Governors-General and Viceroys of India: Significant Events in Their Rule
Modern History › Quick Reference for Revision · Topic 33.1
Fifteen Governors-General from Warren Hastings (1773) to Canning (1857) and twenty Viceroys from Canning (1858) to Mountbatten (1947-48) ruled British India. This revision table lists each ruler's years and the wars, treaties, laws, reforms and movements that mark the rule, from the Regulating Act of 1773 to the Radcliffe boundary commissions of 1947.
8 min read · UPSC Prelims · History · Quick Reference for Revision
At a Glance
- Governors-General Warren Hastings (1773) to Canning (1856-57)
- Viceroys Canning (1858) to Mountbatten (1947-48)
- Turning point 1858: control passes from the Company to the Crown
- Use Match each ruler with the law, war or movement of his years
- Exam link UPSC Prelims, Modern History: Quick Reference for Revision
Where Does It Fit?
This is the first topic of the category on quick reference for revision. The previous topic covered the NDA government of 2014 to 2019 and ended the subject’s narrative chapters. This topic is a table of rulers. The next topic is a table of the sessions of the Indian National Congress. Previous topic: NITI Aayog Announced 1 January 2015 Demonetisation 8 November 2016 2019 result…">The NDA Government, 2014-19.
Which Events Mark the Governors-General?
| Governor-General | Years | Significant events |
|---|---|---|
| Warren Hastings | 1773-1785 | Regulating Act of 1773; Act of 1781 dividing jurisdiction between the Governor-General-in-Council and the Supreme Court at Calcutta; Pitt’s India Act of 1784; Rohilla War of 1774; First Maratha War (1775-82) and the Treaty of Salbai in 1782; Second Mysore War (1780-84); the dispute with Chait Singh of Benaras that led to his impeachment; Asiatic Society of Bengal (1784) |
| Lord Cornwallis | 1786-1793 | Third Mysore War (1790-92) and the Treaty of Seringapatam (1792); the Cornwallis Code of 1793 separating revenue administration from civil jurisdiction; Permanent Settlement of Bengal, 1793; Europeanisation of the administration and the civil services |
| Sir John Shore | 1793-1798 | Charter Act of 1793; the Battle of Kharda between the Nizam and the Marathas (1795) |
| Lord Wellesley | 1798-1805 | Subsidiary Alliance, first with the Nizam of Hyderabad (1798); Fourth Mysore War (1799); Second Maratha War (1803-05); takeover of Tanjore (1799), Surat (1800) and the Carnatic (1801); Treaty of Bassein (1802) |
| Sir George Barlow | 1805-1807 | Vellore Mutiny (1806) |
| Lord Minto I | 1807-1813 | Treaty of Amritsar with Ranjit Singh (1809) |
| Lord Hastings | 1813-1823 | Anglo-Nepal War (1814-16) and the Treaty of Sagauli (1816); Third Maratha War (1817-19), end of the Maratha Confederacy and creation of the Bombay Presidency (1818); strife with the Pindaris; Ryotwari system introduced by Thomas Munro in Madras (1820) |
| Lord Amherst | 1823-1828 | First Burmese War (1824-26); capture of Bharatpur (1826) |
| Lord William Bentinck | 1828-1835 | Abolition of sati (1829); suppression of thugi (1830); Charter Act of 1833; Resolution of 1835 on English education; annexation of Mysore (1831), Coorg and Central Cachar (1834); treaty of perpetual friendship with Ranjit Singh |
| Lord Metcalfe | 1835-1836 | Press law removing restrictions on the press |
| Lord Auckland | 1836-1842 | First Afghan War (1838-42); death of Ranjit Singh (1839) |
| Lord Ellenborough | 1842-1844 | Annexation of Sindh (1843); war with Gwalior (1843) |
| Lord Hardinge I | 1844-1848 | First Anglo-Sikh War (1845-46) and the Treaty of Lahore (1846); abolition of female infanticide and human sacrifice |
| Lord Dalhousie | 1848-1856 | Second Anglo-Sikh War and annexation of Punjab (1849); annexation of Lower Burma (1852); Doctrine of Lapse with Satara (1848), Jaitpur and Sambalpur (1849), Udaipur (1852), Jhansi (1853), Nagpur (1854) and Awadh (1856); Wood’s Despatch of 1854; Railway Minute of 1853 and the Bombay-Thane line; telegraph and the Post Office Act of 1854; Ganges Canal (1854) and a Public Works Department in each province; Widow Remarriage Act (1856) |
| Lord Canning | 1856-1857 | Universities at Calcutta, Madras and Bombay (1857); the Revolt of 1857 |
For the Company’s expansion see Subsidiary Alliance, Doctrine of Lapse and Annexation of Awadh, and for the policy after the revolt see Consequences and Significance of the Revolt.
