Governors-General & Viceroys — The Complete Chronology

Why This Chapter Matters

This is the highest-yield chapter in Modern History for SSC and RRB. Almost every event you studied in the earlier chapters can be re-asked as a "who was the Governor-General/Viceroy when..." question. Permanent Settlement, abolition of sati, Doctrine of Lapse, first railway, Partition of Bengal, Jallianwala Bagh, Dandi March, Quit India, the Mountbatten Plan: each of these is tied to one name and one tenure. In a typical SSC CGL/CHSL cycle, expect 2 to 4 questions from this chronology alone, and in RRB NTPC the ratio is similar.

Three names dominate the question papers: Dalhousie, Curzon, and Canning. After them come Bentinck, Ripon, Lytton, Cornwallis and Mountbatten. Examiners also love the "firsts and lasts": first Governor-General of Bengal, first Viceroy, last Viceroy, first Indian Governor-General. Learn every table in this chapter with the years attached. A name without its tenure is only half a mark.

1. How the Post Evolved

The title of the top British officer in India changed four times. SSC asks this evolution directly, so fix the sequence first.

Stage	Created by	Period	First holder
Governor-General of Bengal	Regulating Act, 1773	1773–1833	Warren Hastings
Governor-General of India	Charter Act, 1833	1833–1858	Lord William Bentinck
Viceroy of India (Crown rule)	Government of India Act, 1858	1858–1947	Lord Canning
Governor-General of the Dominion of India	Indian Independence Act, 1947	1947–1950	Lord Mountbatten

Points to remember:

• Before 1773 the head of the Bengal Presidency was only Governor of Bengal. Robert Clive held this post twice (1757–60 and 1765–67). Warren Hastings was Governor of Bengal from 1772 and became the first Governor-General of Bengal in 1773.
• The Regulating Act gave the Governor-General of Bengal supervisory power over Bombay and Madras. The Charter Act of 1833 made him Governor-General of India with full control over all of British India.
• After 1858 the same person carried two hats: Viceroy as the Crown's personal representative and Governor-General as head of administration. Exam answers use "Viceroy" for the period 1858–1947.
• The post ended on 26 January 1950, when India became a Republic and the President replaced the Governor-General.

2. Governors-General of Bengal (1773–1833)

2.1 Warren Hastings (1773–1785)

• First Governor-General of Bengal under the Regulating Act, 1773.
• Ended the Dual Government of Bengal in 1772 (as Governor) and shifted the treasury from Murshidabad to Calcutta.
• Rohilla War, 1774. First Anglo-Maratha War (1775–82), ended by the Treaty of Salbai, 1782. Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780–84), ended by the Treaty of Mangalore, 1784.
• Supreme Court at Calcutta, 1774 (Chief Justice Elijah Impey). The Nand Kumar trial and execution, 1775, took place in this court.
• Asiatic Society of Bengal founded in 1784 by William Jones during his tenure. Charles Wilkins' English translation of the Bhagavad Gita (1785) carried Hastings' introduction.
• Pitt's India Act, 1784, was passed while he was in office.
• Impeachment proceedings against him ran in Britain from 1788 to 1795; he was acquitted. He is the only Governor-General to face impeachment.

2.2 Lord Cornwallis (1786–1793)

• Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790–92), ended by the Treaty of Seringapatam, 1792; Tipu surrendered half his territory and two sons as hostages.
• Permanent Settlement of Bengal, 1793 (with John Shore's inputs).
• Cornwallis Code, 1793: separation of revenue and justice administration.
• Reformed the police system through thanas under darogas, and Europeanised the civil services. He is called the "Father of Civil Services in India."
• Sanskrit College, Banaras, was founded in 1791 by Jonathan Duncan, Resident at Banaras, during his tenure.
• Cornwallis returned as Governor-General in 1805 and died the same year at Ghazipur (Uttar Pradesh), where his tomb stands.

