Lord William Bentinck (1828-1835): Reforms, Legacy and More

In the history of colonial India, Lord William Bentinck’s tenure as Governor-General from 1828 to 1835 holds a significant place. He became the Governor-General of India during the Charter Act of 1833. Inspired by Jeremy Bentham’s promoted utilitarianism ideology and considering the overall welfare of India and Indians, he undertook various social and political reforms for the benefit of every Indian. The seven years of Lord William Bentinck’s rule in the history of British imperialism in India was termed as “Peaceful Interlude.” Moreover, his period is considered as the “Age of Reforms.”

During his predecessors, Governor-General Lord Wellesley, Hastings, and Amherst’s time, and during his successors, Auckland, Ellenborough, Hardinge, and Lord Dalhousie’s time, the British Empire expanded over vast territories in India. However, William Bentinck’s period was not memorable for empire expansion or diplomacy. Nevertheless, he remains famous in Indian history for his administrative reforms. Though he did not expand the British Empire in India, he consolidated imperial rule through various reforms. Below is a discussion of various reformative activities of Lord Bentinck.

Lord William Bentinck: Reforms Inspired by Jeremy Bentham and Utilitarian Philosophy

• Lord William Bentinck came to India as Governor-General in 1820. He was closely associated with the Whig Party, which is often aligned with liberal ideologies. Bentinck believed that reforms were necessary in India’s administration, judiciary, and other areas. At this time, Jeremy Bentham’s Utilitarian Philosophy had a significant influence among English intellectuals. Lord Bentinck was also a believer in this Utilitarian Philosophy.
• Basically, Utilitarianism means working towards providing the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people, alleviating suffering and misery, and promoting welfare. This ideology was developed by Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, John Austin, and others. Influenced by this ideology of Jeremy Bentham, Bentinck stated that the government had a moral responsibility towards Indians for India’s development.

Lord William Bentinck Reforms

During his seven-year rule from 1828 to 1835 AD, Lord William Bentinck implemented several reforms in various fields, as discussed below.

Economic Reforms

• The main objective of Lord William Bentinck’s economic reforms was to reduce government expenditure. During William Bentinck’s time, according to the Charter Act, the East India Company’s previous charter was coming to an end. The Court of Directors in London fully supported Lord William Bentinck’s cost-cutting policy so that members of Parliament would not criticize the company for its financial crisis when the new Charter was to be adopted. Keeping cost reduction in mind, he stopped the extra allowances of the military.
• He ordered that troops stationed within 400 miles of Calcutta receive half their regular allowance. Additionally, he stopped salary increases for all levels of company employees. As a result of these measures, the company’s income increased by 15 lakh pounds per year. When extending the company’s charter according to the Charter Act of 1833, Parliament did not impose any new economic restrictions on the company. Though there was a tendency towards mutiny in the military due to the reduction in allowances, he suppressed it with a firm hand.

You can also read about Charter Act 1813: Its Purpose, Background, Features

Land Revenue Reforms

• Lord William Bentinck also took several important steps in land revenue reforms. He brought lands that were illegally shown as tax-free directly under the company’s revenue. During Lord William Bentinck’s time, a well-organized land revenue system was first established in regions like Allahabad, Varanasi, etc. Under Bentinck’s direction, RM Bird, the Land Secretary of Uttar Pradesh, introduced the 30-year Mahalwari Settlement in that region. Under this system, farmers were given land rights through land surveys, and zamindars were given the responsibility of collecting overall revenue from villages or mahals. His land revenue settlement was supported by England’s Utilitarian group. Although Lord Bentinck’s ninth regulation increased the company’s revenue income, farmers did not benefit much as the revenue rate was quite high. Farmers had to give two-thirds of their crops as revenue. Even James Mill suggested increasing land revenue to reduce trade duties. During this time, Lord William Bentinck brought the opium trade under control and established duty collection systems to increase company revenue.

Educational Reforms

• Lord William Bentinck’s period also made significant contributions to the history of education in colonial India. His reign is memorable for determining British India’s education policy. During his time, there was intense debate between Anglicists and Orientalists regarding India’s education policy. Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Lord Macaulay, Alexander Duff, and other Anglicists advocated for the spread of education in India through the English medium. They wanted Indians to become progressive by studying modern Western philosophy, science, and literature. On the other hand, Orientalists wanted Sanskrit and Persian languages to be the medium of education in India, not English. James Prinsep was the proponent of this view.
• In 1835, Thomas Babington Macaulay, the law member of the Governor General’s Council, presented his famous ‘Macaulay’s Minute’ to Governor General Lord William Bentinck. In this ‘Macaulay’s Minute,’ he provided a sharp logical explanation in favour of English language education. William Bentinck himself was a supporter of spreading Western education in India. In the regulation of March 7, 1835, Bentinck recognized English as the official language. He also stated that government funds allocated for education would be spent on English education.

