List of Governor General of India (1773-1972)

List of  British Governors in India

1. Governor of Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), which was in existence since 1757 to 1833.
2. Governor- General of India 1833-1858. 
3. Governor-General & Viceroy of India, 1858-1947. 

S.NO.	NAME	TERM OF OFFICE	NOTABLE EVENTS
1.	Warren Hastings	1773-1785	Regulating Act of 1773 Supreme Council of Bengal Supreme Court of Jurdicature at Fort William (1774) was established Asiatic Society of Bengal (1784) Pitt`s India Act (1784) Stopped Mughal pension to Shah Alam II Abolished the Dual System in Bengal Moved Treasury from Murshidabad to Calcutta James Hicky’s Bengal Gazette- First Indian newsapaper published in 1780 First Anglo-Maratha War (1775-82) Second Anglo-Maratha War (1780-84) First Rohilla War of 1773-74 Founded Calcutta Madras (Aliah University) English Translation of Bhagwat Gita by Charles Wilkins.
2.	John Macpherson	1785-1786
3.	Charles Cornwallis	1786-1793	Established lower courts & appellate courts Permanent Settlements in Bihar & Bengal in 1793 3rd Anglo-Mysore War (1790-92) Introduction of Cornwallis Code Introduction of Civil Services in India Sanskrit Vidyalaya Of Benaras established by Johnathan Introduced Sunset Law
4.	John Shore	Oct. 1793- March 1798	Policy of Non-intervention Charater Act of 1793 Second Rohilla War 1794 Battle of Kharda B/w Nizam & Marathas 1795.
5.	Alured Clarke	March 1798- May 1798
6.	Richard Wellesley	1798-1805	Introduction of Subsidiary Alliance 1798 Fourth Anglo Mysore War 1799 Second Anglo Maratha War 1803-05 Fort William College at Calcutta 1800 Raj Bhavan at Calcutta was established  in 1803
7.	The Marquess Cornwallis	July 1805- October 1805
8.	Sir George Barlow	1805-1807	Sepoy mutiny at Vellore Bank of Calcutta 1806 established (later Imperial Bank of India, now State Bank of India)
9.	The Lord Minto	July 1807 – October 1813	Charter Act of 1813 Treaty of Amritsar 1809 with Maharaja Ranjit Singh
10.	Francis Rawdon Hastings	Oct. 1813 – January 1823	Ended the policy of Non- intervention. Third Anglo- Maratha War (1816-1818). Creation of Bombay Presidency in 1818. Establishment of Ryotwari System in Madras 1820. Hindu College (now Presidency University) at Calcutta in 1817. The Pindari War (1817-1818) (Complete Destruction of the Pindari Clan of India) General Committee of Public instruction was formed in 1823.
11.	John Adam	January 1823- August 1823	Licensing Regulations. Calcutta Unitarian Committe established by Raja Ram Mohan Roy.
12.	The Lord Amherst	August 1823 – March 1828	First Anglo- Bumese War (1824-26) Establishment of Sanskriti College at Calcutta 1824 Treaty of Yandabo,1826
13.	William Butterworth Bayley	March 1828 – July 1828
COMING SOON.........

Rise of Gandhi (1915-1918)

Rise of Gandhi

• In the year 1915, Gandhi returned to India.
• During the initial day, he spent his time to "Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad" 
• He decided to tour the country the next one year 7 see for the himself the condition of the masses.
• He was not favour in Home rule Agitation. He thought it was not the best time to agitate for Home rule, when Britian in middle of war.

 

• During the 1917-1918, Gandhi involved three struggle- 

1. Champaran Satyagraha - 1917
2. Ahmedabad Mill Strike - 1918
3. Kheda Satyagraha - 1918 

1. Champaran Satyagraha -  

In Bihar, the European planters had been forcing the peasants to grow indigo on 3/20 of the total land (called "tinkathia syatem") 

When the end of the 19th century, the "German synthetic dyes replaced Indigo" then the European planters were demanded high rents & illegal dues from the peasants.

Gandhi reached Champaran to scrutiny into the matter by the help of Rajendra Prasad; Mazar-ul-fiaq; Mahadeo Desia; Narhari Parekh; J.B. Kriplani; Braj Kishor Prasad; Anugaraha Varah Sinha.

Then the authorities ordered him to leave the area. Gandhi defined the ordered & to face major punishment.

Satayagraha struggle, the government finally succumbed to the pressure by passing a law allowing concessions to the peasants in 1917. {25% of the money taken should be compensated}

Gandhi had won the first civil disobedience in India. 

