Governor, Governor-General & Viceroy

Chapter 35 — Complete Notes | Clive to Mountbatten

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Complete Chronological Table
Person Tenure Position Key Achievement
Lord Clive 1758–60, 1765–67 Governor, Bengal Governor; Dual Government introduced 1765
Vansittart 1760–64 Governor, Bengal Governor of Bengal 1760–1764
Cartier 1769–72 Governor, Bengal Bengal Famine 1770
Warren Hastings Governor from 1772; Governor-General 1774–1785 Last Governor → 1st GG Bengal Ended Dual Govt; Supreme Court 1774
Lord Cornwallis 1786–93, 1805 GG Bengal Father of Civil Service; Permanent Settlement
Lord Wellesley 1798–1805 GG Bengal Subsidiary Alliance; Fort William College
Lord William Bentinck GG Bengal 1828–1833; GG India 1833–1835 1st GG of India Anti-Sati 1829; English higher-education policy 1835
Lord Dalhousie 1848–56 GG of India Doctrine of Lapse; 1st Railway 1853
Lord Canning 1856–62 Last Company GG → 1st Viceroy 1857 Revolt; IPC 1860
Lord Lytton 1876–80 Viceroy Vernacular Press Act 1878
Lord Ripon 1880–84 Viceroy Local Self-Govt; Repeal VPA; Ilbert Bill
Lord Curzon 1899–1905 Viceroy Bengal Partition 1905; Multiple Commissions
Lord Hardinge II 1910–16 Viceroy Bengal Partition annulled; Capital → Delhi
Lord Chelmsford 1916–21 Viceroy Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms; Dyarchy
Lord Irwin 1926–31 Viceroy Gandhi-Irwin Pact 1931
Lord Linlithgow 1936–1943 Longest Viceroy Quit India Movement 1942
Lord Wavell 1943–1947 Viceroy Cabinet Mission; Shimla Conference
Lord Mountbatten Viceroy Mar–Aug 1947; independent India GG Aug 1947–Jun 1948 Last Viceroy → 1st GG of independent India 3 June Plan; Independence 15 Aug 1947
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Governors of Bengal (Before 1773)
Lord Clive (Robert Clive)
1758–60 | 1765–67
Position: Governor of Bengal after Plassey; introduced Dual Government 1765.
Dual Government: Implemented after Buxar 1764. Ran 1765–1772 CE.
Treaty of Allahabad: Signed 1765 CE.
Parliamentary inquiry: Clive’s conduct and wealth examined in 1773; distinct from Warren Hastings’s formal impeachment trial.
Clive: Dual Government 1765
Holwell
1760
Associated with Black Hole Tragedy.
Vansittart
1760–64
Governor of Bengal 1760–1764; early Company administration.
Cartier
1769–72
Governor during the Bengal famine of 1770; famines had occurred earlier in India.
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Governor-Generals of Bengal (1773–1833)
Warren Hastings
Governor from 1772; Governor-General 1774–1785
Position: Governor from 1772; first Governor-General under the 1773 Act, taking office 1774.
Ended Dual Govt: 1772 CE in end.
Calcutta GPO: 1774 CE.
Regulating Act: 1773 CE → Supreme Court Calcutta 1774. Chief Justice: Elijah Impey.
Pitt's India Act: 1784.
Policy: Father of "Ring of Fence" (Circle Policy).
Impeachment: Corruption charges on return.
1st GG Bengal
Lord Cornwallis
1786–93 | 1805
Police: Introduced Daroga System (Thana system).
Civil Service: Father of Civil Service in India.
Cornwallis Code (1793): Father of. Separated revenue from justice administration.
Permanent Settlement: Bengal 1793 CE.
Slavery Ban: Stopped export of slaves 1789 CE.
Death: Tomb in Ghazipur, UP.
Father of Civil Service
Lord Wellesley
1798–1805
Nickname: "Tiger of Bengal."
Subsidiary Alliance: Father of. Indian states = British military + gave up sovereignty.
Fort William College: 1800 CE, Calcutta (officer training).
Wars: 4th Anglo-Mysore War 1799 (Tipu killed). 2nd Anglo-Maratha War 1803–05.
States (chronology): Hyderabad 1798 → Mysore 1799 → Tanjore 1799 → Awadh 1801 → Peshwa 1802 → Bhonsle 1803 → Scindia 1804.
Father of Subsidiary Alliance
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Governor-Generals of India (1833–1858)
Charter Act 1833 after — GG of India
Lord William Bentinck
GG Bengal 1828–1833; GG India 1833–1835
Position: 1st Governor-General of India (Charter Act 1833).
