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Governor-General and Viceroy of India for WBP/KP

Evolution of the Office

  1. Governor of Bengal (1757–1772): The office emerged following the East India Company’s victory at Plassey (1757).
  2. Governor-General of Bengal (1773–1833): Created by the Regulating Act of 1773, which placed the Bombay and Madras Presidencies under Bengal’s authority.
  3. Governor-General of India (1833–1858): Created by the Charter Act of 1833, centralising executive and legislative authority over British India.
  4. Viceroy and Governor-General of India (1858–1947): Created by the Government of India Act, 1858 after the Revolt of 1857; the office administered British India as Governor-General and represented the Crown to the Princely States as Viceroy.
  5. Governor-General of Independent India (1947–1950): The office continued during the transition to republican government and ended when India became a republic in 1950.

Governors of Bengal (1757–1772)

  • Robert Clive (1757–1760; 1765–1767): Led the British at Plassey (1757) and introduced the Dual Government in Bengal (1765).

Governors-General of Bengal (1773–1833)

  • Warren Hastings (1773–1785): First Governor-General of Bengal; abolished the Dual Government, established the Supreme Court at Calcutta (1774), oversaw Pitt’s India Act (1784), co-founded the Asiatic Society of Bengal (1784) with William Jones, and was involved in the First Anglo-Maratha War and Second Anglo-Mysore War.
  • Lord Cornwallis (1786–1793): Introduced the Permanent Settlement (1793), Cornwallis Code and Daroga system; fought the Third Anglo-Mysore War.
  • Sir John Shore (1793–1798): Followed a policy of non-intervention and oversaw the Charter Act of 1793.
  • Lord Wellesley (1798–1805): Introduced the Subsidiary Alliance System (1798), established Fort William College (1800), and led the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1799) and Second Anglo-Maratha War.
  • Sir George Barlow (Acting, 1805–1807): Oversaw the Vellore Mutiny (1806).
  • Lord Minto I (1807–1813): Concluded the Treaty of Amritsar (1809) with Ranjit Singh and oversaw the Charter Act of 1813.
  • Lord Hastings (1813–1823): Pursued the policy of Paramountcy, concluded the Third Anglo-Maratha War and Treaty of Sagauli (1816) with Nepal, and promoted the Ryotwari and Mahalwari revenue systems.
  • Lord Amherst (1823–1828): Conducted the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–1826), ending with the Treaty of Yandabo (1826), and oversaw the Barrackpore Mutiny (1824).

Governors-General of India (1833–1858)

  • Lord William Bentinck (1828–1835): First Governor-General of India; abolished Sati (1829), suppressed Thuggee, implemented the English Education Act (1835) following Macaulay’s Minute, and established Calcutta Medical College (1835).
  • Lord Metcalfe (1835–1836): Known as the “Liberator of the Press.”
  • Lord Ellenborough (1842–1844): Oversaw the Gwalior War (1843).
  • Lord Hardinge I (1844–1848): Fought the First Anglo-Sikh War (1845–1846), ending with the Treaty of Lahore.
  • Lord Dalhousie (1848–1856): Introduced the Doctrine of Lapse, expanded railways and telegraphs, reformed the postal system, introduced the first passenger railway (1853), and supported the Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act (1856).
  • Lord Canning (1856–1858): Last Governor-General under Company rule; administered the Revolt of 1857 and saw the establishment of the universities of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras (1857).

Viceroys and Governors-General of India (1858–1947)

  • Lord Canning (1858–1862): First Viceroy of India; withdrew the Doctrine of Lapse and established the Archaeological Survey of India (1861) and Imperial Police Department.
  • Lord Elgin I (1862–1863): Suppressed the Wahabi Movement.
  • Sir John Lawrence (1864–1869): Established the High Courts of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras (1865), fought the Anglo-Bhutanese War (1865) and followed “Masterly Inactivity” towards Afghanistan.
  • Lord Mayo (1869–1872): Conducted the first census of India (1871–1872) and was the only Viceroy assassinated in office.
  • Lord Northbrook (1872–1876): Received the Prince of Wales (1875).
  • Lord Lytton (1876–1880): Enacted the Vernacular Press Act (1878) and organised the First Delhi Durbar.
  • Lord Ripon (1880–1884): Repealed the Vernacular Press Act, introduced the Local Self-Government Resolution (1882), appointed the Hunter Education Commission (1882), faced the Ilbert Bill controversy (1883), and initiated regular decennial censuses from 1881.
  • Lord Dufferin (1884–1888): Viceroy during the formation of the Indian National Congress (1885) and the Third Anglo-Burmese War (1885–1886).
  • Lord Curzon (1899–1905): Introduced the Partition of Bengal (1905), Indian Universities Act (1904) and Ancient Monuments Preservation Act (1904).
  • Lord Minto II (1905–1910): Period of the formation of the Muslim League (1906) and Morley-Minto Reforms (1909).
  • Lord Chelmsford (1916–1921): Period of the Rowlatt Act (1919), Jallianwala Bagh massacre (1919) and launch of the Non-Cooperation Movement.
  • Lord Reading (1921–1926): Period of the Chauri Chaura incident (1922) and Kakori case.
  • Lord Irwin (1926–1931): Period of the Simon Commission, Dandi March, Civil Disobedience Movement and Gandhi-Irwin Pact (1931).
  • Lord Linlithgow (1936–1944): Oversaw the August Offer (1940) and Quit India Movement (1942).
  • Lord Wavell (1944–1947): Proposed the Wavell Plan and convened the Simla Conference (1945); received the Cabinet Mission (1946).
  • Lord Mountbatten (March–August 1947): Last Viceroy of British India; announced the June 3 Plan, leading to Indian Independence.

Governors-General of Independent India (1947–1950)

  • Lord Mountbatten (1947–1948): First Governor-General of independent India.
  • C. Rajagopalachari (1948–1950): First and only Indian-born Governor-General and the last holder of the office; the position ended when India became a Republic in January 1950.