2.3 Sir John Shore (1793–1798)

• Followed a policy of non-intervention.
• Battle of Kharda (1795) between the Nizam and the Marathas took place under him; the British stayed neutral.
• The Charter Act, 1793, came into operation at the start of his tenure.

2.4 Lord Wellesley (1798–1805)

• Introduced the Subsidiary Alliance system, 1798. Hyderabad (1798) was the first state to sign; Mysore, Tanjore, Awadh and the Peshwa followed.
• Fourth Anglo-Mysore War, 1799: Tipu Sultan died defending Seringapatam.
• Treaty of Bassein, 1802, with Peshwa Baji Rao II led to the Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–05).
• Founded Fort William College, Calcutta, in 1800 for training civil servants.
• Introduced press censorship in 1799.
• Called himself the "Bengal Tiger."

2.5 Sir George Barlow (1805–1807, acting)

• The Vellore Mutiny of 1806 (sepoy revolt against new dress regulations) occurred under him.

2.6 Lord Minto I (1807–1813)

• Treaty of Amritsar, 1809, with Maharaja Ranjit Singh fixed the Sutlej as the boundary.
• The Charter Act, 1813 (end of Company's trade monopoly except tea and China trade; one lakh rupees for education) was passed at the close of his tenure.

2.7 Lord Hastings (1813–1823)

• Full name: Marquess of Hastings (Earl of Moira). Do not confuse him with Warren Hastings.
• Anglo-Nepal War (1814–16), ended by the Treaty of Sagauli, 1816.
• Suppressed the Pindaris (1817–18).
• Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–19): the Peshwaship was abolished and Baji Rao II was pensioned off to Bithur.
• Ryotwari settlement was introduced in Madras by Governor Thomas Munro in 1820 during his tenure.
• Adopted the policy of paramountcy in place of non-intervention.

2.8 Lord Amherst (1823–1828)

• First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–26), ended by the Treaty of Yandabo, 1826 (Assam, Arakan and Tenasserim ceded to the British).
• Capture of Bharatpur, 1826.
• Note for matching questions: John Adam (1823) acted between Hastings and Amherst, and William Butterworth Bayley (1828) acted between Amherst and Bentinck.

3. Governors-General of India (1833–1858)

3.1 Lord William Bentinck (1828–1835)

• Governor-General of Bengal 1828–33; first Governor-General of India from 1833 under the Charter Act.
• Abolition of Sati, 1829 (Regulation XVII), pushed by Raja Rammohan Roy.
• Suppression of Thuggee through Colonel William Sleeman (1830s).
• Macaulay's Minute, 1835, and the English Education Act, 1835: English made the medium of higher education.
• Calcutta Medical College founded, 1835.
• Annexed Mysore (1831), Cachar (1832) and Coorg (1834).
• Banned female infanticide and human sacrifice in Company territories.

3.2 Sir Charles Metcalfe (1835–1836)

• Repealed press restrictions through the Press Act of 1835; remembered as the "Liberator of the Indian Press."

3.3 Lord Auckland (1836–1842)

• First Anglo-Afghan War (1838–42), a disaster for the British; the Tripartite Treaty of 1838 (British, Ranjit Singh, Shah Shuja) preceded it.

3.4 Lord Ellenborough (1842–1844)

• Annexation of Sindh, 1843, carried out by Sir Charles Napier.
• Act V of 1843 abolished slavery in India.

3.5 Lord Hardinge I (1844–1848)

• First Anglo-Sikh War (1845–46), ended by the Treaty of Lahore, 1846.
• Prohibited female infanticide and human sacrifice among tribes such as the Gonds and Khonds.

3.6 Lord Dalhousie (1848–1856)

The single most-asked Governor-General. Learn this list cold.

