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Governor/Governor General/ Viceroy Notes With PDF

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Governor-Generals and Viceroys of India: A Comprehensive Overview

Establishment and Evolution of the Posts

  • Governor-General of Bengal
    • The post was created by the Regulating Act of 1773.
    • Warren Hastings was the first Governor-General of Bengal.
  • Governor-General of India
    • The post was renamed by the Charter Act of 1833.
    • Lord William Bentinck was the first Governor-General of India.

Key Administrators and Their Policies (Chronological)

Robert Clive

  • Key Role: Founder of the British Empire in India; Victor of the Battle of Plassey (1757).
  • Policies:
    • Introduced the Dual System of Government (Dual Governance) in Bengal (1765-1772).
    • Instituted reforms in the East India Company’s Civil and Military Services.
    • Banned civil servants from receiving gifts and engaging in private trade.
  • Treaty: Signed the Treaty of Allahabad (August 1765) with Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II, granting the Company the Diwani (right to collect revenue) of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa.

Warren Hastings (1774-1785)

  • Key Role: First Governor-General of Bengal.
  • Policies:
    • Abolished the Dual System of Government (1772).
    • Initiated the Ring Fence Policy (creating buffer zones for security).
  • Cultural Contribution: A noted Orientalist who encouraged the study of Sanskrit, Persian, and Arabic. The Asiatic Society of Bengal was established in 1784 (by Sir William Jones) during his tenure.
  • Other: Prosecuted for impeachment by the British Parliament (1788-1795) but was eventually acquitted.

Lord Cornwallis (1786-1793, 1805)

  • Key Role: First Governor-General of Bengal under the Regulating Act of 1773.
  • Policies:
    • Considered the founder of the modern judicial organization in India; his reforms were compiled into the Cornwallis Code.
    • Created the Covenanted Civil Service (later the Indian Civil Service, ICS).
    • Introduced the Permanent Settlement (Zamindari System) in Bengal (1793).
  • Wars: Fought the Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790-92).
  • Other: His tomb is located in Ghazipur, India.

Lord Wellesley (1798-1805)

  • Policies:
    • Expanded the Subsidiary Alliance System as a tool to establish British paramountcy.
    • Objectives: Maintain a large army at Indian states’ expense, counter the French (Napoleonic) threat, and establish British supremacy.
  • Wars: Fought the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1799) and the Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803-1805).

Lord Hastings (1813-1823)

  • Wars:
    • Anglo-Nepal War (1814-16), ending with the Treaty of Sugauli (1815).
    • Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817-18), which crushed Maratha power and led to the abolition of the Peshwaship in 1818.
  • Policy: Sent Charles Metcalfe to negotiate Subordinate Alliances with Rajputana (1817-18).

Lord William Bentinck (1828-1835)

  • Social Reforms:
    • Abolished the Sati system in 1829 via the Bengal Sati Regulation (XVII).
    • Appointed Captain William Sleeman to suppress the Thugs (eradicated by 1837).
  • Administrative: Took over the administration of Mysore in 1831 due to alleged maladministration.
  • Act: The Charter Act of 1833 was passed during his tenure.

Lord Dalhousie (1848-1856)

  • Key Role: First Governor-General of India under the Charter Act of 1833.
  • Annexation Policy: Formulated and implemented the Doctrine of Lapse.
  • States Annexed under Doctrine of Lapse (Chronologically): Satara (1848), Jaitpur & Sambalpur (1849), Baghat (1850), Udaipur (1852), Jhansi (1853), Nagpur (1854).
  • Other Annexations:
    • Awadh (1856) on the pretext of maladministration (Nawab Wajid Ali Shah; Resident: James Outram).
    • Annexed parts of Sikkim (e.g., Darjeeling).
  • Developmental Reforms:
    • Introduced India’s first railway line (Bombay to Thane, 1853).
    • Organized the Public Works Department (PWD).

Lord Canning (1856-1862)

  • Key Role: Last Governor-General of the East India Company and first Viceroy of India after the 1857 revolt.
  • Events:
    • Viceroy during the Revolt of 1857.
    • Read out Queen Victoria’s Proclamation (1858) transferring power to the Crown.
  • Reforms: The Widow Remarriage Act was passed in 1856 during his tenure.

Lord John Lawrence (1864-1869)

  • Foreign Policy: Associated with the policy of ‘Masterly Inactivity’ towards Afghanistan.

Lord Mayo (1869-1872)

  • Administration: The first Census of India was conducted in 1872.
  • Other: He was the first Viceroy to be assassinated (1872).

