State two reasons given by Lord Curzon to justify the Partition of Bengal.

(1) ADMINISTRATIVE CONVENIENCE — Bengal was too large to be governed efficiently by a single administration. With a population of about 78 million it was bigger than most European countries, and dividing it would improve the administration. (2) DEVELOPMENT OF THE EASTERN REGION — the eastern districts had been neglected, and Curzon argued that a separate province with its own capital at Dacca would bring them better government, education and trade.

Read the question with care: it asks for CURZON’S OWN stated reasons, not for the nationalist view of his real motive. Answering "to divide Hindus and Muslims" would miss the question entirely — that is what the NATIONALISTS said, and it is asked as a separate question in other years. You may add in one closing line that the nationalists rejected these justifications, but the marks here are for Curzon’s case.