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10 - A New Dawn? The Era of Lord William Bentinck 1828–1835

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 February 2013

Penelope Carson
Affiliation:
King's College, London
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Summary

Christians and Legislators in their zeal are too often blind to their own intolerance.

(William Bentinck)

BY THE END of the 1820s, a new imperial vision was gaining ground in which ‘young men in a hurry’ wanted to sweep away the old ways of doing things in order to bring a new, progressive order to India. The belief of Malcolm and Munro that India needed to be ruled as far as possible in an Indian idiom was anathema to the new breed of official, who argued that Indian society was so corrupt that only the introduction of Western institutions, morals and culture could remedy the situation. Evangelicals in Britain and India continued to press the Company and the Government to legislate for India on the basis of Christian morality. Evangelicalism and reform seemed to be united in the person of the new Governor-General, Lord William Bentinck, who was appointed in 1828. Bentinck arrived in India with little time for ‘old-India hands’ and intended to preside over the redemption of India via a series of reforms. He wanted India opened to more Europeans who, he believed, would build a ‘community of faith and language’, which would bind Britain and India together. Missionaries awaited Bentinck's arrival with the hope that at last they would be able not only to go about their work unhindered by Government but also with its positive support. Anglicans hoped he would improve the standing of the Church in India. The stage seemed set for the dawning of a new era.

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Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
Print publication year: 2012

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