BharatNotes
Static GK
Viceroys & Governors-General of India
1773–1950 — every Governor-General and Viceroy with key acts, reforms and UPSC associations. Fact-checked and complete.
Title evolution:
Governor-General of Bengal (1773–1833) — created by Regulating Act 1773; supervisory authority over Bombay & Madras. →
Governor-General of India (1833–1858) — Charter Act 1833 redesignated the post; Lord William Bentinck was first. →
Viceroy & Governor-General of India (1858–1947) — Govt of India Act 1858 transferred power from EIC to Crown; "Viceroy" added to represent the Crown. →
Governor-General of India (1947–1950) — post-independence, Viceroy title dropped; office abolished when India became a republic on 26 Jan 1950.
🏛️ Company Rule: Governors-General of Bengal & India (1773–1858)
| Name | Tenure | Key Acts, Reforms & Events |
|---|---|---|
| Warren Hastings 1st G-G of Bengal |
1773–1785 |
• Regulating Act 1773 created his post • Pitt's India Act 1784 — established Board of Control (dual government) • First Supreme Court at Calcutta opened 1774 • Rohilla War; First Anglo-Maratha War • Impeached on return to England (acquitted after 7-year trial) |
| Lord Cornwallis 1st tenure |
1786–1793 |
• Permanent Settlement of Bengal 1793 (Zamindari system) • Cornwallis Code 1793 — separation of revenue and judicial functions • Excluded Indians from all high civil, military and judicial posts • Third Anglo-Mysore War → Treaty of Seringapatam (18 March 1792) • Called "Father of Civil Services in India" |
| Sir John Shore (Lord Teignmouth) |
1793–1798 |
• Famous for policy of non-interference / neutrality — refused to intervene in Maratha–Nizam conflict • Nizam defeated at Battle of Kharda (1795) by Marathas; Shore declined to help the Nizam despite treaty obligations • Generally uneventful tenure — no major wars or landmark legislation |
| Lord Wellesley | 1798–1805 |
• Subsidiary Alliance System — first applied to Nizam of Hyderabad (1 September 1798) • Fourth Anglo-Mysore War 1799 — Tipu Sultan killed at Seringapatam • Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–05) • Fort William College, Calcutta (1800) — for training civil servants • Called himself "Bengal Tiger" |
| Lord Cornwallis 2nd tenure |
1805 (brief) |
• Returned to reverse Wellesley's aggressive expansion • Died in office at Ghazipur (5 October 1805) — only about 3 months into his second tenure • Buried at Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh (tomb still exists) |
| Sir George Barlow Acting G-G |
1805–1807 |
• Acting G-G after Cornwallis's death until Lord Minto I arrived • Vellore Mutiny — 10 July 1806: First large-scale sepoy mutiny against the Company at Vellore Fort, triggered by new dress regulations (prohibiting religious marks, mandating uniform turbans) |
| Lord Minto I | 1807–1813 |
• Sent missions to Lahore, Tehran, Kabul against Napoleonic threat • Charter Act 1813 — ended EIC's trade monopoly; opened India to Christian missionaries; ₹1 lakh p.a. for Indian education |
| Lord Hastings (Marquess of Hastings) |
1813–1823 |
• Anglo-Nepalese War 1814–16 → Treaty of Sugauli (1816): Nepal ceded Kumaon, Garhwal, Simla hill tracts, Terai, and Sikkim territories east of the Mechi River. Note: Darjeeling was acquired separately from Sikkim in 1835, not under this treaty. • Pindari War 1817–18; Third Anglo-Maratha War 1817–19 → Peshwaship abolished • British supremacy established over entire India south of Sutlej |
| Lord Amherst | 1823–1828 |
• First Anglo-Burmese War 1824–26 → Treaty of Yandaboo (24 February 1826): Arakan & Tenasserim ceded • Barrackpore Mutiny 1824 |
| Lord William Bentinck | 1828–1835 |
• First Governor-General of India (Charter Act 1833 redesignated the post) • Abolished Sati — Bengal Sati Regulation XVII, 4 December 1829 • Suppressed Thuggee (thug suppression under Sleeman) • Macaulay's Minute on English Education 1835 — approved by Bentinck on 7 March 1835 → English as medium of instruction • Charter Act 1833 ended EIC's commercial monopoly completely |