• Doctrine of Lapse annexations: Satara (1848), Jaitpur and Sambalpur (1849), Baghat (1850), Udaipur (1852), Jhansi (1853), Nagpur (1854).
• Second Anglo-Sikh War (1848–49): Punjab annexed, 1849.
• Second Anglo-Burmese War, 1852: Lower Burma (Pegu) annexed.
• Awadh annexed in 1856 on grounds of misgovernment, not lapse. SSC tests this distinction.
• First railway line, 1853: Bombay to Thane (about 34 km).
• First telegraph line, 1853: Calcutta to Agra.
• Post Office Act, 1854: uniform postage; postage stamps introduced.
• Wood's Despatch, 1854, the "Magna Carta of English education in India."
• Separate Public Works Department created; work began on the Ganges Canal (opened 1854).
• Charter Act, 1853: open competition for the civil services.
• Santhal Uprising (1855–56) occurred during his tenure.
• The Widow Remarriage Act was drafted under Dalhousie but passed in 1856 under Canning.

3.7 Lord Canning (1856–1862)

• Last Governor-General under the Company and, from 1858, the first Viceroy of India.
• Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act, 1856 (effort of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar).
• Universities of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras founded in 1857.
• Revolt of 1857, its suppression, and the Government of India Act, 1858, which transferred power from Company to Crown.
• Queen Victoria's Proclamation read at the Allahabad Durbar on 1 November 1858.
• Indian Penal Code enacted in 1860 (drafted by Macaulay's commission in the 1830s); Code of Criminal Procedure followed.
• Indian Councils Act, 1861: Indians could be nominated to the legislative council; portfolio system introduced.
• Indigo Revolt (1859–60) in Bengal; Indigo Commission, 1860.
• Called "Clemency Canning" for his moderate policy after 1857.
• Withdrew the Doctrine of Lapse; adoption rights of princes recognised.

4. Viceroys, 1858–1905

4.1 Lord Elgin I (1862–1863)

• Suppressed the Wahhabi movement. Died at Dharamshala in 1863.

4.2 Sir John Lawrence (1864–1869)

• Followed "masterly inactivity" towards Afghanistan.
• Bhutan War, 1865; Orissa famine, 1866 (about which the first famine commission under George Campbell reported).
• Shimla became the summer capital in 1864.
• High Courts at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras (created under the Indian High Courts Act, 1861) started functioning in 1862, just before his tenure; he consolidated the new judicial setup.

4.3 Lord Mayo (1869–1872)

• Financial decentralisation, 1870 (first step towards provincial finance).
• Founded Mayo College, Ajmer (1872) for princes, and the Rajkumar College, Kathiawar.
• Started the Statistical Survey of India; the first census attempt came in 1872.
• Only Viceroy to be assassinated in office: killed at Port Blair (Andamans) in 1872 by Sher Ali Afridi.

4.4 Lord Northbrook (1872–1876)

• Bihar famine (1873–74); visit of the Prince of Wales, 1875; trial of Gaekwad of Baroda.
• Kuka (Namdhari) movement of Punjab was crushed in 1872, at the changeover from Mayo to Northbrook.
• Resigned over differences on Afghan policy.

4.5 Lord Lytton (1876–1880)

• Great Famine of 1876–78 (Madras, Bombay, Mysore); Famine Commission under Richard Strachey, 1878.
• Delhi Durbar, 1877: Queen Victoria proclaimed "Kaiser-i-Hind" (Empress of India).
• Vernacular Press Act, 1878 (the "Gagging Act") and the Arms Act, 1878.
• Lowered the maximum age for the ICS exam from 21 to 19.
• Proposed the Statutory Civil Service, 1879.
• Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878–80); Treaty of Gandamak, 1879.

4.6 Lord Ripon (1880–1884)

• The most liked Viceroy among Indians; remembered as the father of local self-government for his Resolution of 1882.
• Repeal of the Vernacular Press Act, 1882.
• First Factory Act, 1881 (children below 7 barred from factory work).
• First regular decennial census, 1881.
• Hunter Commission on education, 1882.
• Ilbert Bill controversy, 1883–84: the bill sought to let Indian judges try Europeans; European agitation forced a compromise.

4.7 Lord Dufferin (1884–1888)

• Indian National Congress founded, 1885 (first session at Bombay under W.C. Bonnerjee).
• Third Anglo-Burmese War, 1885; Upper Burma annexed, 1886.
• Bengal Tenancy Act, 1885; Aitchison Commission on Public Services, 1886.

