Which colonial administrator made the following declaration about the partition of Bengal in 1904 ? “Bengal united is a power. Bengal divided will pull in different ways. That is perfectly true and one of the merits of the scheme”

The statement "Bengal united is a power. Bengal divided will pull in different ways" was made by Herbert Hope Risley (H. H. Risley), who served as the Home Secretary to the Government of India under Lord Curzon [2]. While Lord Curzon was the Viceroy who officially announced the Partition of Bengal in 1905 for administrative convenience [1], the internal notes and correspondence of the colonial administration revealed a deeper political motive. Risley's 1904 note explicitly stated that the merit of the partition scheme lay in its ability to weaken the consolidated political influence of the Bengali intelligentsia [2]. By dividing the province, the British aimed to diminish the growing nationalist strength centered in Calcutta and create a communal rift, thereby ensuring that the different regions would 'pull in different ways' rather than acting as a unified force against British rule [2].

Sources

1. [2] https://ir.nbu.ac.in/bitstreams/3e0ef0a0-2de3-4750-a7bd-4a1ac3b8d23b/download
2. [1] Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 12: Era of Militant Nationalism (1905-1909) > Partition of Bengal to Divide People > p. 261