Question

The Bengal Regulation Acts of 1795 and 1804 declared______
1. the practice of sati illegal
2. murdering of female infant illegal
3. widow remarriages as legal 
4.  practice of child marriage illegal

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 2 : murdering of female infant illegal

The correct answer is murdering a female infant is illegal.

• The Bengal Regulation Acts of 1795 and 1804 declared murdering of female infants illegal.
• The policies of the British with the beginning of the 19th century though helped in the abolition of social evils prevalent at that time but gradually led to breach the socio-religious fabric of India.
• The Orientalism (Features of Hasting period) exponents stated that Indian Society needed modernization and westernization.
• British faced acute criticism from a number of ideological streams.
• To quote Evangelical Challenges led by William Wilberforce and Charles Grant, the Indian Society is full of superstition, idolatry, and tyranny of the priests.

• British supported the modernization of India but through Christian Missionaries.
• The British introduced several changes in Indian social practices to exemplify the efforts of reformers.

• The following measures were adopted by the British Government to improve the condition of women and also eradicate various social evils:​

Policies	Details
Female Infanticide	This practice was very common among upper-class Bengalis and Rajputs who considered females as an economic burden. Hence, in order to reform the perception of Indian society, the Bengal Regulation Acts of 1795 and 1804 declared murdering of female infants illegal, and thus in 1870 an act was passed for the prohibition of female infanticide.
Abolition of Sati	This was influenced by the step of Raja Ram Mohan Roy’s frontal attack. The British Government decided to abolish the practice of Sati or live to burn of the widow and declared it as culpable homicide. The Regulation of 1829 was applicable for the first instance to Bengal Presidency alone but was extended with slight modification to Madras and Bombay Presidencies in 1830.
Abolition of Slavery	This was another practice that came under the British scanner. Hence, under the Charter Act of 1833 slavery in India was abolished and under Act V of 1843, the practice of slavery got sacked by law and declared illegal.
Widow Remarriage	These practices were high on the agenda of Brahma Samaj and the issue got polarised. There were a number of steps taken to promote widow remarriage by establishing women’s colleges, universities, associations, and preaching of Vedic stand on widow remarriage.
Prohibition of Child Marriage	In 1872, the Native Marriage Act (Civil Marriage Act) intended legislative action for the prohibition but had very limited periphery because it was not applicable to Hindus, Muslims, and other recognized religions. In 1891, B.M Malabari’s efforts bore fruit when the act of the Age of Consent was enacted which prohibited the marriage of girl child below the age of 12 years.