4.8 Lord Lansdowne (1888–1894)

• Second Factory Act, 1891 (weekly holiday; working-hour limits for women and children).
• Age of Consent Act, 1891.
• Indian Councils Act, 1892 (indirect element in council entry).
• Durand Line, 1893, between British India and Afghanistan (drawn by Sir Mortimer Durand).

4.9 Lord Elgin II (1894–1899)

• Bubonic plague in Bombay, 1896, and the great famine of 1896–98; Lyall Famine Commission, 1898.
• The Chapekar brothers shot plague officer Rand at Poona in 1897, the first political assassination of the modern nationalist phase.

4.10 Lord Curzon (1899–1905)

The second most-asked name after Dalhousie. His tenure was a chain of commissions and acts.

• Police Commission, 1902, under Sir Andrew Fraser.
• Raleigh Commission on universities, 1902, leading to the Indian Universities Act, 1904.
• Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, 1904; restructured the Archaeological Survey of India (John Marshall appointed Director-General, 1902).
• Famine Commission under MacDonnell, 1901.
• Created the North-West Frontier Province, 1901.
• Agricultural Research Institute at Pusa (Bihar), 1905.
• Sent the Younghusband Mission to Tibet, 1904.
• Calcutta Corporation Act, 1899, reduced elected Indian members.
• Partition of Bengal announced in July 1905, effective 16 October 1905. He left India the same year after a quarrel with Commander-in-Chief Kitchener.

5. Viceroys, 1905–1947

5.1 Lord Minto II (1905–1910)

• Swadeshi and Boycott movement raged against the Bengal partition.
• Muslim League founded at Dacca, December 1906 (Simla deputation to Minto, October 1906).
• Surat Split of the Congress, 1907.
• Morley-Minto Reforms / Indian Councils Act, 1909: introduced separate electorates for Muslims. (Morley was Secretary of State.)
• Repressive laws: Newspapers (Incitement to Offences) Act, 1908; Explosive Substances Act, 1908.

5.2 Lord Hardinge II (1910–1916)

• Delhi Durbar, December 1911, attended by King George V: annulment of Bengal partition and announcement of the transfer of the capital from Calcutta to Delhi (shifted 1912).
• Bomb thrown at Hardinge at Chandni Chowk, Delhi, 1912 (Delhi conspiracy case; Rash Behari Bose behind it).
• Gandhi returned to India, January 1915; Hindu Mahasabha founded, 1915 (Madan Mohan Malaviya).
• Banaras Hindu University founded, 1916, just as his tenure closed.

5.3 Lord Chelmsford (1916–1921)

• Home Rule Leagues of Tilak and Annie Besant, 1916; Lucknow Pact, 1916.
• Montagu's August Declaration, 1917; Government of India Act, 1919 (dyarchy in provinces).
• Rowlatt Act, March 1919; Jallianwala Bagh massacre, 13 April 1919; Hunter Commission.
• Khilafat movement and launch of Non-Cooperation, 1920.
• Champaran (1917), Kheda and Ahmedabad (1918) satyagrahas fell in his tenure.
• Saddler Commission on Calcutta University, 1917; Women's University at Poona, 1916 (D.K. Karve).

5.4 Lord Reading (1921–1926)

• Only Jewish Viceroy of India.
• Moplah rebellion, 1921; Chauri Chaura, February 1922, and withdrawal of Non-Cooperation.
• Repeal of the Rowlatt Act and the Press Act (1922).
• Swaraj Party formed, 1923 (C.R. Das, Motilal Nehru).
• Kakori train action, 1925; RSS founded, 1925.
• Lee Commission on services, 1924; Muddiman Committee, 1924.
• Visit of the Prince of Wales, November 1921, met with a boycott.

