Why a 1904 war with Russia would reshape later imperial politics

If the Dogger Bank Incident led to war with Russia, would later events such as the partition of Bengal unfold in the same way?

Probably not; wartime deployments through India and Afghanistan would alter the people, priorities, and political setting behind those later events.

War with Russia would redirect British deployments in and around India before later imperial disputes unfolded. The Indian Army might move through Afghanistan toward Russian territory, while troops and officials would be reassigned for wartime demands. Those changes in personnel and priorities make the historical sequence around Bengal and the wider empire a poor guide to the counterfactual.