Eastern Bengal and Assam
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Eastern Bengal and Assam | |||||||||||||
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Province of British India | |||||||||||||
1905–1912 | |||||||||||||
Sir Charles Stuart Bayley | |||||||||||||
First Partition of Bengal | 16 October 1905 | ||||||||||||
• Creation of Bihar and Orissa Province and Assam Province | 21 March 1912 | ||||||||||||
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Today part of | Bangladesh India |
Eastern Bengal and Assam was a
.History
As early as 1868, the government saw the need for an independent administration in the eastern portion of the
The partition stoked controversy among Indian nationalists, who described it as an attempt to "
Geography
Eastern Bengal and Assam had a total area of 111,569 sq m and was situated between 20° 45' and 28° 17' N., and between 87° 48' and 97° 5' E. It was bounded by
Administration
The
The Eastern 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]
The
Shillong was the summer 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, including
Demographics
The population of Eastern Bengal and Assam was 30,961,459 in 1901.
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]
Economy
Eastern Bengal and Assam possessed one of the most fertile lands in the
Transportation
The two main rail lines in Eastern Bengal and Assam were the Eastern Bengal Railway and the Assam 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]
Military
The
Education
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%.
Legacy
The
The Assam Province became a part of the Union of India, and was eventually divided into several states for the States Reorganisation Act, 1956; these states include Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya, current-day Assam, Tripura and Manipur.
In modern times, Bangladesh and India have sought to revive British-era transport links. The
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e "Eastern Bengal and Assam - Encyclopedia". Theodora.com. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
- ^ a b c d "Eastern Bengal and Assam - Banglapedia". En.banglapedia.org. 5 May 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
- ^ Ilbert, Sir Courtenay Peregrine (1907). "Appendix II: Constitution of the Legislative Councils under the Regulations of November 1909", in The Government of India. Clarendon Press. pp. 432-5.
- ^ "Searching for Shillong - Wall Street International". Wsimag.com. 4 April 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
Further reading
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 830–831. This includes a detailed account of the events from 1903 to 1906, from a contemporaneous point of view.