The partition of Bengal by Lord Curzon in 1905 incited mass protests, where for the first time women from all sections of society- and not just the elite middle class participated enthusiastically. The Bengal protests marked the beginning of large scale women’s participation in the nationalist struggle as well as the birth of popular figures and narratives used for mobilisation throughout the movement.
Reaction to Partition
Lord Curzon announced the partition on 19 July 1905 in an attempt to strangle nationalism in Bengal. In the six-month period before the partition was to be effected, the Congress arranged meetings to collect petitions that were submitted to largely indifferent authorities. British goods were boycotted from August, and Partition Day was observed on October 16, the day when the partition was implemented.
Women participated in rakhi-bandhan to symbolise brotherhood and arandhan, a rite of mourning where hearths were not lit. Five hundred women watched the laying of the foundation stone of the Federation Hall at Calcutta, while others organised protest meetings and swadeshi melas where they sold indigenous goods.
Women participation in Societies
Women helped circulate revolutionary leaflets and literature, and maintained liaisons between revolutionary societies. They contributed money and jewellery, as well as held meetings of their own. A prominent women nationalist of the time was Sister Nivedita, who toured famine-stricken villages to do relief work. When Swami Vivekananda’s revolutionary brother was arrested, she held a Ladies’ meeting, presented his mother with an address of honour signed by two hundred women and collected funds for his legal expenses.
Rural Activity
Notably, women from villages contributed as well, in Barisal women handed over their savings to the Swadesh Bandhab Samiti; in Khulan, they smashed foreign bangles. This transformation can be attributed to the gradual efforts of reform movements as well as active attempts by nationalist leaders to include women.
Religious Narratives
Religion was harnessed to stir nationalist fervour: The Brata Katha, intending to convey the swadeshi message in village women describes how the goddess of fortune, tired of communal disharmony between Hindus and Muslims nearly left Bengal, but stayed due to Husam Shah and Akbar’s tolerant policies. Now, as Bengal was being divided she once again was on the verge of leaving, but could be made to stay if women vowed to abstain from foreign goods.
Bharatmata
This period also saw the birth and popularisation of the figure of Bharatmata, coined by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in his 1882 novel Anandmath. Bharatmata, the ultimate mother with all Indians as her sons and daughters called upon her countless children to come to her aid. The deified image of the mother became a favourite theme of Indian nationalism, embodying India itself, and Vande Mataram, a hymn to the motherland became the anthem of the movement.
Narratives of Militant groups
The Bengal partition protests were not uniformly peaceful. As the struggle continued, a large part of it went underground and employed terrorist activities to pressure the government. Militant activity was popular among younger nationalists, and several assassination attempts were made on the lives of officials such as Sir Andrew Fraser.
Revolutionary and militant groups employed the iconography of Kali and Durga and the intertwining of Shakti and nationalism only became more prevalent in coming years. The symbolic representations of women in nationalism legitimised their place in the movement and allowed them to emerge as active participants.
Written by: Devi Sankhla
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