Lord Lytton (1876-1880)

  • Event: The title “Empress of India” was bestowed upon Queen Victoria in 1877.
  • Foreign Policy: Followed an aggressive ‘Forward Policy’ towards Afghanistan; the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878-80) was fought during his tenure.

Lord Ripon (1880-1884)

  • Reforms:
    • Local Self-Government: Passed a resolution in 1882, earning him the title ‘Father of Local Self-Government’.
    • First Factory Act (1881): Regulated child labour.
    • Ilbert Bill (1883): A controversial bill to allow Indian judges to try Europeans.
  • Administration: The first regular Census began in 1881.

Lord Dufferin (1884-1888)

  • Event: The Indian National Congress was founded in 1885.
  • Annexation: Presided over the annexation of Upper Burma after the Third Anglo-Burma War (1885).

Lord Curzon (1899-1905)

  • Policies:
    • Partitioned Bengal in 1905.
    • Established the Imperial Cadet Corps (1901).
    • Appointed the Indian Universities Commission (1902).

Lord Hardinge (1910-1916)

  • Decisions:
    • Transferred the capital from Calcutta to Delhi (1911).
    • Announced the reversal of the Partition of Bengal at the Delhi Durbar (1911).

Lord Wavell (1943-1947)

  • Key Role: Served as the Governor-General and Crown Representative under the Government of India Act, 1935.

Key Treaties, Alliances, and Systems

Subsidiary Alliance System

  • Concept: A policy to bring Indian states under British control by having them accept a permanent British force, pay for its maintenance, and forfeit foreign relations.
  • Architect: Lord Wellesley (refined and aggressively used it, 1798-1805).
  • Objectives: Establish British sovereignty/political supremacy, counter French threat, maintain a large army at Indian expense.
  • Chronological Order of Acceptance:
    1. Hyderabad (1798 & 1800)
    2. Mysore (1799)
    3. Awadh (1801)
    4. Sindhia (1804)
  • Key Rulers: The Nizam of Hyderabad was the first to accept it. The Holkar state of Indore did not accept it.

Land Revenue Systems

  • Permanent Settlement (Zamindari): Introduced by Lord Cornwallis in Bengal (1793).
  • Ryotwari System: Settlement made directly with the cultivator (ryot). Associated with Thomas Munro and Alexander Read.

Other Key Treaties

  • Treaty of Bassein (1802): Signed between the EIC and Peshwa Baji Rao II, leading to the Second Anglo-Maratha War.

Social Reforms and Abolition of Practices

Abolition of Sati (1829)

  • Abolished by Lord William Bentinck.
  • Social Context: Prevalent among Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Rajputs; believed to send seven generations of her husband to heaven.
  • Key Reformer: Raja Ram Mohan Roy led the campaign against it.
  • Earlier Attempts: Made by Emperor Akbar, Maratha rulers, the Portuguese in Goa, and the French in Chandranagar.

Suppression of Thuggee

  • Administrator: Captain William Sleeman appointed by Lord William Bentinck.
  • Outcome: The organized network was eradicated by 1837.

Abolition of Slavery

  • 1789: Export of slaves from Bengal banned.
  • 1843: Slavery declared illegal in India by Lord Ellenborough (Act-V).
  • 1860: Indian Penal Code made slavery a criminal offense.

Tribal Development

  • Hill Assembly Plan: Established by Cleveland for Adivasis, involving hereditary hill chiefs (Sardars) with judicial powers.

Chronology of Major Events

  • 1757: Battle of Plassey (Robert Clive)
  • 1764: Battle of Buxar
  • 1765: Treaty of Allahabad (Robert Clive)
  • 1773: Post of Governor-General of Bengal created
  • 1774: Warren Hastings became first Governor-General of Bengal
  • 1784: Asiatic Society of Bengal founded
  • 1793: Permanent Settlement introduced (Cornwallis)
  • 1802: Treaty of Bassein signed
  • 1818: Abolition of Peshwaship (Hastings)
  • 1829: Abolition of Sati (Bentinck)
  • 1833: Post renamed to Governor-General of India
  • 1843: Annexation of Sindh (Ellenborough)
  • 1849: Annexation of Punjab
  • 1853: First railway line (Bombay to Thane)
  • 1856: Annexation of Awadh (Dalhousie)
  • 1857: Revolt of 1857
  • 1858: Power transferred to British Crown; Canning becomes first Viceroy
  • 1877: Queen Victoria proclaimed Empress of India (Lytton)
  • 1885: Indian National Congress founded (Dufferin)
  • 1905: Partition of Bengal (Curzon)
  • 1911: Capital moved to Delhi; Partition of Bengal reversed (Hardinge)

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