V. G. Kiernan’s scientific contributions

... The Division of Bengal in 1905 is widely regarded as one of the earliest and most prominent examples of the Divide and Rule policy in practice. While the British officially justified the partition as an administrative necessity to improve governance, scholars such as Sumit Sarkar (1983) argue that it was a deliberate attempt to fragment the Bengali Hindu and Muslim communities, thereby neutralising their unified nationalist resistance. Although the partition was reversed in 1911 following widespread protests, it left a deep and lasting rift between the two communities, further polarising their socio-political dynamics and sowing seeds of mistrust. ...

Reference:

Divide and Rule: How British Policies Contributed to Communal Tensions in India