5.5 Lord Irwin (1926–1931)

• Simon Commission appointed 1927, arrived 1928 ("Simon Go Back"); death of Lala Lajpat Rai, 1928.
• Nehru Report, 1928; Deepavali Declaration (dominion status assurance), October 1929.
• Lahore Congress, December 1929: Purna Swaraj resolution; 26 January 1930 observed as first Independence Day.
• Dandi March, 12 March – 6 April 1930; Civil Disobedience began.
• First Round Table Conference, 1930 (Congress absent).
• Gandhi-Irwin Pact, 5 March 1931.
• Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev executed, 23 March 1931.
• Sharda Act (Child Marriage Restraint Act), 1929; Butler Commission on princely states, 1927.

5.6 Lord Willingdon (1931–1936)

• Second RTC, 1931 (Gandhi attended, returned empty-handed); Third RTC, 1932.
• Civil Disobedience resumed 1932; harsh repression.
• Communal Award, August 1932 (Ramsay MacDonald); Poona Pact, September 1932 (Gandhi and Ambedkar).
• Government of India Act, 1935, enacted.
• Reserve Bank of India began operations, 1935.
• Burma and Aden were set to be separated from India under the 1935 Act (effective 1937).

5.7 Lord Linlithgow (1936–1943)

• Longest-serving Viceroy (about 7.5 years).
• Provincial elections, 1937, and formation of Congress ministries; their resignation, 1939; League's "Deliverance Day," 22 December 1939.
• Lahore (Pakistan) Resolution, March 1940; August Offer, 1940; Individual Satyagraha, 1940 (Vinoba Bhave first satyagrahi).
• Escape of Subhas Bose from Calcutta, January 1941.
• Cripps Mission, 1942 ("a post-dated cheque").
• Quit India Movement, August 1942.
• Bengal Famine, 1943.

5.8 Lord Wavell (1943–1947)

• Gandhi-Jinnah talks, 1944 (C.R. Formula) failed.
• Simla Conference and Wavell Plan, June–July 1945, wrecked on the League's claim to nominate all Muslims.
• INA trials at Red Fort, 1945–46; RIN Revolt, February 1946.
• Cabinet Mission, 1946; Direct Action Day, 16 August 1946.
• Interim Government under Nehru, 2 September 1946; Constituent Assembly first met, 9 December 1946.
• Attlee's declaration of 20 February 1947: British would leave India by June 1948.

5.9 Lord Mountbatten (March 1947 – June 1948)

• Last Viceroy of British India and first Governor-General of the Dominion of India.
• 3 June Plan (Mountbatten Plan), 1947: partition and early transfer of power.
• Indian Independence Act, July 1947; freedom on 15 August 1947.
• Radcliffe Boundary Commission drew the partition lines.
• Stayed on as Governor-General of India until June 1948. (Jinnah, not Mountbatten, became Governor-General of Pakistan.)

6. Governor-General of Free India: C. Rajagopalachari (June 1948 – 26 January 1950)

• First and only Indian Governor-General, and the last Governor-General of India.
• Handed over to Dr Rajendra Prasad, first President, when the Constitution commenced on 26 January 1950.
• Later founded the Swatantra Party (1959) and was among the first recipients of the Bharat Ratna (1954).

7. Firsts, Lasts and Onlys — The Exam's Favourite Corner

Tag	Name
First Governor-General of Bengal	Warren Hastings (1773)
First Governor-General of India	Lord William Bentinck (1833)
First Viceroy	Lord Canning (1858)
Last Governor-General under the Company	Lord Canning
Last Viceroy	Lord Mountbatten
First Governor-General of the Dominion of India	Lord Mountbatten
First and only Indian Governor-General	C. Rajagopalachari
Only Governor-General impeached (acquitted)	Warren Hastings
Only Viceroy assassinated in office	Lord Mayo (1872, Port Blair)
Longest-serving Viceroy	Lord Linlithgow (1936–43)
"Liberator of the Indian Press"	Sir Charles Metcalfe
"Father of Civil Services in India"	Lord Cornwallis
"Father of Local Self-Government"	Lord Ripon
Died at Ghazipur	Lord Cornwallis (1805)
Died at Dharamshala	Lord Elgin I (1863)

