over the partition of Bengal (1905–11). Prior to 1905 Bengal meant a large part of India. The area of present Bangladesh or East Bengal, and several states of present India, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, and West Bengal, were all within the territory of the Bengal Presidency. The size of this unit of land became a hindrance to proper administration. Plans for limiting the area of Bengal started with the creation of the post of ... log in or subscribe to read full text