kolkata an exhibition on partition of bengal banga bhanga 1905 has been made open to the public on tuesday which is being held at the art gallery of bhasha bhavan the national library it is part of the 75 years of azadi ka amrit mahotsav celebrations it was also on this day that in 1905 lord curzon the then viceroy of india announced the first partition of bengal which led to massive agitation including mass meetings rural unrest swadeshi and boycott movementsajay pratap singh director general of the national library said since lord curzon announced the division of bengal on july 19 1905 we have chosen this day to make the exhibition public it will be relevant for the people of bengal and kolkata and will showcase books photos maps and newspaper clippings on the first partition of bengal he added the purpose of this exhibition is to make citizens especially youngsters aware about the freedom movement and the specific sociopolitical situation of that period through literaturethe exhibition will remain open to the public from july 19 to august 12 between 10am and 530 pm the gallery space has been curated with books of history and literature photos newspaper clippings from the times of india the manchester guardian and others to give a glimpse of the history of the event focusing on instances of unity communal harmony and protests by citizens against the partitionthe clippings from newspapers in the gallery showed how the native community kept fast and mourning against the partition of bengal large number of hindus purified themselves by bathing in the ganges on the occasion of a grave calamity citizens patrolling the streets at three in the morning and mohammedan exchanging saffron coloured waistbands as a mark of friendship and unity episodes of laying foundation stone of federation hall of united bengal which was attended by more than 50000 people dearth of fish and vegetables in new market during midoctober efforts by swadeshi committee to keep shops shut and housetohouse visit by students who called themselves swadeshi volunteers are also highlighted in the exhibitionthere are old maps showing undivided bengal of 1899 and partitioned bengal in 1905 regular readers hailed the initiative though some found it surprising that tagores rakhi bandhan utsav was missing