Lesson 3/55 min
Bentinck to Canning: reforms and Dalhousie
Bentinck and the reforms and acts around his time
| Reform | Year |
|---|---|
| Ban on sati (4 December); helped by Raja Ram Mohan Roy | 1829 |
| Rs 1 lakh a year for Indian education (Charter Act) | 1813 |
| The Reform Act in England (voting reform) | 1832 |
| Charter Act: the Company becomes a political body; sovereignty rests with the English king; the ‘Governor-General of Bengal’ becomes ‘of India’; the Governor-General and council can make laws for all India | 1833 |
| Calcutta Medical College; Macaulay's education policy | 1835 |
| Calcutta Public Library | 1836 |
- Bentinck had been governor of Madras (1803–1807) and fought under the Duke of Wellington against Napoleon
- Lord Macaulay was the first law member of his council; the law commission under Macaulay drafted the first Indian Penal Code (enacted 1860)
- The 30-year Mahalwari settlement in the North-Western Provinces
- Colonel Sleeman suppressed the thugs (highway robbers)
- The head of the Bombay, Madras and Calcutta presidencies was called governor
Watch out: Khandokar's prints ‘Colonel Sleeman suppressed the Bargis’; Sleeman actually suppressed the thugs (head of the anti-thuggee department from 1835). The Bargis were the Maratha raiders of Alivardi's time.
Watch out: English in place of Persian: the books and exams say 1835 (Bentinck). Macaulay's Minute was on 2 February 1835 and the English Education Act on 7 March 1835; many sources say the courts and administration actually switched in 1837.
Auckland, Ellenborough, Hardinge
| Governor-general | Events |
|---|---|
| Auckland (1836–1842) | The First Anglo-Afghan War, a disaster for the British; a terrible famine in north India |
| Ellenborough (1842–1844) | (Khandokar's lists deputy magistrates, slavery and lotteries; not verified) |
| Hardinge (1844–1848) | 1846: Kashmir sold to Gulab Singh (Treaty of Amritsar, 16 March 1846); infanticide and human sacrifice stopped (Zubair) |
Watch out: Khandokar's puts the Kashmir sale to Gulab Singh under Auckland-Ellenborough; Zubair writes ‘Gopal Singh’ under Hardinge. According to the Treaty of Amritsar the buyer was Gulab Singh and the governor-general was Henry Hardinge.
Lord Dalhousie (1848–1856)
- Before taking charge in India he had been a member of the British cabinet
- His Doctrine of Lapse and imperial policy fed the sepoy revolt of 1857
- 1853: the first railway in India; the first line in Bengal opened in 1854 (Howrah–Hooghly)
- 1854: Charles Wood's education despatch; on its advice three universities were set up in 1857 (Calcutta, Bombay, Madras)
- The Ganges Canal (1854); he organised the Public Works Department (PWD); postage stamps in 1854
- The Widow Remarriage Act passed in 1856
- Jhansi and Meerut lie in Uttar Pradesh
Watch out: On railways the books give: rail 1853, Calcutta–Raniganj 1854. Banglapedia gives 1854 for rail reaching Bengal, with the Howrah–Hooghly line on 15 August 1854. Sources put the line to Raniganj at 1855 or 1857, so it is left out here.
Lord Canning (Governor-General 1856–1858, Viceroy 1858–1862)
- Governor-general during the sepoy revolt and the first Viceroy from 1858; Charles Wood was Secretary of State
- 1861: the Indian Councils Act, the Indian Civil Services Act and the Indian Police Act; the modern police system was first introduced (asked in the 35th BCS)
- High courts at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras: the Act is of 1861, the Calcutta High Court opened on 1 July 1862; Allahabad High Court 1866
- The Bengal Legislative Council, 1862
- The University of Calcutta was founded in 1857
- Paper money: the Paper Currency Act of 1861
Watch out: Both books say paper money 1857 and high courts 1861. The Paper Currency Act is of 1861; the Calcutta High Court's charter is 14 May 1862 and it opened on 1 July 1862 (the Act is of 1861).
Did you know?: Khandokar's also lists the Calcutta Medical College (1835) and removing the Mughal emperor's name from coins under Dalhousie; the medical college belongs to Bentinck's time (1835), so it is placed there.
Check yourself
Which of Dalhousie's policies fed the revolt of 1857?
At a glance
- 1
Bentinck: sati banned 4 December 1829; Charter Act 1833; Macaulay's education policy 1835.
- 2
By the Charter Act of 1833 the Governor-General of Bengal became Governor-General of India.
- 3
Hardinge 1846: Kashmir sold to Gulab Singh (16 March, Treaty of Amritsar).
- 4
Dalhousie 1848–1856: Doctrine of Lapse, railways (India 1853), Wood's despatch 1854, PWD.
- 5
Canning: first Viceroy; 1861 police, councils and civil service acts; Calcutta High Court opened 1862.