| Sir Charles Metcalfe Acting G-G |
1835–1836 |
• "Liberator of the Indian Press" — repealed the 1823 Press Ordinance via the Press Act of 1835, granting Indian newspapers freedom from prior restraint (licensing requirement) • Served for approximately one year; Court of Directors refused to confirm him as permanent G-G |
| Lord Auckland | 1836–1842 |
• First Anglo-Afghan War 1839–42 — ordered invasion to restore Shah Shuja to the throne of Kabul • Ended disastrously: the retreat from Kabul in January 1842 saw near-total destruction of a 16,500-strong force • Auckland was recalled and replaced by Ellenborough |
| Lord Ellenborough | 1842–1844 |
• Conquest of Sindh (1843): General Charles Napier defeated Baluchi Amirs at Battle of Miani (17 February 1843); Sindh annexed • Famous apocryphal dispatch: "Peccavi" (Latin: "I have sinned" = "I have Sindh") • Gwalior War 1843 • Recalled by Court of Directors in 1844 for arrogance and independent conduct |
| Sir Henry Hardinge I | 1844–1848 |
• First Anglo-Sikh War 1845–46: War declared 13 December 1845; decisive British victory • Treaty of Lahore (9 March 1846): Sikhs ceded Jullundur Doab and Kashmir; paid war indemnity • Elevated to Viscount Hardinge of Lahore after the war |
| Lord Dalhousie | 1848–1856 |
• Doctrine of Lapse — Satara (1848), Jaitpur & Sambalpur (1849), Jhansi (1853), Nagpur (1853), Awadh (1856) • Second Anglo-Sikh War 1848–49 → full annexation of Punjab • First railway: Bombay–Thane, 16 April 1853 • First operational electric telegraph 1851 (Calcutta–Diamond Harbour) • Wood's Despatch 1854 — "Magna Carta of English education in India" • Post Office Act 1854 — uniform postage across India • PWD (Public Works Department) established • Youngest Governor-General (age 36) |
| Lord Canning Last G-G & First Viceroy |
1856–1862 |
• Revolt of 1857 — quelled; earned title "Clemency Canning" for clemency policy • Government of India Act 1858 — EIC dissolved; power transferred to Crown; Canning became first Viceroy • Universities of Calcutta, Bombay, Madras established 1857 • Indian Penal Code 1860; Code of Criminal Procedure 1861 • Indian Councils Act 1861 — introduced legislative councils • Income Tax introduced 1860 |
👑 Crown Rule: Viceroys of India (1858–1947)
| Name | Tenure | Key Acts, Reforms & Events |
|---|---|---|
| Lord Elgin I | 1862–1863 | Died in office at Dharamsala — shortest tenure as Viceroy |
| Lord Lawrence | 1864–1869 |
• "Masterly inactivity" policy toward Afghanistan • High Courts established 1865 (under High Courts Act 1861) • Bhutan War 1864–65 → Treaty of Sinchula (11 November 1865) |
| Lord Mayo | 1869–1872 |
• First regular Census of India, 1872 • Financial decentralisation policy • Assassinated by convict Sher Ali Afridi at Port Blair on 8 February 1872 — only Viceroy killed in India |
| Lord Northbrook | 1872–1876 |
• Bihar Famine 1873–74 — effectively managed; praised for relief operations with no mass deaths • Income tax abolished temporarily • Arya Samaj founded (Swami Dayananda Saraswati, 1875) during his tenure • Resigned after disagreement with the home government over Afghanistan policy |
| Lord Lytton | 1876–1880 |
• Delhi Durbar 1877 — Queen Victoria proclaimed Empress of India (1 January 1877) • Vernacular Press Act 1878 (gagged Indian press; repealed by Ripon) • Arms Act 1878 • Second Anglo-Afghan War 1878–80 • Great Famine 1876–78 (widely criticised for holding Durbar amid famine) |
| Lord Ripon | 1880–1884 |
• "Most liberal Viceroy" / "Father of Local Self-Government in India" • Resolution on Local Self-Government 1882 — established elected local bodies • Ilbert Bill 1883 — Indian judges to try Europeans; caused "White Mutiny" by European settlers • First Factory Act (Indian Factories Act) 1881 • Repealed Vernacular Press Act |
| Lord Dufferin | 1884–1888 |
• Indian National Congress founded 1885 — A.O. Hume; first session at Bombay (Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College, 28 December 1885) • Third Anglo-Burmese War 1885 → annexation of Upper Burma |
