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UPSC CSE Prelims 2014 · GS paper

The Partition of Bengal made by Lord Curzon in 1905 lasted until

A question from UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2014, General Studies, explained with its sources.

Prelims 2014 · archive

Easy

The Partition of Bengal made by Lord Curzon in 1905 lasted until

Answer & explanation

Answer: (b) King George V abrogated Curzon's Act at the Royal Durbar in Delhi in 1911

The 1905 partition was undone in 1911, not later. King George V announced it at the Delhi Durbar in December 1911, and the capital was shifted from Calcutta to Delhi at the same time. The other options name events that came years later.

  • ✗ (a) The partition had already been annulled in 1911. The First World War began in 1914, so it could not have ended the partition.
  • ✓ (b) At the Delhi Durbar on 12 December 1911, King George V announced the annulment of the partition. Bihar was also announced as a separate province, and the formal separation followed in April 1912.
  • ✗ (c) Gandhiji's Civil Disobedience Movement began in 1930, nearly two decades after the partition was annulled.
  • ✗ (d) The 1947 Partition of India was a different event. Curzon's 1905 partition of Bengal had already been annulled in 1911.

Remember · Curzon's partition of Bengal (October 1905) was annulled at the Delhi Durbar on 12 December 1911. Bihar was separated from Bengal in 1912, and the capital moved to Delhi.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 8 Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 2), Ch 2 (practise this chapter)

Sources

Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2014, General Studies paper. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 25 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·

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