History · Colonial Administrative Policies

With reference to the application of Utilitarian ideology in the governance of colonial India by James Mill and Jeremy Bentham, consider the following statements: I. The ideology prioritized the happiness of the Indian population over political liberty, asserting that scientifically designed laws were a sufficient substitute for self-government. II. Based on the Ricardian doctrine, the Utilitarian framework viewed the East India Company as a supreme landlord theoretically entitled to appropriate the entire economic rent of the soil. III. Unlike the Romantic school, Utilitarians aggressively advocated for the codification of laws to dismantle what they perceived as the vague and despotic nature of customary rights. IV. To prevent the abuse of authority, James Mill and the Utilitarians insisted on the strict application of the liberal doctrine of the separation of powers between the Indian executive and the judiciary. Choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below: