Robert Clive:
- Became Governor of Bengal during 1757–60 and again during 1765–67. Established Dual Government in Bengal from 1765–72.
- Credited as the true founder of British Political dominion in India.
- Cartier: Governor during Bengal Famine (1770)
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Warren Hastings (1772–1785)
- Brought Dual Government of Bengal to an end by Regulating Act, 1773.
- Divided Bengal into districts and appointed collectors and other revenue officials.
- Started Diwani and Faujdari Adalats at the district level and Sadar Diwani and Nizamat Adalats (appellate courts) at Calcutta. He also redefined Hindu and Muslim laws.
- Regulating Act of 1773 was passed to provide centralized administration of the East India Company.
- Act of 1781 was enacted through which the powers of jurisdiction between the Governor-general-in-council and Supreme Court at Calcutta, were divided.
- Pitt’s India Act of 1784 was passed to correct defects of Regulating Act of 1773. This act resulted in dual control of British possessions in India.
- Rohilla War of 1774: Where Warren Hasting helped the nawab of Oudh (Ayodhya) defeat the Rohillas by lending a brigade of the East India Company’s troops.
- First Maratha War in 1775-82 and Treaty of Salbai in 1782: Between EIC and Sawai Madhav Rao/Nana Phadnis and treaty gave the British possession of Salsette and pensioned off Raghunath Rao.
- Second Mysore War in 1780-84 & the Treaty of Mangalore, 1784: both parties agreed to return the captured territories and prisoners to each other.
- Foundation of Asiatic Society of Bengal (founded in 1784, by Sir William Jones, to encourage Oriental studies. As its founder, Jones delivered the first of a famous series of discourses.
- Wrote introduction to first English translation of ‘Gita’ by Charles Wilkins.
- When Warren Hastings went back to England in 1785, Edmund Burke accused him of being personally responsible for the misgovernment of Bengal. This led to an impeachment trial in the House of Lords that lasted 7 years.
Lord Cornwallis (1786–93)
- He was the first person to codify laws in 1793. This code separated revenue administration from administration of justice.
- Cornwallis Code (1793) incorporated several judicial reforms, and separation of revenue administration and civil jurisdiction.
- Created the post of the district judge.
- Called ‘the father of civil service in India.’
- Europeanisation of administrative machinery.
- Introduced Police Reforms to Indian administration wherein, each district was divided into 400 sq. miles and placed under a police superintendent assisted by constables.
- Introduced Permanent Settlement in Bengal (1793): Landlords or Zamindars were recognised as the owners of the land. They were given hereditary rights of succession of the lands under them. The Zamindars could sell or transfer the land as they wished. The fixed amount was 10/11th portion of the revenue for the government and 1/11th was for the Zamindar.
- Third Mysore War (1790-92) & Treaty of Seringapatam, 1792 (as per the treaty, Tipu had to cede half of his kingdom to the English including the areas of Malabar, Dindigul, Coorg and Baramahal).
- Introduced the 1st Charter Act of 1793.
Lord Wellesley (1798–1805)
- Introduction of Subsidiary Alliance System (1798); (under this Indian ruler entering a Subsidiary Alliance with the British had to dissolve his armed forces and accept British forces in his territory. He also had to pay for the British army’s maintenance. If he failed to make the payment, a portion of his territory would be taken away and ceded to the British. In return, the British would protect the Indian state against any foreign attack or internal revolt), first alliance with Nizam of Hyderabad.
- Fourth Mysore War, 1799: Tipu’s territories were divided between the British and the Nizam of Hyderabad. The core area around Seringapatam and Mysore was restored to the Wodeyar dynasty who had been ruling Mysore before Hyder Ali became the de-facto ruler. Mysore entered a Subsidiary Alliance with the British and a British resident was placed at the Mysore Court).
- Second Maratha War, 1803-05, All the Maratha forces were defeated by the British in these battles and separate treaties were signed.
- Treaty of Bassein, 1802: Between Baji Rao II, the Maratha Peshwa of Poona (now Pune) in India, and the British. It was a decisive step in the breakup of the Maratha confederacy. The pact led directly to the East India Company’s annexation of the peshwa’s territories in western India in 1818).
- Madras Presidency was formed during his tenure.
- Concluded Treaty of Amritsar with Ranjit Singh (1809).
- The Charter Act of 1813 was passed.
Lord Hastings (1813–1823)
- Adopted the policy of intervention and war.
- Participated in Anglo-Nepalese War (1813–23) and the 3rd Anglo-Maratha War (1817–18).
- Forced humiliating treaties on Peshwa and Scindia after Third Maratha War.
- Introduced Ryotwari settlement in Madras with Thomas Munro.
- Known for suppression of Pindaris.
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Lord William Bentick (1828–35)
- Most liberal and enlightened Governor-General of India. Under the provision of the Charter of India Act 1833, he became the first Governor-General of India. Last Governor General of Bengal.
- Charter Act of 1833: East India Company was asked to close its commercial activities as early as possible. and it was made into an administrative body for British Indian possessions till 1858. The company’s monopoly right to trade with China was removed. No Indian subject of the Company was to be debarred from holding an office on account of his religion, place of birth, descent and colour.
- Resolution of 1835: An act of legislation to reallocate funds was required by the British Parliament to spend on education and literature in India. This led to introduction of English as official language. English was made medium of higher education in India, on recommendation of Macaulay Committee. Regarded as the Father of Modern Western Education in India.
- Credited with suppression of thugees with help of Colonel Sleeman.
- He founded Calcutta Medical College in 1835.
- Abolition of Sati and other cruel rites, 1829 on the effort of Raja Ram Mohan Roy.
- Annexation of Mysore (1831), Coorg (1834) and Central Cachar (1834).
- Treaty of ‘perpetual friendship’ with Ranjeet Singh in 1831, where English remained outside the context of Sind and allowed Ranjit Singh to make headway).
- Abolition of the provincial courts of appeal and circuit set up by Cornwallis, the appointment of commissioners of revenue and circuit.
Sir Charles Metcalfe (1835–1836)
- Famous Press Law, which liberated the Indian press was passed. He is called the Liberator of Indian Press.
- Participated in the 1st Anglo-Afghan War (1836–42).
- The tripartite treaty was signed between East India Company, Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Shah Shuja.
Lord Ellenborough (1842–44)
- He brought an end to the Afghan War.
- Sindh was annexed in 1843 under the guidance of Charles Napier.
- Abolished slavery in 1843.
- He abolished Titles and Pensions.
- Made Shimla the summer capital for the British.
- Gurkha regiments were raised.
- Recommended Thomsonian system of Vernacular education for the Northwestern Provinces in 1853.
- “Wood’s (Charles Wood, President of the Board of Control) Educational Despatch” of 1854 and the opening of Anglo-vernacular schools and government colleges. Wood’s despatch focused on the creation of education departments, universities in large cities like Bombay or Madras, one government school in every district, grants in aid to affiliated private schools, and training to native Indian in vernacular. It led to the opening of Anglo-Vernacular Schools and Government Colleges in India. It was called the Magna Carta of English education in India.
- An Engineering College was established at Roorkee.
- Foundation of the modern postal system in India (1854).
- A separate public works department was set up.
- Second Anglo-Sikh War, 1848-49: Punjab was annexed by the British in March 1849 (under Lord Dalhousie) as per the Treaty of Lahore. The eleven-year-old Maharaja, Duleep Singh was pensioned off to England. Dalhousie was recognised for his role in the annexation of Punjab to the British and was made a Marquis. The famous Koh-i-Noor diamond went into British hands.
- Involved in the 2nd Anglo-Burmese War (1852) and annexation of Lower Burma or Pegu.
- Berar and Awadh were annexed on charges of maladministration.
- Introduction of Doctrine of Lapse and annexation of Satara (1848), Jaitpur and Sambalpur (1849), Udaipur (1852), Jhansi (1853), Nagpur (1854) and Awadh (1856). According to this doctrine, any princely state under the direct or indirect (as a vassal) control of the East India Company, should the ruler not produce a legal male heir, would be annexed by the company.