Administrative Reforms

• Lord William Bentinck’s administrative reforms were also notable. Until then, the company’s government followed the administrative practices introduced by Lord Cornwallis. Lord William Bentinck made the first significant changes to Lord Cornwallis’s administrative system. A new administrative plan was created centered around a class of officials called “commissioners.” He created divisions comprising several districts for supervising and properly managing the work of district collectors and district officials. Commissioners were given complete authority and responsibility for managing each division. This system increased the sense of responsibility in district administration.
• Provincial appeal courts and police superintendent positions were abolished. Their responsibilities were assigned to the commissioners. Besides these tasks, commissioners had to supervise the work of magistrates, collectors, and judges of districts under their division. However, one person couldn’t fulfil so many responsibilities.
• Therefore, in 1831, some changes were made. District judges were relieved from administrative responsibilities, and some new positions were created. District administration responsibilities were divided among judges, collectors, and magistrates. Relatively young and inexperienced civil servants were appointed to help these officials in district administration. They all performed administrative duties under the supervision of the Divisional Commissioner.
• William Bentinck further divided districts into several subdivisions. Joint magistrates were responsible for managing the subdivisions. Indians were appointed to positions like Deputy Magistrate and Deputy Collector. The right to appeal to Calcutta’s Sadar Diwani Court was recognized for those dissatisfied with Sadar Amin’s judgement.
• Lord William Bentinck took important steps regarding Indians in government service. During Lord Cornwallis’s time, it was ruled that no Indian could be appointed to positions with salaries of 500 pounds or more, claiming that Indians were naturally corrupt and work-averse. However, during Lord William Bentinck’s time, the policy of preventing Indians from reaching high positions was abolished, and it was stated that Indians would now be appointed to positions like deputy collector, deputy magistrate, Sadar Amin, etc.
• Through his initiative, Article 87 was added to the Charter Act of 1833, which stated that the company would not discriminate in employee recruitment based on race, caste, or religion; qualification would be the criterion for appointment. However, Liberalism or Utilitarianism ideals did not inspire Lord William Bentinck to take these steps. His goal was to reduce company expenses. He knew that Indian employees could be recruited at much lower salaries compared to European employees. In the bureaucratic structure as well, he wanted to utilize the colony’s cheap labour. From this perspective, he abandoned Cornwallis’s policy of prejudice and distrust towards Indian employees.

Judicial Reforms

• In his judicial reforms, Lord William Bentinck tried considerably to give shape to modern ideology. He compiled Indian criminal law codes. Until then, Faujdari (Criminal Court) cases were conducted through Customary Muslim Law and regulations declared by governors-general. However, these laws were often contradictory. When Macaulay joined as the law member of the Governor General’s Council in the Charter Act of 1833, Bentinck formed a law commission under his chairmanship. This law commission, under Macaulay’s initiative, created the Indian Penal Code on 6th October 1860. This Penal Code was recognized as the guiding text for resolving Indian Faujdari cases.
• For speedy trials, Bentinck abolished Cornwallis’s circuit criminal courts and provincial appeal courts, giving regular court status to village courts. District judges were renamed ‘Sessions Judge’ and were given responsibility for both Diwani (Civil Court) and Faujdari (Criminal Court) cases. Along with appointing Indians for civil case judgements, their salaries and positions were elevated. Local languages replaced Persian in lower courts, while the English language was established for conducting business in higher courts. For convenience, he established Sadar Diwani and Sadar Nizamat courts in Allahabad.

Other Reforms

• Besides the above reforms, due to his progressive reformist thinking, Lord William Bentinck abolished internal transit duties in India in 1835. He also encouraged steam vessel navigation on rivers and seas. He encouraged the establishment of tea gardens for tea and coffee production. He tried to improve irrigation systems to increase agricultural production. He prohibited corporal punishment by caning in the Indian army. Similarly, William Bentinck declared the abandonment of children at Gangasagar as a punishable offence.

Lord William Bentinck’s Social Reforms

• As a follower of Utilitarian Philosophy, Lord William Bentinck did not hesitate to support Indian social reform movements. Until William Bentinck, governors-general had maintained “beneficial indifference” towards the Indian social reform and education system. However, he believed that the social and cultural development of Indians was the company’s moral responsibility. Therefore, he supported Raja Ram Mohan Roy’s anti-sati movement. Giving importance to the petition signed by distinguished individuals to stop sati, he implemented the ‘Bengal Sati Regulation of 1829,’ also known as ‘Regulation XVII of 1829.’
• Another achievement of Lord William Bentinck was the suppression of Thuggees. Thuggees were a highly organized and dangerous gang of bandits. This group included people from both Hindu and Muslim communities. Thuggees worshipped Kali and committed robbery under religious disguise. Thuggees had become active in North and Central India, and they terrorized vast areas by looting travellers and merchants. Many zamindars were involved in their activities. The Pindari War and the Anglo-Maratha War created extreme anarchy in the region, resulting in the Thuggee increasing their influence. Their menace had hindered the progress of trade and commerce in that area and compromised the security of common people. In 1829, Lord William Bentinck opened a special department under William Henry Sleeman’s leadership to suppress the Thuggees and later passed the Thuggee and Dacoity Suppression Acts (1836-1848). Sleeman performed this responsibility efficiently, and after arresting about 1500 Thuggees and giving them death sentences or imprisonment according to their crimes, the Thuggee bandits were soon suppressed.

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