British territories were broadly divided into administrative units called Presidencies. There were three Presidencies: Bengal, Madras and Bombay. Each was ruled by a Governor. The supreme head of the administration was the Governor-General. More such information on different Viceroys and Governor-General Of India along with the major reforms brought by them are given below in the form of a list. This is quite important to remember for aspirants of various governmnet exams and other competitive exams.
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Significant Events Related with Important Governors-General & Viceroys of India |
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Governors-General & Viceroys |
Events during the reign |
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Warren Hastings (1773-1785) |
Ø Regulating Act of 1773 Ø The Rohilla War of 1774 Ø The First Maratha War in 1775-82 and the Treaty of Salbai in 1782 Ø Pitt’s India Act of 1784 Ø Second Mysore War in 1780-84 |
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Lord Cornwallis (1786-1793) |
Ø Third Mysore War (1790-92) and Treaty of Seringapatam (1792) Ø Cornwallis Code (1793) Ø Permanent Settlement of Bengal, 1793 |
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Lord Wellesley (1798-1805) |
Ø Introduction of the Subsidiary Alliance System (1798) Ø Fourth Mysore War (1799) Ø Second Maratha War (1803-05) |
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Lord Minto I (1807-1813) |
Ø Treaty of Amritsar with Ranjit Singh (1809) |
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Lord Hastings (1813-1823) |
Ø Anglo-Nepal War (1814-16) and the Treaty of Sagauli, 1816 Ø Third Maratha War (1817-19) and dissolution of Maratha Confederacy Ø Establishment of Ryotwari System (1820) |
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Lord Amherst (1823-1828) |
Ø First Burmese War (1824-1826) |
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Lord William Bentinck (1828-1835) |
Ø Abolition of Sati System (1829) Ø Charter Act of 1833 |
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Lord Auckland (1836-1842) |
Ø First Afghan War (1838-42) |
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Lord Hardinge I (1844-1848) |
Ø First Anglo-Sikh War (1845-46) and the Treaty of Lahore (1846). Ø Social reforms like the abolition of female infanticide |
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Lord Dalhousie (1848-1856) |
Ø Second Anglo-Sikh War (1848-49) Ø The annexation of Lower Burma (1852) Ø Introduction of the Doctrine of Lapse Ø Wood’s Despatch 1854 Ø Laying down of first railway line connecting Bombay and Thane in 1853 Ø Laying down of first railway line connecting Bombay and Thane in 1853 Ø Establishment of PWD |
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Lord Canning (1856-1862) |
Ø Revolt of 1857 Ø Establishment of three universities at Calcutta, Madras and Bombay in 1857 Ø Abolition of East India Company and transfer of control to the Crown by the Government of India Act, 1858 Ø Indian Councils Act of 1861 |
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Lord John Lawrence (1864-1869) |
Ø Bhutan War (1865) Ø Establishment of the High Courts at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras (1865) |
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Lord Lytton (1876-1880) |
Ø The Vernacular Press Act (1878) Ø The Arms Act (1878) Ø The Second Afghan War (1878-80) Ø Queen Victoria assumed the title of ‘Kaiser-i-Hind’ or Queen Empress of India |
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Lord Ripon (1880-1884) |
Ø The first Factory Act (1881) Ø Repeal of the Vernacular Press Act (1882) Ø Government resolution on local self-government (1882) Ø Hunter Commission on education (1882) Ø The Ilbert Bill controversy (1883-84) |
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Lord Dufferin (1884-1888) |
Ø The Third Burmese War (1885-86). Ø Establishment of the Indian National Congress (1885) |
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Lord Lansdowne (1888-1894) |
Ø Factory Act (1891). Ø Indian Councils Act (1892). Ø Setting up of Durand Commission (1893) |
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Lord Curzon (1899-1905) |
Ø Appointment of Police Commission (1902) Ø Appointment of Universities Commission (1902) Ø Indian Universities Act (1904). Ø Partition of Bengal (1905) |
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Lord Minto II (1905-1910) |
Ø Swadeshi Movements. (1905-11) Ø Establishment of Muslim League (1906) Ø Surat Split of Congress (1907) Ø Morley-Minto Reforms(1909) |
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Lord Hardinge II (1910-1916) |
Ø Annulment of Partition of Bengal (1911) Ø Transfer of capital from Calcutta to Delhi (1911). Ø Establishment of the Hindu Mahasabha (1915) |
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Lord Chelmsford (1916-1921) |
Ø Lucknow pact (1916) Ø Champaran Satyagraha (1917) Ø Montagu’s August Declaration (1917) Ø Government of India Act (1919) Ø The Rowlatt Act (1919) Ø Jallianwalla Bagh massacre (1919) Ø Launch of Non-Cooperation and Khilafat Movements |
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Lord Reading (1921-1926) |
Ø Chauri Chaura incident (1922) Ø Withdrawal of Non-Cooperation Movement (1922) Ø Establishment of Swaraj Party(1922) Ø Kakori train robbery (1925) |
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Lord Irwin (1926-1931) |
Ø Simon Commission to India (1927) Ø Harcourt Butler Indian States Commission (1927) Ø Nehru Report (1928) Ø Deepavali Declaration (1929) Ø Lahore session of the Congress (Purna Swaraj Resolution) 1929 Ø Dandi March and the Civil Disobedience Movement (1930) Ø First Round Table Conference (1930) Ø Gandhi-Irwin Pact (1931) |
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Lord Willingdon (1931-1936) |
Ø Communal Award (1932) Ø Second & Third Round Table Conference (1932) Ø Poona Pact (1932) Ø Government of India Act of 1935 |
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Lord Linlithgow (1936-1944) |
Ø Resignation of the Congress ministries after the outbreak of the Second World War (1939) Ø Tripuri Crisis & formation of Forward Bloc (1939) Ø Lahore Resolution of the Muslim League (demand for a separate state for Muslims) 1940 Ø ‘August Offer’ (1940) Ø Formation of the Indian National Army (1941) Ø Cripps Mission (1942) Ø Quit India Movement (1942) |
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Lord Wavell (1944-1947) |
Ø C. Rajagopalachari’s CR Formula (1944) Ø Wavell Plan and the Simla Conference (1942) Ø Cabinet Mission (1946) Ø Direct Action Day (1946) Ø Announcement of end of British rule in India by Clement Attlee (1947) |
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Lord Mountbatten (1947-1948) |
Ø June Third Plan (1947) Ø Redcliff commission (1947) Ø India’s Independence (15 August 1947) |
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Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (1948-1950) |
Ø Last Governor-General of India, before the office, was permanently abolished in 1950 |