Sati abolished: 1829 CE.
Thuggee: systematic suppression campaign expanded in the 1830s.
English education: official support for English and Western higher education, 1835.
Calcutta Medical College: 1835.
First Law Commission: 1834, chaired by T.B. Macaulay.
Charter Act 1833: declared no exclusion from public employment solely by religion, birthplace, descent or colour; this was a legal principle.
1st GG of India
Lord Dalhousie
1848–56
Doctrine of Lapse: Father of. Satara 1848 (1st) → Jhansi 1854 → Nagpur 1854.
Awadh 1856: Misgovernance taken from (NOT Doctrine of Lapse).
1st Railway: 1853. 1st Telegraph: 1851. Postage Stamps: 1854.
Wood's Dispatch: 1854 (Magna Carta of Education).
PWD: Public Works Department. Public Education Dept: 1855.
Lex Loci Act 1850: Hindu → Christian convert also ancestral property's entitled.
Doctrine of Lapse — Most Annexations
Dalhousie — States Annexed (Doctrine of Lapse)
State Year Note
Satara 1848 First annexation
Jaitpur, Sambalpur 1849 —
Baghat 1850 —
Udaipur 1852 Central Indian state, not Rajasthan’s Udaipur
Jhansi 1854 —
Nagpur 1854 —
Awadh 1856 ⚠️ Misgovernance taken from — Doctrine of Lapse from not
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Charles Metcalfe: "Liberator of Indian Press" — Press restrictions hataye.
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Viceroys — Part 1: Canning to Chelmsford
After 1858 Governor-General also acted as Viceroy
Lord Canning
1856–62
Position: Governor-General 1856–1862, under Company rule until 1858; first Viceroy from 1858.
1857's revolution induring the tenure of began.
Hindu Widow Remarriage Act: 1856.
3 Universities: Bombay, Madras, Calcutta.
High Courts: Indian High Courts Act 1861 authorised Calcutta, Bombay and Madras courts.
John Mathai’s portfolios belong to the 1946–47 Interim Government, not Canning’s administration.
Lord Lytton
1876–80
Famine (1876–78): southern and western India; commission chaired by Richard Strachey.
Delhi Durbar 1877: Queen Victoria "Kaiser-i-Hind" title.
Vernacular Press Act 1878: "Gagging Act."
Civil Service age: 21 → 19 years.
MAO College: 1877, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan; school established 1875.
Pen Name: "Owen Meredith."
Repressive Viceroy
Lord Ripon
1880–84
Title: "Father of Local Self-Government." Florence Nightingale = "Saviour of India."
1881: 1st Factory Act. 1st Synchronous Census.
1882: Vernacular Press Act repeal. Hunter Commission (Education). Local self-government resolution.
1883: Famine Code. Ilbert Bill Controversy (Indians to try European accused).
Father of Local Self-Govt | Most Liberal
Lord Curzon
1899–1905
Commissions: Famine 1900, MacDonnell; Irrigation 1901, Moncrieff; Police 1902, Fraser; Universities 1902, Raleigh.
Ancient Monuments Act: 1904.
Indian Universities Act: 1904.
Railway Board: 1905.
Bengal Partition: 1905 — largest political blunder.
Victoria Memorial Hall: Construction started. Architect: William Emerson.
Most Commissions
Lord Hardinge II
1910–16
1911 Delhi Durbar: King George V arrived.
Bengal Partition Annulled: 1911.
Capital Shift: Calcutta → Delhi (announced 1911, official 1912).
5th Census: 1911.
WWI: July 1914; Gandhi returned 1915. BHU (1916): first Chancellor = Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV of Mysore, not Hardinge.
Lord Chelmsford
1916–21
Home Rule: 1916 (Annie Besant + Tilak).
Champaran: 1917 (Gandhi).
Rowlatt Act: 1919.
Khilafat Movement: 1919.
Sadler Commission: 1917.
NCM: launched August 1920; endorsed by special Calcutta Congress in September.
Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms (1919): Dyarchy (Dwait Shasan) in Provinces.
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Viceroys — Part 2: Irwin to Mountbatten
Lord Irwin
1926–31
Simon Commission: Announced 1927 (London). India arrived 1928.
Assembly Bomb: 1929 — Bhagat Singh + BK Dutt.
Trade Disputes Act 1929: Strikes on restriction.
Purna Swaraj: 1929, Lahore Session.
