The partition of Bengal was first thought in 1903. Additional proposals were also made to merge the districts of and Dhaka and with Bengal and Similarly Chota Nagpur was also to be merged with the Central Province. In 1903 itself the 19th session of the Congress was also held in On the same occasion its Chairman Mr. in his address criticized the reactionary policy of the government reported impending disillusionment on an all-India platform. He said that such a conspiracy is going on. The government officially published the idea in January of 1904 and in February made official visits to assess the public opinion on the partition in the eastern districts of Bengal. He consulted with prominent personalities and made speeches in Dhaka, Chittagong and Mamansingh to try to explain the governments stand on Partition. who was the Chief Commissioner of Assam from 1896 to 1902 opposed the idea. Speaking from the post of Chairman at the next session of the Congress, Sir Henry Cotton also said that if there is an excuse that such a large province cannot be handled by a governor, then either the governing council of Bengal, like Bombay and Madras, will be in the vicinity of the Governor or Bengali. A province should be formed after separating the languages. and were also included in the Bengal province in those days. But the British government neither cared for Congress nor did it hold public opinion. The then Viceroy and Governor General Lord Curzon tried to convince the people in the Land Holders Association or Zamindar Sabha that vangabhang would only benefit. He himself went to East Bengal as well, but none other than a handful of Muslims supported this proposal. The then Nawab of Dhaka, reputed among the Muslims also opposed it in the first charge. In 1905 Bengal was partitioned on 16 October by Lord Curzon, the then Voice Rai of India. Partition was promoted for administrative purposes, Bengal being almost as large as France with a population much larger than France. It was thought that the eastern region was neglected and not properly governed. With the division of the province, better administration could be established in the eastern region so that the people there would eventually benefit from school and employment opportunities. However other motives were also hidden behind the plan of partition. Bengali Hindus were pioneers in the political movement for greater participation in governance, so now their position was weakened due to the increase in the supremacy of the Muslims in the past. Both Hindus and Muslims opposed the partition. After partition however the anti British movement prevailed at almost a national level including non-violent and violent protests.