Which Events Mark the Viceroys Up to 1905?
| Viceroy | Years | Significant events |
|---|---|---|
| Lord Canning | 1858-1862 | Government of India Act, 1858, transferring control to the Crown; the White Mutiny by European troops (1859); Indian Councils Act of 1861 |
| Lord Elgin I | 1862-1863 | Wahabi Movement |
| Lord John Lawrence | 1864-1869 | Bhutan War (1865); High Courts at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras (1865) |
| Lord Mayo | 1869-1872 | Rajkot College and Mayo College, Ajmer, for the training of princes; Statistical Survey of India; Department of Agriculture and Commerce; state railways |
| Lord Northbrook | 1872-1876 | Visit of the Prince of Wales (1875); trial of the Gaekwar of Baroda; Kuka Movement in Punjab |
| Lord Lytton | 1876-1880 | Famine of 1876-78 and the Strachey Famine Commission (1878); Royal Titles Act (1876), Queen Victoria as Kaisar-i-Hind; Vernacular Press Act and Arms Act (1878); Second Afghan War (1878-80) |
| Lord Ripon | 1880-1884 | Repeal of the Vernacular Press Act (1882); first Factory Act (1881); local self-government resolution (1882); Hunter Education Commission (1882); Ilbert Bill controversy (1883-84); rendition of Mysore |
| Lord Dufferin | 1884-1888 | Third Burmese War (1885-86); founding of the Indian National Congress |
| Lord Lansdowne | 1888-1894 | Factory Act (1891); civil services classed into imperial, provincial and subordinate; Indian Councils Act (1892); Durand Commission (1893) and the Durand Line |
| Lord Elgin II | 1894-1899 | Assassination of two British officials by the Chapekar brothers (1897) |
| Lord Curzon | 1899-1905 | Police Commission under Andrew Fraser (1902); Universities Commission (1902) and the Indian Universities Act (1904); Department of Commerce and Industry; Calcutta Corporation Act (1899); Ancient Monuments Preservation Act (1904); Younghusband’s mission to Tibet (1904); Partition of Bengal (1905); the Curzon-Kitchener controversy |
The press and education laws named here are in Vernacular Press Act, 1878 and Later Press Laws and Education After 1858: Hunter Commission to the Universities Act, 1904. The partition and its aftermath are in Swadeshi and Boycott Movement Under Extremist Leadership.
Which Events Mark the Viceroys From 1905 to 1947?
| Viceroy | Years | Significant events |
|---|---|---|
| Lord Minto II | 1905-1910 | Anti-partition and Swadeshi movements; the Surat split of the Congress (1907); Muslim League founded (1906) |
| Lord Hardinge II | 1910-1916 | Bengal Presidency created (1911); capital moved from Calcutta to Delhi (1911); coronation durbar of George V (1911); Hindu Mahasabha founded (1915) |
| Lord Chelmsford | 1916-1921 | Home Rule Leagues (1916); Lucknow session and Lucknow Pact (1916); Champaran (1917), Kheda and Ahmedabad (1918); Montagu’s August Declaration (1917); Government of India Act (1919); Rowlatt Act and Jallianwala Bagh (1919); Non-Cooperation and Khilafat movements; Saddler Commission (1917); death of Tilak (1 August 1920); S.P. Sinha made Governor of Bihar, the first Indian governor |
| Lord Reading | 1921-1926 | Chauri Chaura (5 February 1922) and withdrawal of Non-Cooperation; Moplah rebellion (1921); repeal of the Press Act of 1910 and the Rowlatt Act; abolition of cotton excise; Kakori train robbery (1925); murder of Swami Shraddhanand (1926); Swaraj Party (1922); simultaneous ICS examinations in Delhi and London from 1923 |
| Lord Irwin | 1926-1931 | Simon Commission (1928) and its boycott; Nehru Report (1928); Harcourt Butler Indian States Commission (1927); Saunders murder, Assembly bomb, Lahore Conspiracy Case and Jatin Das’s death (1929); Lahore Congress and Purna Swaraj (1929); Deepavali Declaration (1929); Dandi March (12 March 1930); First Round Table Conference (1930); Gandhi-Irwin Pact (1931) |
| Lord Willingdon | 1931-1936 | Second and Third Round Table Conferences; Communal Award (1932); Poona Pact (1932); individual civil disobedience (1933); Government of India Act, 1935; Congress Socialist Party (1934); All India Kisan Sabha (1936); Burma separated (1935) |
| Lord Linlithgow | 1936-1944 | Provincial elections of 1936-37 with a Congress majority; resignation of Congress ministries (1939); Bose elected Congress president (1938) and the Forward Bloc (1939); Simla Deputation; Muslim League founded After 1937 League turned to extreme…">Lahore Resolution (March 1940); August Offer (1940); Bose’s escape and the INA; Cripps Mission (1942); Quit India (1942); the Muslim League’s Divide and Quit slogan (1944) |
| Lord Wavell | 1944-1947 | C. Rajagopalachari’s formula and the failed Gandhi-Jinnah talks (1944); Wavell Plan and the Simla Conference (1945); end of the Second World War; Cabinet Mission (1946); Direct Action Day (16 August 1946); the Interim Government (September 1946); Attlee’s announcement of 20 February 1947 |
| Lord Mountbatten | 1947-1948 | The 3 June Plan; Indian Independence Bill; two boundary commissions under Sir Cyril Radcliffe for Bengal and Punjab |
Two dates need correction when this table is copied from older lists: the Simla Conference of the Wavell Plan was in 1945, and Direct Action Day was 16 August 1946. The sequence of the final years is in Cripps Mission, 1942, Cabinet Mission Plan, 1946 and Mountbatten Plan of 3 June 1947.
