Governor-General of India

The Governor-General's Flag (1885–1947) depicted the "Star of India" beneath the Imperial Crown of India on a Union Flag.

The Governor-General of India (fully Governor-General and Viceroy of India) was the head of the British administration in India, and later, after Indian independence, the representative of the British Monarch. The office was created in 1773, with the title of Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William. The officer had direct control only over Fort William, but supervised other British East India Company officials in India. Complete authority over all of British India was granted in 1833, and the official became known as the Governor-General of India.

In 1858, India came under the direct control of the British Crown. The title "Governor-General" applied to his relationship to the British Provinces of India (Punjab, Bengal, Bombay, Madras, United Provinces, etc.) and the term "British India," now generally used in reference to the pre-Independence period of British control in the whole of un-Partitioned India, historically refers to these "British provinces" only. However, much of British India was not ruled directly by the government; the territory was divided into hundreds of nominally sovereign princely states or "native states" whose relationship was not with the British government, but directly with the monarch. To reflect the Governor-General's role as representative from the monarch to the feudal rulers of the princely states, the term Viceroy of India was applied to him; the title was abandoned when India became independent in 1947. The office of Governor-General continued to exist until India adopted a republican constitution in 1950.

Until 1858, the Governor-General was selected by the Court of Directors of the British East India Company, to whom he was responsible. Thereafter, he was appointed by the Sovereign on the advice of the British government; the Secretary of State for India, a member of the Cabinet, was responsible for instructing him on the exercise of his powers. After 1947, the Sovereign continued to appoint the Governor-General, but did so on the advice of his Indian ministers, rather than his British ones.

Governors-General served five-year terms, but could be removed earlier. After the conclusion of a term, a provisional Governor-General was sometimes appointed until a new holder of the office could be chosen. Provisional Governors-General were often chosen from among the provincial Governors.

History

Warren Hastings, the first Governor-General of British India from 1773 to 1785.

Many parts of India were governed by the East India Company, which nominally acted as the agent of the Mughal Emperor. In 1773, motivated by corruption in the Company, the British government assumed partial control over the governance of India with the passage of the Regulating Act. A Governor-General and Council were appointed to rule over the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal. The first Governor-General and Council were named in the Act; their successors were to be elected by the East India Company's Court of Directors. The Act provided for a five-year term for the Governor-General and Council, but the Sovereign had the power to remove any of them.

The Charter Act, 1833 replaced the Governor-General and Council of Fort William with the Governor-General and Council of India. The power to elect the Governor-General was retained by the Court of Directors, but the choice became subject to the Sovereign's approval.

After the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the East India Company was abolished, and India was put under the direct control of the Sovereign. The Government of India Act 1858 vested the power to appoint the Governor-General in the Sovereign. The Governor-General, in turn, had the power to appoint all lieutenant governors in India, subject to the Sovereign's approval.

India and Pakistan acquired independence in 1947, but Governors-General continued to be appointed over each nation until republican constitutions were written. Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma remained Governor-General of India for some time after independence, but the two nations were otherwise headed by native Governors-General. India became a secular republic in 1950; Pakistan became an Islamic one in 1956.

Functions

George Curzon in his robes as Viceroy of India, a post he held from 1899-1905.

The Governor-General originally had power only over the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal. The Regulating Act, however, granted them additional powers relating to foreign affairs and defense. The other Presidencies of the East India Company (Madras, Bombay and Bencoolen) were neither allowed to declare war on nor make peace with an Indian prince without receiving the prior approval of the Governor-General and Council of Fort William.

The powers of the Governor-General in respect of foreign affairs were increased by the India Act 1784. The Act provided that the other Governors under the East India Company could not declare war, make peace or conclude a treaty with an Indian prince unless expressly directed to do so by the Governor-General, or by the Company's Court of Directors.

While the Governor-General thus became the controller of foreign policy in India, he was not the explicit head of British India. This status only came with the Charter Act 1833, which granted him "superintendence, direction and control of the whole civil and military Government" of all of British India. The Act also granted legislative powers to the Governor-General and Council.

After 1858, the Governor-General functioned as the chief administrator of India and as the Sovereign's representative. India was divided into numerous provinces, each under the head of a Governor, Lieutenant Governor or Chief Commissioner or Administrator. Governors were appointed by the British government, to whom they were directly responsible; Lieutenant Governors, Chief Commissioners, and Administrators, however, were appointed by and were subordinate to the Governor-General. The Governor-General also oversaw the most powerful princely rulers: the Nizam of Hyderabad, the Maharaja of Mysore, the Maharaja(Scindia) of Gwalior, the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir and the Gaekwad (Gaekwar) Maharaja of Baroda. The remaining princely rulers were overseen either by the Rajputana Agency and Central India Agency (which were headed by representatives of the Governor-General), or by provincial authorities.

