
BENTINCK, LORD WILLIAM CAVENDISH (1774-1839), Governor General of India, son of William Henry, third duke of Portland, was born on 14 September 1774. In 1803, he was appointed governor of Madras, but recalled in 1807 in consequence of the sepoy mutiny at Vellore. In 1827, Bentinck succeeded Lord Amherst as Governor General of India in which capacity he served till 1835. Lord William Bentinck`s policy towards the Sikh kingdom was dictated by the steady growth of a supposed Russo Persian threat to India`s northwestern frontier. In face of it, the Government of India adopted certain extraordinary measures.