Tag: expansion of british power in india

Lord William Bentinck passed a regulation in 1829 to abolish combined hearing of civil court and criminal court. So, the four circuit courts established earlier at Dhaka, Calcutta, Patna and Murshidabad were abolished and he established Separate Sadar Diwani and Sadar Nizamat Adalat at Allahabad for upper provinces.

Sati pratha was made illegal in 1829 by Bengal Sati Regulation of 1829 under Governor Generalship of William Bentinck. Sati is a practice of burying alive the widows of Hindus. It was mainly due to fierce campaign and lobbying of Raja Rammohan Roy and others that sati practice was formally banned.

Lord Macaulay in his "Minute Upon Indian Education" argued that publication of books in Sanskrit and Arabic should be withdrawn, and support for religious institutions like madrassas should be reduced. Instead, the funds should be used to introduce western education. Lord William Bentinck's English Education Act of 1835 endorsed this minute.

To promote the use of the English language, Lord William Bentinck established Elphinstone College in Bombay in 1856.

Thomas Babington Macaulay, who is generally regarded as the architect of the system of education in India during the British rule, was a great essayist, historian, linguist, orator, politician, statesman and thinker. English was introduced by Lord Willaim Bentinck as a medium of higher education in India on the advice of Thomas Babington Macaulay who was also his council member. 

The first railway line in India was laid between Bombay and Thane in 1853. The 14-carriage train was hauled by three steam locomotives: Sahib, Sindh and Sultan. The line was built in 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge, which became the standard for railways in the country.