How Should This Table Be Used?
As an analytical point, the rulers fall into four groups that help recall. The first group, from Hastings to Cornwallis, built the legal and revenue machinery. The second, from Wellesley to Dalhousie, expanded territory by subsidiary alliance, war and lapse. The third, from Canning to Curzon, ruled under the Crown after 1857 with administrative reforms and a growing nationalist response. The fourth, from Minto II to Mountbatten, faced mass nationalism, constitutional reform and partition. The administrative changes by the Crown are in Major Administrative Changes After 1857: Central and Provincial Government and the constitutional steps are in Constitutional Development 1773-1858: Regulating Act to the Act of 1858 and Constitutional Development 1861-1935: Councils Acts to the Government of India Act.
Why Is This Topic Important?
- Chronology Ruler-event matching is a standard Prelims question
- Periodisation Helps place laws and wars in the right phase
- Quick revision One table covering 1773 to 1948
What Came Next?
The next topic is a table of the annual sessions of the Indian National Congress. Next topic: Annual Sessions of the Indian National Congress.
Key People and Terms
- Governor-General Head of British India until 1858
- Viceroy Crown’s representative from 1858
- Subsidiary Alliance Wellesley’s system
- Doctrine of Lapse Dalhousie’s annexation policy
- Durand Line Defined under Lansdowne in 1893
- Deepavali Declaration Irwin’s statement of 1929
Exam Corner
Points to Remember
- Regulating Act 1773; Permanent Settlement 1793; Subsidiary Alliance 1798.
- Sati abolished 1829 under Bentinck; Wood’s Despatch 1854 under Dalhousie.
- Crown rule from 1858 under Canning.
- Partition of Bengal 1905 under Curzon.
- Dandi March 1930 under Irwin.
Do Not Confuse With
- Lord Hastings and Warren Hastings 1813-23 Third Maratha War versus 1773-85 Regulating Act
- Elgin I and Elgin II 1862-63 versus 1894-99
- Hardinge I and Hardinge II 1844-48 Sikh war versus 1910-16 capital shift
Memory Hook
Hastings builds, Wellesley expands, Dalhousie annexes, Canning hands over, Curzon partitions, Irwin salts, Mountbatten divides.
Mains Angle
Questions ask for a quick chronology. These points add depth.
- Phases Consolidation, expansion, Crown rule, nationalism
- Themes Administration, wars, social laws
- End Transfer of power
A Question You May Face
An original practice question, not a past paper question.
“Identify the principal policies of the Governors-General and Viceroys from 1773 to 1947.”
How to Answer
- Early Hastings and Cornwallis.
- Expansion Wellesley to Dalhousie.
- Crown Canning to Curzon.
- Conclude 1905 to 1947.
GS Relevance
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was the first Governor-General of Bengal?
Warren Hastings held the office from 1773 to 1785, under the Regulating Act of 1773, and his rule saw the Rohilla War, the First Maratha War and the Treaty of Salbai, the Second Mysore War, and the founding of the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1784.
Which Governor-General introduced the Subsidiary Alliance?
Lord Wellesley, who ruled from 1798 to 1805, introduced the Subsidiary Alliance, first with the Nizam of Hyderabad in 1798, and fought the Fourth Mysore War and the Second Maratha War, taking over Tanjore, Surat and the Carnatic.
Who was the first Viceroy of India?
Lord Canning was the last Governor-General and the first Viceroy, from 1858 to 1862, when control passed from the East India Company to the Crown under the Government of India Act of 1858, and the Indian Councils Act of 1861 followed.
Under which Viceroy was Bengal partitioned?
Lord Curzon, Viceroy from 1899 to 1905, partitioned Bengal in 1905, and his term also saw the Indian Universities Act of 1904, the Police Commission of 1902 and the mission of Younghusband to Tibet in 1904.
Who was the last Viceroy of British India?
Lord Mountbatten, Viceroy from 1947 to 1948, announced the 3 June Plan, introduced the Indian Independence Bill and appointed two boundary commissions under Sir Cyril Radcliffe for the partition of Bengal and Punjab, before he stayed on as Governor-General.
PYQ Practice — Statement Analysis
1 Sati was abolished in 1829 under Lord William Bentinck.
Thugi was suppressed in 1830.
2 Lord Canning was the first Viceroy of India.
He served from 1858 to 1862.
3 The Vernacular Press Act was passed during the viceroyalty of Lord Ripon.
It was passed under Lytton and repealed under Ripon.
4 The Permanent Settlement of Bengal was introduced under Cornwallis.
It dates from 1793.
5 The Dandi March took place while Lord Willingdon was Viceroy.
Lord Irwin was Viceroy in 1930.
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