Quick Revision — One-Line Facts

• Regulating Act 1773 created the post of Governor-General of Bengal; Warren Hastings was the first.
• Asiatic Society of Bengal (1784) was founded by William Jones under Warren Hastings.
• Permanent Settlement (1793) and the Cornwallis Code came under Cornwallis.
• Sir John Shore followed non-intervention; the Battle of Kharda (1795) fell in his tenure.
• Wellesley started the Subsidiary Alliance (1798); Hyderabad signed first.
• Tipu Sultan died in 1799 (Fourth Anglo-Mysore War) under Wellesley.
• Vellore Mutiny (1806) occurred under acting Governor-General George Barlow.
• Treaty of Amritsar (1809) with Ranjit Singh was signed under Minto I.
• Treaty of Sagauli (1816) and abolition of the Peshwaship (1818) came under Lord Hastings.
• Treaty of Yandabo (1826) ended the First Burmese War under Amherst.
• Sati was abolished in 1829 by William Bentinck, who also crushed thuggee through Sleeman.
• Metcalfe (1835–36) freed the press; Auckland lost the First Afghan War.
• Sindh was annexed in 1843 under Ellenborough by Charles Napier.
• Dalhousie (1848–56): Doctrine of Lapse, first railway (1853, Bombay–Thane), first telegraph, Post Office Act 1854, Wood's Despatch 1854.
• Awadh (1856) was annexed for misgovernment, not under the Doctrine of Lapse.
• Canning was the last Company Governor-General and the first Viceroy; universities of Calcutta, Bombay, Madras opened in 1857.
• Mayo was assassinated at Port Blair in 1872 by Sher Ali Afridi.
• Lytton: Delhi Durbar 1877, Vernacular Press Act and Arms Act 1878, Second Afghan War.
• Ripon: repeal of the VPA (1882), first Factory Act (1881), local self-government resolution (1882), Ilbert Bill (1883).
• The Congress was born in 1885 under Dufferin; the Durand Line (1893) came under Lansdowne.
• Curzon partitioned Bengal (1905) and created the NWFP (1901).
• Separate electorates (1909) came under Minto II; the capital moved to Delhi (1911) under Hardinge II.
• Jallianwala Bagh (1919) happened under Chelmsford; Chauri Chaura (1922) under Reading.
• Dandi March and the Gandhi-Irwin Pact fall under Irwin; the Poona Pact (1932) and the 1935 Act under Willingdon.
• Linlithgow saw Quit India (1942) and the Bengal Famine (1943); Wavell saw the Cabinet Mission (1946).
• Mountbatten was the last Viceroy; C. Rajagopalachari was the last Governor-General, replaced by President Rajendra Prasad on 26 January 1950.