| Lord Lansdowne | 1888–1894 |
• Indian Councils Act 1892 — introduced limited elections to legislative councils • Durand Line 1893 — boundary agreement between British India and Afghanistan (drawn by Sir Mortimer Durand) |
| Lord Elgin II | 1894–1899 |
• Chitral Expedition 1895 — British force relieved a besieged garrison in Chitral (NWFP); significant tribal unrest followed • Great Plague (Bubonic Plague) 1896–97 — outbreak in Bombay in autumn 1896; spread to Pune; riots and assassination of plague commissioner W.C. Rand by Damodar Chapekar (22 June 1897) • Famine of 1896–97 also concurrent • No landmark constitutional legislation bears his name |
| Lord Curzon | 1899–1905 |
• Partition of Bengal, 16 October 1905 → triggered Swadeshi & Boycott Movement • Ancient Monuments Preservation Act 1904 • Indian Universities Act 1904 • NWFP created as separate province 1901 • Police Commission 1902 • Youngest Viceroy (age 39 at appointment in 1899) • Associated with the phrase "the brightest jewel in the British Crown" |
| Lord Minto II | 1905–1910 |
• Morley-Minto Reforms → Indian Councils Act 1909 • Introduced separate electorates for Muslims — foundation of communal politics in India • Aga Khan led Muslim League delegation to Minto (Simla Deputation, October 1906) |
| Lord Hardinge II | 1910–1916 |
• Delhi Durbar 1911 — King George V visited India • Capital shifted from Calcutta to Delhi (announced 12 December 1911) • Partition of Bengal annulled 1911 • Delhi Bomb Case, 23 December 1912 — bomb thrown at his elephant procession at Chandni Chowk; Hardinge survived (wounded); his parasol-bearer was killed |
| Lord Chelmsford | 1916–1921 |
• Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms → Government of India Act 1919 • Introduced Dyarchy in provinces (reserved + transferred subjects) • Rowlatt Act 1919 — "no appeal, no vakil, no daleel" → triggered nationwide protests • Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, 13 April 1919 (General Dyer; Hunter Committee inquiry) • Home Rule Movement (Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Annie Besant) • Lucknow Pact 1916 (Congress-League agreement) happened at the start of his tenure |
| Lord Reading | 1921–1926 |
• Khilafat and Non-Cooperation Movement (Gandhi; called off after Chauri Chaura, Feb 1922) • Gandhi arrested 10 March 1922; sentenced to 6 years on 18 March 1922 (released 24 February 1924 for surgery) • Prince of Wales visit boycotted 1921 |
| Lord Irwin (later Lord Halifax) |
1926–1931 |
• Simon Commission 1927 (no Indian member; boycotted — "Go Back Simon") • Gandhi's Dandi March, 12 March – 6 April 1930 • Civil Disobedience Movement 1930 • Gandhi-Irwin Pact, 5 March 1931 — suspended Civil Disobedience; Gandhi to attend Round Table Conference • First Round Table Conference 1930 (Congress absent) |
| Lord Willingdon | 1931–1936 |
• Second Round Table Conference 1931 (Gandhi attended; failed) • Civil Disobedience Movement suppressed — ~80,000 arrested • Communal Award 1932 (Ramsay MacDonald — separate electorates for Depressed Classes) • Poona Pact, 25 September 1932 — Gandhi vs Ambedkar; reserved seats within general Hindu electorate • Government of India Act 1935 — federal structure, provincial autonomy, dyarchy at Centre |
| Lord Linlithgow | 1936–1943 |
• Longest-serving Viceroy (~7.5 years) • First elections under GoI Act 1935 — Congress won 7 out of 11 provinces • Congress ministries resigned 1939 (after WW2 declaration without consulting India) • August Offer 1940 • Cripps Mission 1942 (failed — rejected as "post-dated cheque") • Quit India Movement, 8 August 1942 — "Do or Die"; Gandhi, Nehru, entire Congress leadership arrested • Bengal Famine 1943 (during his tenure) |
| Lord Wavell | 1943–1947 |
• Simla Conference 1945 (Wavell Plan — failed due to Jinnah's insistence on Muslim League parity) • Cabinet Mission Plan 1946 — three-tier federal structure proposed; Congress and League initially accepted • Interim Government formed September 1946 (Nehru sworn as Vice-President of Executive Council) |
