Lord William Bentinck

Bentinck implemented financial reforms to reduce the East India Company's debt, including cutting military and administrative expenses. He abolished the practice of double batta (extra allowance) for officers and reduced the salaries of civil servants. These measures stabilized the Company's finances but caused resentment among British officials.

Lord William Bentinck, as Governor-General of India, passed Regulation XVII in December 1829, banning the practice of sati (widow immolation) throughout British India. The reform was supported by Indian reformers like Raja Ram Mohan Roy and faced opposition from conservative Hindus. It marked a major social reform in British India.

Bentinck launched a campaign to suppress the Thuggee cult, a network of organized criminals who robbed and murdered travelers. Under the direction of William Sleeman, thousands of Thugs were captured and executed or imprisoned. This operation significantly reduced the threat and established British authority in central India.

Bentinck supported the English Education Act of 1835, which allocated funds for the promotion of Western education in India. The act was influenced by Thomas Babington Macaulay's Minute on Indian Education and aimed to create a class of Indians who were Indian in blood but English in taste and intellect.