Memory Tables

Table 1 — Master chronology at a glance

Ruler	Tenure	One-line anchor
Warren Hastings	1773–1785	Regulating Act; Asiatic Society 1784; impeachment
Cornwallis	1786–1793	Permanent Settlement 1793; civil services
John Shore	1793–1798	Non-intervention; Kharda 1795
Wellesley	1798–1805	Subsidiary Alliance; Tipu's death 1799
George Barlow (acting)	1805–1807	Vellore Mutiny 1806
Minto I	1807–1813	Treaty of Amritsar 1809
Lord Hastings	1813–1823	Sagauli 1816; Peshwaship ends 1818
Amherst	1823–1828	Yandabo 1826; Bharatpur 1826
William Bentinck	1828–1835	Sati abolished 1829; English education 1835
Charles Metcalfe	1835–1836	Press Act 1835
Auckland	1836–1842	First Afghan War
Ellenborough	1842–1844	Sindh annexed 1843
Hardinge I	1844–1848	First Sikh War; Treaty of Lahore 1846
Dalhousie	1848–1856	Lapse; railway/telegraph 1853; Wood's Despatch 1854
Canning	1856–1862	1857 Revolt; first Viceroy; 1861 Councils Act
Elgin I	1862–1863	Wahhabis; died at Dharamshala
John Lawrence	1864–1869	Masterly inactivity; Shimla summer capital 1864
Mayo	1869–1872	Financial decentralisation; assassinated 1872
Northbrook	1872–1876	Bihar famine; Prince of Wales visit 1875
Lytton	1876–1880	Durbar 1877; VPA & Arms Act 1878
Ripon	1880–1884	Local self-government 1882; Ilbert Bill 1883
Dufferin	1884–1888	INC founded 1885; Upper Burma 1886
Lansdowne	1888–1894	Councils Act 1892; Durand Line 1893
Elgin II	1894–1899	Plague 1896; Rand murder 1897
Curzon	1899–1905	Bengal partition 1905; NWFP 1901
Minto II	1905–1910	Muslim League 1906; Morley-Minto 1909
Hardinge II	1910–1916	Capital to Delhi 1911; Gandhi returns 1915
Chelmsford	1916–1921	GoI Act 1919; Jallianwala Bagh 1919
Reading	1921–1926	Chauri Chaura 1922; Kakori 1925
Irwin	1926–1931	Dandi 1930; Gandhi-Irwin Pact 1931
Willingdon	1931–1936	Poona Pact 1932; GoI Act 1935
Linlithgow	1936–1943	Quit India 1942; Bengal Famine 1943
Wavell	1943–1947	Simla 1945; Cabinet Mission 1946
Mountbatten	1947–1948	3 June Plan; Independence 1947
C. Rajagopalachari	1948–1950	Only Indian Governor-General

Table 2 — Act / Reform → Head of Government

Act / Reform	Year	Under whom
Regulating Act	1773	Warren Hastings
Pitt's India Act	1784	Warren Hastings
Permanent Settlement	1793	Cornwallis
Subsidiary Alliance begins	1798	Wellesley
Charter Act (education grant)	1813	Minto I
Abolition of Sati	1829	Bentinck
English Education Act	1835	Bentinck
Wood's Despatch	1854	Dalhousie
Government of India Act	1858	Canning
Indian Councils Act	1861	Canning
Vernacular Press Act	1878	Lytton
First Factory Act	1881	Ripon
Indian Councils Act	1892	Lansdowne
Indian Universities Act	1904	Curzon
Morley-Minto Reforms	1909	Minto II
Government of India Act (dyarchy)	1919	Chelmsford
Sharda Act	1929	Irwin
Government of India Act	1935	Willingdon
Indian Independence Act	1947	Mountbatten

Table 3 — Wars and Treaties → Head of Government

War / Treaty	Year	Under whom
Treaty of Salbai	1782	Warren Hastings
Treaty of Seringapatam	1792	Cornwallis
Fourth Anglo-Mysore War	1799	Wellesley
Treaty of Amritsar	1809	Minto I
Treaty of Sagauli	1816	Lord Hastings
Treaty of Yandabo	1826	Amherst
Annexation of Sindh	1843	Ellenborough
Treaty of Lahore	1846	Hardinge I
Annexation of Punjab	1849	Dalhousie
Third Anglo-Burmese War	1885	Dufferin
Durand Line agreement	1893	Lansdowne

Practice MCQs

Q1. Who was the first Governor-General of Bengal under the Regulating Act of 1773? (a) Robert Clive (b) Warren Hastings (c) Lord Cornwallis (d) John Shore

Q2. The Permanent Settlement of Bengal (1793) was introduced by which Governor-General? (a) Warren Hastings (b) Lord Wellesley (c) Lord Cornwallis (d) Lord William Bentinck

Q3. The Vellore Mutiny of 1806 took place during the tenure of: (a) Lord Wellesley (b) Sir George Barlow (c) Lord Minto I (d) Lord Hastings

Q4. Which Governor-General is known as the "Liberator of the Indian Press"? (a) Lord William Bentinck (b) Lord Ripon (c) Sir Charles Metcalfe (d) Lord Macaulay