| Lord Mountbatten Last Viceroy |
Mar–Aug 1947 (as Viceroy) |
• Last Viceroy of India — formally assumed office 24 March 1947 • Mountbatten Plan / 3 June Plan 1947 — partition of India into India and Pakistan • Indian Independence Act 1947 (Royal Assent 18 July 1947) • Independence & Partition: 15 August 1947 • Oversaw integration of princely states (with Sardar Patel) |
🇮🇳 Post-Independence Governors-General (1947–1950)
| Name | Tenure | Key Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lord Mountbatten | Aug 1947 – Jun 1948 | First Governor-General of independent India (British); continued overseeing integration of princely states; resigned June 1948 |
| C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) |
Jun 1948 – Jan 1950 | Last Governor-General of India; only Indian to hold the post; one of the first recipients of Bharat Ratna (1954). Office abolished when India became a republic on 26 January 1950. |
⚡ One-Line Associations — Quick Recall
| Association / Event | Governor-General / Viceroy |
|---|---|
| First Governor-General of Bengal (1773) | Warren Hastings |
| Regulating Act 1773 | Warren Hastings |
| Pitt's India Act 1784 (Board of Control) | Warren Hastings |
| Permanent Settlement / Zamindari (1793) | Lord Cornwallis (1st tenure) |
| "Father of Civil Services in India" | Lord Cornwallis |
| Policy of non-interference / neutrality | Sir John Shore |
| Subsidiary Alliance System | Lord Wellesley |
| Tipu Sultan killed / 4th Anglo-Mysore War (1799) | Lord Wellesley |
| Fort William College, Calcutta (1800) | Lord Wellesley |
| Vellore Mutiny (1806) | Sir George Barlow (Acting) |
| Charter Act 1813 (ended trade monopoly) | Lord Minto I |
| Treaty of Sugauli / Anglo-Nepal War (1816) | Lord Hastings |
| First Anglo-Burmese War / Treaty of Yandaboo | Lord Amherst |
| First Governor-General of India (1833) | Lord William Bentinck |
| Sati abolished (4 Dec 1829) | Lord William Bentinck |
| English as medium of instruction (Macaulay's Minute 1835) | Lord William Bentinck |
| "Liberator of the Indian Press" / Press Act 1835 | Sir Charles Metcalfe (Acting) |
| First Anglo-Afghan War (1839–42) | Lord Auckland |
| Conquest of Sindh (1843) | Lord Ellenborough |
| First Anglo-Sikh War / Treaty of Lahore (1846) | Sir Henry Hardinge I |
| Doctrine of Lapse | Lord Dalhousie |
| First railway (1853) & telegraph (1851) | Lord Dalhousie |
| Wood's Despatch 1854 | Lord Dalhousie |
| Youngest Governor-General (age 36) | Lord Dalhousie |
| First Viceroy of India / "Clemency Canning" | Lord Canning |
| Revolt of 1857 suppressed | Lord Canning |
| Universities of Bombay, Calcutta, Madras (1857) | Lord Canning |
| First regular Census (1872) | Lord Mayo |
| Only Viceroy assassinated in India (1872, Port Blair) | Lord Mayo |
| Bihar Famine 1873–74 effectively managed | Lord Northbrook |
| Arya Samaj founded (1875) | Lord Northbrook (during his tenure) |
| Queen Victoria proclaimed Empress of India (1877) | Lord Lytton |
| Vernacular Press Act 1878 & Arms Act 1878 | Lord Lytton |
| Local Self-Government 1882 / "Father of LSG" | Lord Ripon |
| Ilbert Bill (1883) | Lord Ripon |
| First Factory Act 1881 | Lord Ripon |
| Indian National Congress founded (1885) | Lord Dufferin |
| Durand Line 1893 | Lord Lansdowne |
| Indian Councils Act 1892 | Lord Lansdowne |
| Great Plague (Bubonic) 1896–97 | Lord Elgin II |
| Youngest Viceroy (age 39) | Lord Curzon |
| Partition of Bengal (16 Oct 1905) → Swadeshi Movement | Lord Curzon |
| Ancient Monuments Preservation Act 1904 | Lord Curzon |
| Morley-Minto Reforms / Separate electorates (1909) | Lord Minto II |
| Capital shifted Calcutta → Delhi (12 Dec 1911) | Lord Hardinge II |
| Partition of Bengal annulled (1911) | Lord Hardinge II |
| Delhi Bomb Case — parasol-bearer killed (23 Dec 1912) | Lord Hardinge II |
| Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms / Dyarchy (GoI Act 1919) | Lord Chelmsford |
| Rowlatt Act 1919 / Jallianwala Bagh 1919 | Lord Chelmsford |
| Non-Cooperation Movement / Gandhi arrested (1922) | Lord Reading |
| Dandi March (1930) / Civil Disobedience Movement | Lord Irwin |
| Gandhi-Irwin Pact (5 March 1931) | Lord Irwin |
| Communal Award 1932 / Poona Pact 1932 | Lord Willingdon |
| Government of India Act 1935 | Lord Willingdon |
| Quit India Movement (8 Aug 1942) / Cripps Mission 1942 | Lord Linlithgow |
| Longest-serving Viceroy (~7.5 years) | Lord Linlithgow (1936–1943) |
| Cabinet Mission Plan 1946 | Lord Wavell |
| Last Viceroy / Mountbatten Plan / Partition 1947 | Lord Mountbatten |
| Last Governor-General / Only Indian G-G | C. Rajagopalachari |
⚠️ High-Frequency Exam Traps
| Trap | Correct Answer |
|---|---|
| Who was the first Governor-General of India (not just Bengal)? | Lord William Bentinck (1833) — not Warren Hastings, who was G-G of Bengal only |
| Sati was abolished under which act and which Governor-General? | Bengal Sati Regulation XVII, 4 December 1829 under Lord William Bentinck |
| Did the Treaty of Sugauli (1816) cede Darjeeling to the British? | No. Sugauli ceded Kumaon, Garhwal, Simla hill tracts, Terai, and Sikkim territories. Darjeeling was acquired separately from the Raja of Sikkim in 1835 — 19 years later. |
| Who was the "Liberator of the Indian Press"? | Sir Charles Metcalfe (Acting G-G, 1835–36) — repealed the 1823 Press Ordinance via Press Act 1835. Not Lord Ripon (who repealed the Vernacular Press Act, a different law). |
| Who was the last Governor-General AND first Viceroy? | Lord Canning — the same person held both titles; Govt of India Act 1858 transformed his title |
| INC was founded under which Viceroy? | Lord Dufferin (1884–1888) — NOT Lord Ripon (common confusion; Ripon was the "good" Viceroy immediately before) |
| Partition of Bengal (1905) was annulled under whom? | Lord Hardinge II in 1911 — NOT under Minto II (who was Viceroy when Curzon ordered it) |
| Who introduced separate electorates for Muslims? | Lord Minto II via Indian Councils Act 1909 (Morley-Minto Reforms) — NOT Lord Curzon |
| Who was the only Viceroy assassinated in India? | Lord Mayo (8 February 1872) — killed by convict Sher Ali Afridi at Port Blair, Andaman Islands |
| What happened in the Delhi Bomb Case (1912) — who was killed? | Lord Hardinge II survived (wounded). His parasol-bearer / attendant was killed. The mahout (elephant driver) was NOT killed — a common misconception. |
| Who was the longest-serving Viceroy and for how long? | Lord Linlithgow (1936–1943) — approximately 7.5 years. Often stated as "8 years" in older sources — his tenure ended 1 October 1943, not 1944. |
| When did Lord Wavell's tenure begin? | 1 October 1943 — NOT 1944. Wavell served 1943–1947. Many sources incorrectly state "1944–1947." |
| Who was the last Governor-General of India? | C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) — not Mountbatten. Mountbatten was first G-G of independent India; Rajaji was the last. |
| Gandhi-Irwin Pact was signed in which year? | 5 March 1931 — often confused with 1930 (Salt March year) or 1932 (Poona Pact year) |
| Delhi was made capital under which Viceroy? | Lord Hardinge II — announced at Delhi Durbar 12 December 1911 |
| Quit India Movement was launched under which Viceroy? | Lord Linlithgow — 8 August 1942. NOT Lord Wavell (who came later in October 1943) |
Exam strategy: UPSC tests Viceroys on three axes — (1) which act / reform / event happened under whom (the quick-recall table above), (2) "firsts" and "onlys" (first G-G of Bengal, first G-G of India, first Viceroy, only Indian G-G, only assassinated Viceroy, youngest G-G vs youngest Viceroy), (3) negative MCQs mixing up adjacent Viceroys (Curzon vs Minto II, Dufferin vs Ripon, Hardinge II vs Chelmsford, Linlithgow vs Wavell). The 1833 / 1858 title transitions and the Canning dual-title are the most commonly tested structural facts.