India’s Governor Generals 1858–1950

India’s Governor Generals 1858–1950

Governor Generals and Viceroys of India (1858–1947)

Lord Canning (1858–62)

• The Indian Councils Act of 1861 was passed, which proved to be a landmark in the Constitutional history of India.

• The Indian Penal Code of Criminal Procedure (1859) was passed

• The Indian High Court Act (1861) was enacted

• Income Tax was introduced in 1858

• The universities of Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras were founded in 1857

• The Indigo riots in Bengal (1860)

Lord Elgin I (1862–63)

• Wahabi Movement (Pan-Islamic Movement)

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

• Bhutan War (1865)

• Advocated State-managed railways

• Created the Indian Forests Department and reorganized the native judicial service

Lord Mayo (1869–72)

• Introduced financial decentralization in India

• Established the Mayo College at Ajmer for the princes

• Organised the Statistical Survey of India

• Established the Department of Agriculture and Commerce

• Introduction of State Railways

• He was the only Viceroy to be murdered in office by a convict in the Andaman Islands in 1872

Lord Northbrook (1872–76)

• Kuka Movement of Punjab took a rebellious turn during his period

Lord Lytton (1876–80)

• Most infamous Governor-General

• Pursued free trade and abolished duties on 29 British manufactured goods, which accelerated the drain of wealth from India

• Arranged the Grand Durbar in Delhi (in 1877) when the country was suffering from a severe famine

• Passed the Royal Title Act (1876) and Queen Victoria was declared as the Kaisar-i-Hind, i.e,. Empress of India

• Arms Act (1878) made it mandatory for Indians to acquire a license for arms.s

• Passed the infamous Vernacular Press Act (1878)

• Proposed the plan of Statutory Civil Service in 1878-79 and lowered the maximum age limit from 21 to 19 years

• The 2nd Afghan war (1878-80) proved a success for the British, and the Treaty of Gandamak (1879) converted Afghanistan into an almost protected state of India

Lord Ripon (1880–84)

• Repeal of the Vernacular Press Act, 1882

• The First Factory Act, 1881 to improve labour conditions

• Resolution of Local Self-Government in 1882

• Resolution on Land Revenue Policy

• Appointed the Hunter Commission (for education reforms) in 1882

• The Ilbert Bill controversy erupted during his time (1883)

Lord Dufferin (1884–88)

• 3rd Burmese War (Annexation of Upper and Lower Burma in 1885)

• Establishment of the Indian National Congress in 1885

Lord Lansdowne (1888–94)

• The Factory Act of 1891

• Categorization of Civil Services into imperial, provincial, and subordinate

• Indian Council Act of 1892 (introduced elections which were indirect elections)

• Appointment of the Durand Commission to define the line between British India and Afghanistan (1893)

Lord Elgin II (1894–99)

• The Munda Uprising (Birsa Munda) of 1899

• The convention delimiting the frontier between China and India was ratified.

• Great famine of 1896-97

• Lyall Commission was appointed after the famine (1897)

• Assassination of two British officials-Rand and Amherst-by the Chapekar Brothers in 1897

Lord Curzon (1899–1905)

• Appointed a Police Commission in 1902 under Andrew Fraser

• The Universities Commission, and accordingly, the Indian Universities Act of 1904, was passed

• Set up the Department of Commerce and Industry

• Calcutta Corporation Act (1899)

• Passed the Indian Coinage and Paper Currency Act (in 1899) and put India on a gold standard

• Partition of Bengal took place in 1905 (It was a cardinal blunder of Curzon)

• The idea to build the Victoria Memorial (Calcutta) was conceived by Lord Curzon. The foundation stone of the memorial was laid in 1906, and it was opened to the public in 1921

Lord Minto II (1905–10)

• Swadeshi Movement (1905-08)

• Foundation of the Muslim League, 1906

• Surat session and split in the Congress (1907)

• Newspapers Act, 1908

• Morley-Minto Reforms, 1909

Lord Hardinge (1910–16)

• Annulment of the Partition of Bengal (1911)

• Transfer of capital from Calcutta to Delhi (1911)

• Delhi Darbar and Coronation of King George V and Queen Mary (1911)

• Establishment of the Hindu Mahasabha by Madan Mohan Malviya (1915)

Lord Chelmsford (1916–21)

• Home Rule Movement was launched by Tilak and Annie Besant (1916)

• Lucknow Pact between Congress and the Muslim League (1916)

• Arrival of Gandhi in India (1915)

• Champaran Satyagraha (1917)

• Montague's August Declaration (1917)

• Kheda Satyagraha and Satyagraha at Ahmedabad (1918)

• Government of India Act (1919)

• Repressive Rowlatt Act (1919)

• Jalianwala Bagh Massacre (April 13, 1919)

• Appointment of Hunter Commission to probe Jalianwala Bagh Massacre (Oct. 19, 1919)

• Khilafat Movement (1920-22)

• Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-22)

Lord Reading (1921–26)

• Criminal Law Amendment Act and abolition of cotton excise

• Repeal of the Press Act of 1910 and the Rowlatt Act of 1919

• Violent Moplah rebellion in Kerala (1921)

• Foundation of CPI (1921)

• Chauri Chaura incident (1922)

• Foundation of the Swaraj Party (1923)

• Kakori Train Dacoity (1925)

• Foundation of RSS (1925)

• Murder of Swami Shradhanand (1926)

Lord Irwin (1926–31)

• Simon Commission was announced in 1927

• 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)

• 1st Round Table Conference (1930)

• Gandhi-Irwin Pact (1931)

Lord Willingdon (1931–36)

• IInd Round Table Conference (1931)

• Civil Disobedience Movement (1932)

• Announcement of MacDonald's Communal Award (1932)

• IIIrd Round Table Conference

• Foundation of Congress Socialist Party — CSP(1934)

• Government of India Act (1935)

• Burma separated from India (1935)

• All India Kisan Sabha (1936)

Lord Linlithgow (1936–43)

• General Election (1936-37)

• Congress ministries were formed in 1937, and the Resignation of Congress ministries in 1939

• 'Deliverance Day' was celebrated by the 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)

Lord Wavell (1943–1947)

• C. R. Formula 1944

• Wavell Plan and Simla Conference in 1945

• End of II World War in 1945

• INA Trials in 1945

• Naval mutiny in 1946

• Cabinet Mission, 1946, and acceptance of its proposals by Congress

• Direct Action Day by the Muslim League on 16th August, 1946

Lord Mountbatten (Mar–Aug 1947)

• Announced the 3 June, 1947 Plan

• Introduction of the Indian Independence Bill in the House of Commons

• Appointment of 2 boundary commissions under Sir Cyril Radcliffe

Governors General of Free India (1947–1950)

Lord Mountbatten (1947–48)

• The first Governor-General of free India

• Kashmir acceded to India (Oct. 1947)

• Murder of Gandhi (Jan. 30, 1948)

C. Rajagopalachari (June 1948 - Jan. 25, 1950)

• The last Governor General of free India

• The only Indian Governor General