Q5. Match the following annexations under the Doctrine of Lapse with their years:

1. Satara — A. 1854
2. Jhansi — B. 1848
3. Nagpur — C. 1853 (a) 1-B, 2-C, 3-A (b) 1-A, 2-B, 3-C (c) 1-C, 2-A, 3-B (d) 1-B, 2-A, 3-C

Q6. India's first railway line, from Bombay to Thane, opened in 1853 under: (a) Lord Canning (b) Lord Hardinge I (c) Lord Dalhousie (d) Lord Ellenborough

Q7. Who was the Viceroy of India when the Indian National Congress was founded in 1885? (a) Lord Ripon (b) Lord Dufferin (c) Lord Lansdowne (d) Lord Lytton

Q8. The only Viceroy to be assassinated while in office was: (a) Lord Mayo (b) Lord Northbrook (c) Lord Hardinge II (d) Lord Elgin I

Q9. Arrange the following events in correct chronological order:

1. Vernacular Press Act 2. Ilbert Bill 3. Durand Line agreement 4. Partition of Bengal (a) 1, 2, 3, 4 (b) 2, 1, 3, 4 (c) 1, 3, 2, 4 (d) 2, 1, 4, 3

Q10. The capital of British India was shifted from Calcutta to Delhi during the tenure of: (a) Lord Curzon (b) Lord Minto II (c) Lord Hardinge II (d) Lord Chelmsford

Q11. Which of the following pairs is NOT correctly matched? (a) Jallianwala Bagh massacre — Lord Chelmsford (b) Gandhi-Irwin Pact — Lord Irwin (c) Poona Pact — Lord Willingdon (d) Quit India Movement — Lord Wavell

Q12. Who among the following was the last Governor-General of India? (a) Lord Mountbatten (b) Lord Wavell (c) C. Rajagopalachari (d) Dr Rajendra Prasad

Q13. The Treaty of Amritsar (1809) between the East India Company and Maharaja Ranjit Singh was signed when the Governor-General was: (a) Lord Minto I (b) Lord Wellesley (c) Lord Hastings (d) Sir George Barlow

Q14. Consider the following statements about Lord Curzon's tenure:

1. The North-West Frontier Province was created in 1901.
2. The Indian Universities Act was passed in 1904.
3. The Morley-Minto Reforms were introduced under him. Which of the statements are correct? (a) 1 and 2 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3

Q15. Awadh was annexed by the British in 1856 on the ground of: (a) Doctrine of Lapse (b) Misgovernment (c) Failure to pay subsidy (d) Refusal of Subsidiary Alliance

Answer Key

Q	Answer	One-line reason
1	(b)	Warren Hastings became the first Governor-General of Bengal in 1773; Clive was only Governor.
2	(c)	Cornwallis introduced the Permanent Settlement in 1793.
3	(b)	The Vellore Mutiny (1806) fell in the acting tenure of Sir George Barlow.
4	(c)	Metcalfe repealed press restrictions through the Press Act of 1835.
5	(a)	Satara 1848, Jhansi 1853, Nagpur 1854.
6	(c)	Dalhousie's tenure saw the first railway (1853) and first telegraph line.
7	(b)	The INC's first session (Bombay, 1885) took place under Dufferin.
8	(a)	Mayo was killed at Port Blair in 1872 by Sher Ali Afridi.
9	(a)	VPA 1878, Ilbert Bill 1883, Durand Line 1893, Bengal partition 1905.
10	(c)	Hardinge II announced the shift at the Delhi Durbar of 1911.
11	(d)	Quit India (1942) came under Linlithgow, not Wavell.
12	(c)	C. Rajagopalachari held office till 26 January 1950; Mountbatten was the last Viceroy.
13	(a)	Minto I signed the Treaty of Amritsar with Ranjit Singh in 1809.
14	(a)	Statements 1 and 2 are correct; the 1909 reforms came under Minto II.
15	(b)	Dalhousie annexed Awadh citing misgovernment, not lapse.