Archive · 28 Aug 2026
How Tagore Used Rakhi to Resist Bengal’s Partition
In 1905, the British decided to split Bengal into two parts.
Many people believed the plan would separate Hindus and Muslims.
Poet Rabindranath Tagore wanted people to stand together instead.
He used Rakhi, a thread traditionally exchanged by siblings, as a sign of friendship and unity.
On the day the partition began, people tied yellow threads on one another’s wrists.
Tagore led a procession through Kolkata and visited Muslim neighbourhoods.
People also sang songs about their shared home, Bengal.
These actions became part of the movement against British rule.
The British later cancelled the partition in 1911.
In 1905, Lord Curzon announced Bengal’s partition, creating Muslim-majority Eastern Bengal and Assam and Hindu-majority Western Bengal.
Rabindranath Tagore reimagined Rakshabandhan as a public symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity.
On October 16, 1905, Tagore called for mourning and urged people to tie yellow threads to one another’s wrists.
Tagore led a procession through Kolkata’s Muslim neighbourhoods, visiting mosques, markets and homes while singing patriotic songs.
The Rakhi-centered solidarity became a symbol of the Swadeshi movement, and the partition was annulled in 1911.
- Who
- Rabindranath Tagore, along with Hindus and Muslims in Bengal, led a campaign of solidarity against the British partition plan.
- What
- Rakhi was transformed from a family ritual into a public symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity and resistance to Bengal’s partition.
- When
- The partition took effect on October 16, 1905, and was annulled in 1911.
- Where
- The movement was highlighted in Kolkata and also involved marches in Dhaka and Sylhet.
- Why
- The British partition was presented as administrative restructuring but was described as dividing Bengal along religious lines and weakening its nationalist movement.
- Partition announced by
- Lord Curzon
- Partition date
- October 16, 1905
- Administrative result
- Eastern Bengal and Assam became Muslim-majority, while Western Bengal became Hindu-majority.
- Rakhi symbol
- A yellow silk thread representing an unbreakable bond between Hindus and Muslims.
- Tagore’s song
- “Banglar Mati, Banglar Jol,” meaning “Soil of Bengal, Water of Bengal.”
- Movement associated
- The Swadeshi movement.
- Partition annulled
- 1911