List of All Governors General of India

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The Regulating Act of 1773 established the office of Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William or Governor-General of Bengal, which was to be selected by the East India Company’s Court of Directors (EIC). During the period 1773–1784, the Court of Directors appointed a Council of Four (located in India) to assist the Governor-General, and the council’s decisions were binding on the Governor-General.

The company rule came to an end with the Indian Rebellion of 1857, but British India and princely kingdoms came under the direct administration of the British Crown. In 1858, the Government of India Act established the office of Secretary of State for India to supervise India’s affairs, which was advised by a new Council of India of 15 members (based in London). The old Council of Four was renamed the Council of Governor-General of India or the Indian Executive Council. The Government of India Act of 1935 later eliminated the Council of India.

List of the Governor Generals of India

Warren Hastings (1773-1785)

Warren Hastings was an English statesman who served as the first Governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), the chairman of the Bengal Supreme Council, and therefore India’s first de facto Governor General.

By executing the Regulating Act of 1773, Hastings put an end to the Dual Government system. During his time as Governor General of India, the Zamindars were given judicial authority and civil and criminal courts were founded in each district.

Sir John Macpherson (1785-1786)

Sir John Macpherson served as Governor General of India for a short time. From 1785 to 1786, he served as the acting Governor-General of Bengal.

Lord Cornwallis (1786-1793)

Lord Cornwallis was knighted in 1786 after gaining the trust of the British government. He was named Governor-General of India and Commander-in-Chief of India in the same year.

Lord Cornwallis established a number of key reforms inside the East India Company and its domains, notably the Cornwallis code, which was responsible for enacting the Permanent Settlement of Bengal, a series of significant land taxation reforms (also known as the Zamindari system).

Sir John Shore (1793-1798)

In 1793, Lord Cornwallis was succeeded as Governor General of India by Sir John Shore. Because he pursued a policy of non-intervention, Sir John Shore’s tenure as Governor-General of India was rather uneventful.

The Charter Act of 1793 was introduced by Sir John Shore. The Marathas’ invasion on the Nizam was the most significant event that occurred during his time as Governor General of India.

Lord Wellesley (1789-1805)

Lord Wellesley was appointed Governor General of India at a period when the British were fighting France over the world for survival. He quickly grasped that the political climate in India was conducive to the British Empire’s expansion.

To keep the Indian rulers under control and build the British Empire in India, Lord Wellesley adopted the Subsidiary Alliance programme. He is renowned as the Father of Civil Services in India for founding a college in Calcutta to train the Company’s servants.

Sir George Barlow (1805-1807)

From 1805 to 1807, Sir George Barlow was the Acting Governor General of India until Lord Minto arrived in 1807. Because of his drive for economy and retrenchment, he may be the only Governor General of India who reduced the size of British territory.

In 1806 during Sir George Barlow’s rule, the Mutiny at Vellore occurred, in which Indian soldiers killed numerous English officials.

Lord Minto I (1807-1813)

Lord Minto was a well-trained politician who had worked in the field of public affairs for many years. In 1809, Lord Minto signed the Amritsar Treaty with Maharaja Ranjit Singh. He also introduced the 1813 Charter Act.

Lord Hastings (1813-1823)

Lord Hastings served as Governor General of India for ten years, from 1813 to 1823. His administration is remembered for its aggressive and war-making policies.

Lord Hastings put an end to John Shore’s policy of non-intervention. He ended newspaper control in Madras and founded the Ryotwari and Mahalwari systems in Central India, Punjab, and Western Uttar Pradesh. The Third Anglo-Maratha War (1816-1818), the Treaty of Sagauli with Nepal in 1816, and the establishment of the Bombay Presidency in 1818 were all significant events during Lord Hastings’ reign.

Lord Amherst (1823-1828)

From 1823 until 1828, Lord Amherst served as Governor General of India. The acquisition of Assam, which led to the first Burmese war in 1824 and the British Empire’s capture of Arakan and Tenasserim, were the major events of his reign. During Lord Amherst’s reign, the mutiny of Barrackpur occurred in 1824.

Lord William Bentinck (1828-1835)

The liberal Governor General of India is Lord William Bentinck. He is credited with major social and educational reforms in India, including the abolition of Sati, the prohibition of female infanticide and Thuggee, the elimination of lawlessness, and the prohibition of human sacrifices.

Lord William Bentinck was a driving force behind the adoption of English as a language of teaching in India.

Sir Charles Metcalfe (1835-1836)

Sir Charles Metcalfe served as the Governor-General of India for a year. His term is notable for carrying out and implementing all of Lord William Bentinck’s policies.

Sir Charles Metcalfe abolished the 1823 licencing requirements and eliminated the limits on the Vernacular Press.

Lord Auckland (1836-1842)

From 1836 to 1842, Lord Auckland was the Governor General of India. He devoted himself to the improvement of native schools and the expansion of India’s commercial enterprise as a legislator.

The first Anglo-Afghan war, which occurred during Lord Auckland’s term, dealt a major blow to British prestige in India.

Lord Dalhousie (1848-1856)

From 1848 to 1856, James Andrew Ramsay, popularly known as Lord Dalhousie, was the Governor General of India. During his rule, the Sikhs were crushed again in the Second Anglo-Sikh War (1849), and Lord Dalhousie subjugated the whole Punjab under British administration. He established the Lapse Doctrine and conquered Satara (1848), Jaipur and Sambhalpur (1849), Udaipur (1852), Jhansi (1853), and Nagpur (1854). (1854).

During Lord Dalhousie’s reign, the first railway line between Bombay and Thane was inaugurated in 1853, while Calcutta and Agra were telegraphed in the same year. Wood’s Despatch, which established a proper educational system from the school to the university, was passed in 1854.

Conclusion

The Governor-General representing the Crown became known as the Viceroy when the Government of India Act of 1858 was passed. ‘Viceroy’ had no statutory authority and was never used by Parliament, despite the fact that it was commonly used in everyday speech.

The Governor-General remained the Crown’s sole representative, and the Government of India was vested in the appointments of Governor-Generals of India made by the British Crown on the advice of the Secretary of State for India. The office of Governor-General remained a ceremonial position in both India and Pakistan until their republican constitutions were enacted in 1950 and 1956, respectively.

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