- Railway Minute of 1853; and laying down of the first railway line connecting Bombay and Thane in 1853.
- Telegraph (4000 miles of telegraph lines to connect Calcutta with Bombay, Madras and Peshawar) and postal (Post Office Act, 1854) reforms.
- Ganges Canal was declared open (1854), and the establishment of separate public works departments in every province.
- Widow Remarriage Act (1856) after the valuable effort of Ishwar Chandra Vidhyasagar.
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- Last Governor General and first Viceroy of India.
- Revolt of 1857 took place. As a result, British Parliament passed the Act of 1858, which ended the rule of the East India Company.
- Withdrew Doctrine of Lapse.
- Indian Councils Act (1862) which proved to be a landmark in the constitutional history of India.
- Indian Penal Code of Criminal Procedure (1859) was passed, Indian High Court Act (1861) was enacted, and income tax was introduced in 1858.
- Universities of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras were founded in 1857.
Sir John Lawrence (1864–69)
- Telegraphic communication was opened with Europe.
- High Courts were established at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras in 1865.
- Expanded canal works and railways in India.
- Indian Forest Department was created, and native Judicial service was recognized.
- Introduced financial decentralization in India.
- Established Rajkot College at Kathiawar and Mayo College at Ajmer for the princes.
- Statistical Survey of India was organized.
- Established Department of Agriculture & Commerce.
- Only Viceroy to be murdered in office by a Pathan convict in Andamans in 1872.
- State Railways were introduced, and a census was held in 1871, for the first time in Indian history.
- Most infamous Governor-General.
- Pursued free trade policies and abolished duties on 29 British manufactured goods which in turn accelerated the drain of wealth from India.
- Arranged Grand Darbar in Delhi (1877) when the country was suffering from a severe famine.
- Royal Title Act (1876) was passed and presented Queen Victoria with the title of the Kaiser-i-Hind.
- Arms Act (1878) was passed which made it mandatory for Indians to acquire licenses for arms.
- Proposed plan of Statutory Civil Service in 1878-79 and lowered maximum age limit from 21 to 19 years.
- The famine of 1876-78 affected Madras, Bombay, Mysore, Hyderabad, parts of central India and Punjab; appointment of Famine Commission under Richard Strachey (1878).
- Vernacular Press Act, 1878: By this act, magistrates of districts were empowered, without prior permission of Government, to call upon a printer and publisher of any kind to enter a Bond, not to publish anything which might “rouse” feelings of disaffection against the government).
- Second Afghan War, 1878-80: Much of Afghanistan was occupied by the British. Sher Ali was defeated, and he fled towards Turkistan. Sher Ali’s Son, Mohammad Yaqoob Khan signed a Treaty of Gandamak in May 1879 to prevent British Invasion of the rest of the country)
- Repealed Vernacular Press Act, 1882.
- First Factory Act of 1881 was passed, to improve labour conditions in India. Reduced the working hours of local factory workers and sought to improve their conditions.
- In 1881 Lord Ripon restored the kingdom of Mysore to its ruler.
- Hunter Commission (for education reforms) was appointed under him in 1882. It brought out the neglect of primary and secondary education in the country and recommended that the responsibility for Primary Education must be given to the Local Boards and Municipal Boards.
- Government resolution on local self-government (1882). The government of Ripon desired the provincial governments to apply in the case of local bodies the same principle of financial decentralisation that Lord Mayo’s Government had begun towards them. For his contributions, Lord Ripon is called the father of local self-government in India.
- Continuation of financial decentralization: Provincial governments were authorised to resort to local taxation to balance their budgets. This was done in the context of the transfer of certain departments of administration, such as medical services, education and roads, to the control of provincial governments.
- Ilbert Bill controversy, 1883-84: The bill stated that from now on, British and European subjects would be tried in session courts by Indian judges, who were senior enough in the civil service to preside over such proceedings. It was this provision that would be a source of great anger among the European community
- Indian National Congress in was established in 1885.
