I'm not at all aware of the history of Bengal itself beyond that the partition divided it up (as was the case with other states).
Considering East Pakistan wasn't referred to as East Bengal then I'm not sure why West Bengal was called West Bengal in the first place when states like Punjab didn't resort to calling themselves "East Punjab" after partition.
I don't see any reason not to drop the "West" now and call it just Bengal now.
Again, I have little to no knowledge on these matters.
Bengal was partitioned in 1905.
The
provincial state of Bengal had an area of 189,000 miles2 and a population of nearly 8
crores (80 million). It included the
Hindi-speaking regions of
Bihar, the
Odia-speaking regions of
Odisha as well as the
Assamese-speaking region of
Assam, making it a huge administrative entity. Moreover, the capital
Calcutta was the capital of the entire
British India. With the growing efforts of the
Indian National Congress to secure the independence of
India,
Lord Curzon decided to address both these problems by partitioning
Bengal into two entities, which would result in a Muslim-majority in the eastern half, and a Hindu-majority in the western half.
The Partition of Bengal in 1905 was made on October 16 by Viceroy Curzon. The former province of Bengal was divided into two new provinces "Bengal" (comprising western Bengal as well as the province of
Bihar and Orissa) and "East Bengal and Assam" with Dacca (
Dhaka) being the capital of the latter.
Partition was promoted for administrative reasons: Bengal was as large as France but with a significantly larger population. Curzon stated the eastern region was neglected and under-governed. By splitting the province, an improved administration could be established in the east, where subsequently, the population would benefit from new schools and employment opportunities.
The partition was generally supported by the Muslims of East Bengal. Their support was motivated by both their poor economic conditions in East Bengal, as well as the perceived dominance of the Hindu businessmen and landlords in West Bengal over the governance of Bengal. Most of the factories and mills in Bengal were established in and around Calcutta, while many sources of raw materials for these factories were in East Bengal. Furthermore, most of the educational institutions of the Province were situated in Calcutta – including the lone university in Bengal.
Due to these political protests, the two parts of Bengal were reunited in 1911. A new partition which divided the province on linguistic, rather than religious grounds followed, with the Hindi, Oriya and Assamese areas separated to form separate administrative units:
Bihar and Orissa Province was created to the west, and
Assam Province to the east. The administrative capital of
British India was moved from
Calcutta to
New Delhi as well.
@asad71 .. You may like to add to this please.
