East Bengal was the name used during two periods in the 20th century for a territory that roughly included the modern state of Bangladesh. Both instances involved the violent partition of Bengal. For the breed of cat, see Bengal cat; for the tiger, see Bengal Tiger; for the American football franchise , see Cincinnati Bengals Bengal (Banga, Bangla, Bangadesh, or Bangladesh in Bengali) comprises a region in the northeast of the Indian subcontinent, today divided between the independent country of Bangladesh and the...

First Partition, 1905-1912

The first instance of the name was during the British rule of India. British governance of large swathes of Indian territory began with Robert Clive's victory over the nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-Daula, at the Battle of Plassey in 1757. The victory gave the British East India Company dominion over Bengal, which became the headquarters of British administration in the sub-continent. After the Indian rebellion of 1857 (known as the "Mutiny"), the British government took direct control away from the East India Co., and established its imperial capital at Calcutta, the city founded by the Company. By 1900, the British province of Bengal constituted a huge territory, stretching from the Burmese border to deep into the Ganges valley. Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive Another Robert Clive was formerly British ambassador to Japan. ... For the breed of cat, see Bengal cat; for the tiger, see Bengal Tiger; for the American football franchise , see Cincinnati Bengals Bengal (Banga, Bangla, Bangadesh, or Bangladesh in Bengali) comprises a region in the northeast of the Indian subcontinent, today divided between the independent country of Bangladesh and the... Siraj-ud-daulah acquired much notoriety both among the British and the Indians. ... The Battle of Plassey was a battle that took place in June 1757, at Plassey (pronounced Palashee, in Bengali ), a small village between Calcutta and Murshidabad. ... The British East India Company, sometimes referred to as John Company, was a joint-stock company of investors, which was granted a Royal Charter by Elizabeth I on December 31, 1600, with the intent to favor trade privileges in India. ... 1857–1858 was a period of armed uprising and rebellions in northern and central India against British colonial rule on the subcontinent. ... Kolkata (Bengali: কলকাতা), formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, and once the most-populated city in India, although now overtaken by Mumbai (Bombay). ... The River Ganges (Ganga in Indian languages) is a major river in northern India. ...

With the assumption of Lord Curzon to the office of Governor-General of India, British India was finally put under the charge of a man who considered himself an expert in Indian affairs. Curzon, seeing the logistical problems of adminstering such a large province, proposed to divide Bengal. Bengal, henceforth, would encompass Calcutta and the western territories, roughly comprising modern West Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa. East Bengal, the new province, would roughly encompass modern Bangladesh and the northeastern states of India (then all grouped under the heading of Assam). George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston (January 11, 1859 - March 20, 1925), was a conservative British statesman and sometime Viceroy of India. ... The Governor-General of India (or Governor-General and Viceroy of India) was the head of the British administration in India. ... West Bengal (পশ্চিম বঙ্গ, Pôščim Bôngô) is a state in the northeast of India. ... Bihar (बिहार in Devanagri) is a state situated in the eastern part of India. ... Orissa (ଓଡ଼ିଶା) is a state situated in the east coast of India. ... Assam (অসম) is a northeastern state of India with its capital at Dispur. ...

While Curzon claimed the action was one merely founded upon administrative principles, the growing nationalist movement, which originated with the educated elite of Calcutta and the Bengali aristocracy, took the action as an attempt to cut off Bengal's Hindu intellectual leaders (based in Calcutta) from the majority Muslim agriculturalists of the east, dividing the nationalist movement along lines of class and religion. The partition of Bengal, effected in July 1905, sparked a firestorm in the nationalist movement. The partition was revoked in 1912, but it was accompanied by slicing off the non-Bengali portions of the province -- creating separate provinces for Assam and Bihar and Orissa -- and the shifting of the capital from Calcutta to Delhi. Assam (অসম) is a northeastern state of India with its capital at Dispur. ... Bihar (बिहार in Devanagri) is a state situated in the eastern part of India. ... Orissa (ଓଡ଼ିଶା) is a state situated in the east coast of India. ... Delhi (दिल्ली or Dillī in Hindi and Bengali and دیلی in Urdu) is a term that refers to either the State of Delhi or the National Capital Territory (NCT) of the Republic of India. ...

Second Partition, 1947-present

In 1947, as part of the Partition of India, Bengal was divided into two states -- the majority-Hindu portion became the Indian state of West Bengal, and the majority-Muslim portion became the Pakistani province of East Bengal. In 1955, the government of Pakistan eliminated the provinces and changed the name of East Bengal to East Pakistan. The Liberation War of Bangladesh resulted in creation of the independent state of Bangladesh from the province of East Pakistan. The Partition of India was the process by which British dependencies and treaty states in the Indian subcontinent were granted independence in the 1940s. ... East Pakistan, which is now Bangladesh, was the eastern half of Pakistan, created from the eastern half of the Bengal region of British India in 1947. ... The Bangladesh Liberation War (two other names are also used occasionally) refers to an approximately nine month long armed conflict between current day Pakistan and Bangladesh. ...