- Second Factory Act (1891) was passed.
- Categorised the Civil Services into imperial, provincial and subordinate.
- Indian Council Act (1892) introduced indirect elections.
- Appointment of Durand Commission to define the line between British India and Afghanistan (1893).
- Appointment of Police Commission (1902) under Sir Andrew Frazer to review police administration. It recommended the appointment of Indians at the officer level in the police. Indians could rise only to the ranks of Inspector of Police, the senior N.C.O. position. However, they were not part of the Indian Imperial Police.
- Appointment of Universities Commission or Raleigh Commission (1902) and passing of Indian Universities Act (1904). Raleigh Commission excluded primary education completely and emphasized Higher Education only.
- Establishment of Department of Commerce & Industry.
- Calcutta Corporation Act, 1899 (it reduced the number of elected legislatures and increased the number of nominated officials to deprive Indians of self-governance).
- Ancient Monuments Preservation Act (1904) led to the foundation of Archaeological Survey of India.
- Partition of Bengal (1905) based on administrative commission. However, it was the first large experiment on Divide and Rule policy.
- A new province of Northwest Frontier Provinces (NWFP) was created.
- Younghusband’s Mission to Tibet (1904).
- Swadeshi Movement (1905–08)
- Foundation of Muslim League in 1906.
- Newspapers Act, 1908
- Morley-Minto Reforms, 1909
- Annulment of partition of Bengal (1911).
- Capital was transferred from Calcutta to Delhi (1911).
- Delhi Darbar and Coronation of King George V and Queen Mary took place in 1911.
Lord Chelmsford (1916–21)
- Government of India Act (1919) and repressive Rowlatt Act (1919) passed under him.
- Jallianwala Bagh Massacre took place in 1919.
- Saddler Commission (1917) was formulated to investigate functioning of the University of Calcutta.
- Indian Sir S. P. Sinha was appointed Governor of Bengal.
- Criminal Law Amendment Act and abolition of cotton excise were done.
- Press Act of 1910 & Rowlatt Act of 1919 was repealed.
- He suppressed the non-cooperation movement.
- Simon Commission was announced in 1927.
- Other important developments were the Butler Commission (1927); Nehru Report (1928); 14 points of Jinnah (1929); Lahore session of Congress and ‘Poorna Swaraj’ declaration (1929); Civil Disobedience Movement (1930); Dandi march (1930); Ist Round Table Conference (1930); Gandhi-Irwin Pact (1931).
Lord Willingdon (1931–36)
- Second Round Table Conference (1931)
- Civil Disobedience Movement (1932)
- Announcement of MacDonald’s Communal Award (1932); 3rd Round Table Conference
- Foundation of Congress Socialist Party-CSP (1934)
- Government of India Act (1935)
- Poona Pact was signed.
- Burma separated from India in 1935.
Lord Linlithgow (1936–43)
- ‘Deliverance Day’ by Muslim League in 1939
- Foundation of Forward Block by S.C. Bose (1939)
- Lahore Resolution (1940)
- August Offer (1940)
- Cripps Mission (1942)
- Quit India Movement (1942)
- Outbreak of Second World War in 1939.
- C.R. Formula 1944
- Wavell Plan and Shimla Conference in 1945; End of 2nd World War in 1945
- INA Trials in 1945; Naval mutiny in 1946
- Cabinet Mission, 1946
- Direct Action Day by Muslim League on 16th August 1946
- First meeting of constituent assembly was on Dec. 9, 1946.
- Indian Independence Bill was passed by British Parliament on July 4, 1947
- The appointment of two boundary commissions under Sir Radcliffe happened.
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Lord Mountbatten (1947–48)
- He was the first Governor General of free India.
- Under his tenure, Kashmir was acceded to India (Oct. 1947) and Gandhi was murdered on Jan. 30, 1948
C. Rajagopalachari (1948–50)
- Last Governor General of free India and the only Indian Governor-General.
