In which year did the British establish the law to abolish Sati Pratha?

Question

In which year did the British establish the law to abolish Sati Pratha?

1. A. 1820
2. B. 1875
3. C. 1829 (Correct answer)
4. D. 1833

Correct Answer

Option C — 1829

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is 1829.

Key Points

• Lord William Bentinck enacted the Bengal Sati Regulation (Regulation XVII) in 1829, abolishing the practice of Sati (widow immolation) in Bengal. Ram Mohan Roy's advocacy was instrumental in this reform.

Additional Information

• The Bengal Sati Regulation (Regulation XVII of 1829) was enacted by Lord William Bentinck, declaring the practice illegal and punishable in the courts of the Bengal Presidency; it was extended to Madras and Bombay in 1830.
• Raja Rammohan Roy's campaigning — pamphlets, petitions and scriptural argument that Sati lacked Vedic sanction — was decisive in making the ban politically possible.
• Bentinck's other reforms cluster with this one for revision: suppression of thuggee (with William Sleeman), abolition of female infanticide, and adoption of English as the medium of instruction on Macaulay's 1835 Minute.
• Later measures in the same reform line: Hindu Widow Remarriage Act, 1856; Age of Consent Act, 1891; and the modern Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987, passed after the Roop Kanwar case.

प्रश्न (हिन्दी में)

अंग्रेजों ने सती प्रथा समाप्त करने का कानून किस वर्ष बनाया?

1. A. 1820
2. B. 1875
3. C. 1829
4. D. 1833