2. Ahmedabad Mill Strike -  (first Hunger Strike)

Gandhi now intervened in a dispute between mill owners of Ahmedabad & the workers over the issue of discontinuation of the plague bonus.  

Gandhi told that the worker to go to the strike & demand 35% increase in wages.

He undertook the fast unto death to strengthen the worker resolve, but the fast also had the effect of putting pressure on the mill owner who finally agreed to give 35% bonus. 

3. Kheda Satyagraha - 

Because of drought in 1918, the crops failed in Kheda district of Gujarat.

According to revenue Code, if the yield was less than one-fourth the normal produce the farmer entitled to remission.

But the authorities refused to grant remission.

The authorities not willing to openly concede the peasants demands, issued secret instructions that only those who could afford to pay should pay.

During the Kheda Satyagrah, many young nationalist such as "Sardar Patel" & "Indulal Yagnik" became Gandhi's followers.

Morley- Minto Reforms 1909

 Morley- Minto Reforms
or
Indian Council Act 1909

A few reforms in the legislative councils & increased the involvement of Indians in the governance of British India.

The Morley- Minto reforms, so named after Morley, the secretary of state,  and the Minto, the viceroy at that time.  

 Background

• INC demanded home rule for the first time in 1906.
• Gopal Krishna Gokhale met Morley in England to emphasise the need for reforms.
• In October 1906, Shimla Deputation, a group of elits Muslims led by Agha Khan met Lord Minto & demanded for the separate electorate for the Muslims.
• John Morley was a member of the liberal government & he wanted to make possitive changes in India's governance. 

Major Provinces of the Reforms 

The legislative councils at the Centre & the Provinces increased in size:

1. Central Legislative Council - from 16 to 60 members.
2. Legislative council of Bengal, Madras, Bombay & United Provinces - 50 members each.
3. Legislative council of Punjab, Burma & Assam - 30 member each. 

The legislative council at the Centre & the provinces were to have four categories of member as follows:

1. Ex officio members: - Governor- General & members of the executive council.
2. Nominated official members: - Government officials who were nominated by the Governor- General.
3. Nominated non-officio members: - Nominated by the Governor-General but were not government officials.
4. Elected Members: - elected by different categories of Indians. 

Powers of legislature- both at the Centre & in the provinces - were enlarged & the legislature could now passed resolutions; ask question & supplementaries; vote separate items in the budget but the budget as a whole could not be voted upon.

One Indian was to be appointed to the viceroy's executive council. (Satyendra Singh was first to be appointed in the 1909.) 

No discussion on foreign policy or on relations with the princely states were permitted.

Two Indians were nominated to the Council of the Secretary of States for Indian affairs.

The elected members were to be indireclty elected. 

The local bodies were to elect an electoral college, which it turn would elect members of the Central legislature.

The elected member were from the local bodies , the chambers of commerce, landlords, universities, trader's communities & muslim.

Indians were given membership to the Imperial Council for the first time.

It introduced separate electoratesfor the Muslims. Some constituencies were earn marked for Muslim & only Muslim could vote their represenatives.

They could also ask supplementary questions. 

Views 

"Reforms may not save the Raj, but if they don't nothing else will."

- Lord Morley 

The Surat Split 1907

 The Surat Split

The Congress split at Surat came in December 1907, around the time when revolutionary activity had gained momentum. 

The struggle between Moderates & Extremists shows from December 1905, at the Benaras Session of Inidan National Congress. 

Note: 

The dream of a "Surat Split" was already conceived by Curzon when he made the statement "Congress was tottering to its fall & one of the biggest ambition in my life is to give it a peaceful demise."

Causes of the Surat Split: - 

• Bengal partition of 1905 apparently enabled the Extremists to criticize the moderates strategies & the partition further promoted the extremists ideology.  
• The Moderates method of constitutional agitation, expressed in the three P's- 

Petititon ; Prayer ; Protest 

while the extremist were not.

• In Surat session of the congress, the two main objective placed by the extremists were: - 
• "Lala Lajpat Rai to be made the president of the INC & the demand for the resolution of Swaraj"
• The two demand were not accepted by the moderates, and instead of the Lala Lajapat Rai, moderates support the Rash Behari Gosh as President.

 

"In 1906 at the Calcutta session, First time Dadabhai naoroji's declared the 'Self-government or Swarajya' was to be goal of the Congress."