List of Governor General of India- Modern History PDF[2024]




List of Governor Generals of India and their works pdf

Here is the complete List of Governor General of India and their works . This is a very important topic from static GK from the perspective of different competitive exams such as UPSC, SSC and other exams. This topic of modern history covers a good weightage in the exams as many questions are asked from this section.



Governor GeneralPeriodAbout
Warren Hastings1773-1785The Dual system of government was abolished by Warren Hastings and Bengal was brought under the direct control of the British in 1772.
Warren Hastings inaugurated the annual lease system of auctioning
Under the governorship of William Hastings Calcutta became capital in 1772
He reorganized the judicial system as follows:
Established highest civil court of appeal- Sadar Diwani Adalat
Highest appellate criminal court- Sadr Nizamat Adalat.
John Macpherson1785-1786He held the post temporarily.
Charles Cornwallis
The Marquess Cornwallis
1786- 1793Introduced revenue system is known as Permanent Settlement 
Major reform was the separation of the three branches of service, namely commercial, judicial and revenue
He inaugurated the policy of making appointments mainly on the basis of merit thereby laying the foundation of the Indian Civil Service
John Shore1793 – 1798Followed policy of non-intervention. 
Introduced Charter Act of 1793.
Alured Clarke
(acting)
18 March
1798 – 18 May
1798
He was briefly Governor-General of India1798.
Commander-in-chief of the Bengal Army Commander-in-chief of the British forces in all of India from 1798 to 1801.
Richard Wellesley, Earl of Mornington1798 – 1805Adopted the policy of Subsidiary Alliance- a system to keep the Indian rulers under control and to make the British the supreme power. He established College to train the Company’s servants in Calcutta. So, called the father of Civil Services in India. 
He founded Fort William College at Calcutta.
Sir George Barlow, Bt
(acting)
1805 – 1807An important event that took place in his time was the Mutiny of Vellore in 1806 in which the Indian soldiers killed many English officials.
The Lord Minto1807 – 1813He concluded the Treaty of Amritsar (1809) with Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
Francis Rawdon-Hastings, The Earl of Moira1813 – 1823He finished the policy of non-intervention, which was followed by Sir John Shore.
He abolished the censorship of the press. Introduced Ryotwari and Mahalawari systems in Bombay.
John Adam
(acting)
9 January
1823 – 1 August
1823
Licensing Regulations Calcutta Unitarian Committee inaugurated by The Great Raja Ram Mohan Roy.
The Lord Amherst1823 – 1828His term of office was known for First Anglo Burmese War (1824-26) and the Mutiny of Barrackpur (1824)
William Butterworth Bayley
(acting)
13 March
1828 – 4 July
1828
He was a member of the Bengal Civil Service (1799–1830) and a director and chairman of the British East India Company.
Lord William Bentinck1828 – 1835He accomplished social reforms such as the abolition of Sati Pratha with the help of Rajaram Mohan Roy.
Established first Medical College in Calcutta.  He also suppressed female infanticide and child sacrifice.
He made English the language of higher education.
Charles Metcalfe, Bt
(acting)
1835 – 1836He held the post temporarily and removed the restriction on Vernacular press.
The Lord Auckland1836 – 1842First Afghan War was fought in his reign
The Lord Ellenborough1842 – 1844In his term of office, Gwalior War (1843)happened. and British Crush Marathas once and for all.
Bank of Madras(1843) was established (later imperial Bank of India, now State Bank of India).
William Wilberforce Bird
(acting)
June 1844 – 23 July
1844
He was a British colonial administrator who served as Deputy-Governor of the Bengal Presidency.
Henry Hardinge1844 – 1848The First Anglo-Sikh War 1845–46 happened and British Empire crushes the Sikh Empire and confiscates a major portion of its territory.
Treaty of Lahore(1846)(British confiscate Kashmir from the Sikhs and sell it Toraja of Jammufor 75 lakh rupees) Establishment of Roorkee Engineering College(1847).
The Earl of Dalhousie1848 – 1856Lord Dalhousie was the youngest Governor-General of India.
At the end of the second Anglo-Sikh War in 1849, Punjab was Associated with Dalhousie.  
He introduced the concept of the Doctrine of Lapse. The Doctrine of Lapse was put in by Dalhousie to Satara and it was annexed in 1848. Jhansi and Nagpur were annexed in 1854. 
Bentinck was successful in winning the friendship of Ranjit Singh and the Indus Navigation Treaty was concluded between them. This treaty opened up the Sutlej for navigation.  
During his reign, The first railway line connecting Bombay with Thane was opened in 1853. 
The foundation of the modern postal system was laid down by Lord Dalhousie. 
Dalhousie established a separate Public Works Department and allotted more funds for cutting canals and roads. He introduced the process of modernization of India. Hence, he is hailed as “the maker of modern India”.

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