NET, IAS, State-SET (KSET, WBSET, MPSET, etc.), GATE, CUET, Olympiads etc.: Governor Generals of India

Glide to success with Doorsteptutor material for competitive exams : get questions, notes, tests, video lectures and more- for all subjects of your exam.

Lord William Bentinck (1828 − 1835)

  • Carried out the social reforms like Prohibition of Sati (1829) and elimination of thugs (1830) .
  • Made English the Medium of higher education in the country (After the recommendations of Macaulay) .
  • Suppressed female infanticide and child sacrifice.
  • Charter Act of 1833 was passed; made him the first Governor General of India. Before him, the designation was Governor General of Bengal.

Sir Charles Metcalfe (1835 − 1836)

Abolished all restrictions on vernacular press (called Liberator of the Press) .

Lord Auckland (1836 − 1842)

The most important event of his reign was the First Afghan War, which proved to be a disaster for the English.

Lord Ellenborough (1842 − 1844)

Lord Hardinge I (1844 − 1848)

Lord Dalhousie (1848 − 1856)

  • Opened the first Indian Railway in 1853 (from Bombay to Thane) .
  • Laid out the telegraph lines in 1853 (First was from Calcutta to Agra) .
  • Introduced the Doctrine of Lapse and captured Satara (1848) , Jaipur and Sambhalpur (1849) , Udaipur (1852) , Jhansi (1853) and Nagpur (1854) .
  • Established the postal system on the modern lines through the length and breadth of the country, which made communication easier.
  • Started the Public Works Department. Many bridges were constructed and the work on Grand Trunk Road was started. The harbors of Karachi, Bombay and Calcutta were also developed.
  • Made Shimla the summer capital.
  • Started Engineering College at Roorkee.
  • Encouraged science, forestry, commerce, mineralogy and industry.
  • In 1854, Wood՚s Dispatch was passed, which provided for the properly articulated system of education from the primary school to the university.
  • Due to Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar՚s efforts, remarriage of widows was legalized by (Widow Remarriage Act, 1856) .