Dandi March: began 12 March 1930, arrived 5 April; salt law broken 6 April.
1st RTC: 1930 (Congress boycotted).
Gandhi-Irwin Pact: 5 March 1931.
Lord Linlithgow
1936–1943
most longest tenure associated with Viceroy.
Elections 1937: 11 provinces. Congress government was formed.
Tripuri 1939: Bose vs Gandhi. Forward Bloc 1939.
August Offer: 8 Aug 1940.
Individual Satyagraha: Oct 1940.
Cripps Mission: 1942.
Quit India Movement: 1942.
Longest Tenure Viceroy
Lord Wavell
1943–1947
RIN Revolt: 1946, Bombay, HMIS Talwar.
Direct Action Day: 16 Aug 1946, ML.
Shimla Conference: 1945 (Failed).
Cabinet Mission: 1946.
Constituent Assembly: 1946 elections.
Interim Govt: Sep 1946 (Nehru).
Attlee's Declaration: 20 Feb 1947.
Lord Mountbatten
Viceroy Mar–Aug 1947; independent India GG Aug 1947–Jun 1948
Position: Last Viceroy + 1st GG of Independent India.
3 June Plan: Partition announced.
Bill in Parliament: 4 July 1947.
Royal Assent: 18 July 1947.
Independence: 15 August 1947.
Last Viceroy + 1st GG India
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Important "Firsts" & "Lasts" — Exam Favourite
Category Person Year / Note
Introduced Dual Government in Bengal Lord Clive 1765
Last Governor → 1st GG Bengal Warren Hastings Governor 1772; GG 1774
1st GG of India Lord William Bentinck Charter Act 1833
Last Company GG → 1st Viceroy Lord Canning GOI Act 1858
Last Viceroy Lord Mountbatten 1947
1st GG of Independent India Lord Mountbatten Then C. Rajagopalachari
Longest tenure Viceroy Lord Linlithgow 1936–1943 (about 7½ years)
Father of Civil Service Lord Cornwallis —
Father of Local Self-Govt Lord Ripon 1882
Father of Subsidiary Alliance Lord Wellesley —
Father of Doctrine of Lapse Lord Dalhousie Extensive use
Liberator of Press Charles Metcalfe 1835
1st Income Tax James Wilson During Canning's tenure
Tiger of Bengal Lord Wellesley Nickname
Pen name "Owen Meredith" Lord Lytton —
"Saviour of India" (by Nightingale) Lord Ripon —
⚠️ Trap #1 — GG of Bengal vs GG of India
Warren Hastings = 1st GG of Bengal. Lord William Bentinck = 1st GG of India (Charter Act 1833). both "before" are — but different positions for!
⚠️ Trap #2 — Canning = Last GG + First Viceroy
Canning = last Governor-General under Company rule and first Viceroy under Crown rule. Governor-General remained an official title; Viceroy denoted the Crown’s representative.
⚠️ Trap #3 — Awadh = Misgovernance, Doctrine of Lapse not
Dalhousie Awadh 1856 in "Misgovernance" (misgovernment) calling it took — Doctrine of Lapse from not. remaining all states = Doctrine of Lapse.
⚠️ Trap #4 — Income Tax = James Wilson, not Canning
Income Tax Canning's tenure was imposed in, but planted James Wilson (1st Finance Member). MCQ in both options appear are — who LEVIED = James Wilson.
⚠️ Trap #5 — Simon Commission: Announced vs Arrived
Simon Commission announced 1927 (London). India arrived 1928. Lord Irwin during the tenure of. "Simon Go Back" slogans February 1928 in were raised.
⚠️ Trap #6 — Linlithgow = Longest Viceroy
Lord Linlithgow = most longest tenure associated with Viceroy (1936–1943 = about seven and a half years). Quit India Movement induring the tenure of occurred.
⚠️ Trap #7 — Cornwallis's tomb
Lord Cornwallis's tomb = Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh. India was in and here died. This unique fact often is frequently asked.
⚠️ Trap #8 — Victoria Memorial architect
Victoria Memorial Hall, Calcutta — construction Curzon during the tenure of. Architect = William Emerson.
⚠️ Trap #9 — MAO College 1877 (Lytton’s tenure)
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan: school 1875 → MAO College 1877 (Lytton’s tenure) → AMU 1920.
⚠️ Trap #10 — Mountbatten = Last Viceroy + 1st GG India
Lord Mountbatten = Last Viceroy (pre-Independence) + 1st GG of Independent India. Usafter C. Rajagopalachari = 1st Indian GG.
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