Q. Which one of the following was the most immediate factor for the spread of Swadeshi and boycott of foreign goods during the first decade of the last century?
(a) Curzon’s design to curtail the sphere of local self government.
(b) Curzon’s attempt to control the universities.
(c) Curzon’s Partition of Bengal.
(d) Curzon’s plan to curb the growing popularity of the Indian National Congress.
Ans: (c) Curzon’s Partition of Bengal.
Explanation: The most immediate factor for the spread of Swadeshi and boycott of foreign goods during the first decade of the last century was (c) Curzon’s Partition of Bengal. Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India, implemented the Partition of Bengal in 1905, which divided the Bengal Presidency into two separate entities, Bengal and Eastern Bengal and Assam. This act was seen as a strategy to weaken the nationalist movement and create divisions among the Hindus and Muslims in Bengal. The partition was met with widespread opposition and sparked a massive protest movement, with Indians embracing the Swadeshi (indigenous) movement and boycotting foreign goods as a means of asserting their nationalistic sentiments and protesting against the partition. The Swadeshi movement aimed at promoting the use of Indian-made products and boycotting British goods as a form of economic resistance and national solidarity.