Once India acquired independence, however, the Governor-General's role became almost entirely ceremonial, with power being exercised on a day-to-day basis by the Indian cabinet. After the nation became a republic, the non-executive President of India continued to perform the same functions.

Council

The Governor-General was always advised by a Council on the exercise of his legislative and executive powers. The Governor-General, while exercising many functions, was referred to as the "Governor-General in Council."

The Regulating Act 1773 provided for the election of four counselors by the East India Company's Court of Directors. The Governor-General had a vote along with the counselors, but he also had an additional vote to break ties. The decision of the Council was binding on the Governor-General.

In 1784, the Council was reduced to three members; the Governor-General continued to have both an ordinary vote and a casting vote. In 1786, the power of the Governor-General was increased even further, as Council decisions ceased to be binding.

The Charter Act 1833 made further changes to the structure of the Council. The Act was the first law to distinguish between the executive and legislative responsibilities of the Governor-General. As provided under the Act, there were to be four members of the Council elected by the Court of Directors. The first three members were permitted to participate on all occasions, but the fourth member was only allowed to sit and vote when legislation was being debated.

In 1858, the Court of Directors ceased to have the power to elect members of the Council. Instead, the one member who had a vote only on legislative questions came to be appointed by the Sovereign, and the other three members by the Secretary of State for India.

The Indian Councils Act 1861 made several changes to the Council's composition. Three members were to be appointed by the Secretary of State for India, and two by the Sovereign. (The power to appoint all five members passed to the Crown in 1869.) The Governor-General was empowered to appoint an additional six to twelve members (changed to ten to sixteen in 1892, and to sixty in 1909). The five individuals appointed by the Indian Secretary or Sovereign headed the executive departments, while those appointed by the Governor-General debated and voted on legislation.

In 1919, an Indian legislature, consisting of a Council of State and a Legislative Assembly, took over the legislative functions of the Governor-General's Council. The Governor-General nonetheless retained significant power over legislation. He could authorize the expenditure of money without the Legislature's consent for "ecclesiastical, political [and] defense" purposes, and for any purpose during "emergencies." He was permitted to veto, or even stop debate on, any bill. If he recommended the passage of a bill, but only one chamber cooperated, he could declare the bill passed over the objections of the other chamber. The Legislature had no authority over foreign affairs and defense. The President of the Council of State was appointed by the Governor-General; the Legislative Assembly elected its President, but the election required the Governor-General's approval.

Style and title

The Governor-General used the style Excellency and enjoyed precedence over all other government officials in India. From 1858 to 1947, Governors-General were known as "Viceroys" (from the French roi, meaning "king"). Wives of Viceroys were known as Vicereines (from the French reine, meaning "queen"). Neither title was employed while the Sovereign was in India.

When the Order of the Star of India was founded in 1861, the Governor-General was made its Grand Master ex officio. The Governor-General was also made the ex officio Grand Master of the Order of the Indian Empire upon its foundation in 1877.

Most Governors-General were peers. Of those that were not, Sir John Shore was a baronet, Sir John Laird Mair Lawrence was a knight, and Lord William Bentinck was entitled to the courtesy title "Lord" because he was the son of a Duke. Only the first and last Governors-General — Warren Hastings and Chakravarti Rajagopalchari — as well as some provisional Governors-General, had no special titles at all.

Flag

From around 1885, the Governor-General was allowed to fly a Union Flag augmented in the center with the "Star of India" surmounted by a Crown. This flag was not the Governor-General's personal flag; it was also used by Governors, Lieutenant Governors, Chief Commissioners and other British officers in India. When at sea, only the Governor-General flew the flag from the mainmast, while other officials flew it from the foremast.

From 1947 to 1950, the Governor-General of India used a dark blue flag bearing the royal crest (a lion standing on a crown), beneath which was the word "India" in gold majuscules. The same design is still used by many other Governors-General. This last flag was the personal flag of the Governor-General only.

Residence

Government House served as the Governor-General's residence during most of the nineteenth century.

The Governor-General of Fort William resided in Belvedere House, Calcutta until the early nineteenth century, when Government House was constructed. In 1854, the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal took up residence there. Now, the Belvedere Estate houses the National Library of India.

Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley, who is reputed to have said that "India should be governed from a palace, not from a country house," constructed a grand mansion, known as Government House, between 1799 and 1803. The mansion remained in use until the capital moved from Calcutta to Delhi in 1912. Thereafter, the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal, who had hitherto resided in Belvedere House, was upgraded to a full Governor and transferred to Government House. Now, it serves as the residence of the Governor of the Indian state of West Bengal, and is referred to by its Hindi name Raj Bhavan.

After the capital moved from Calcutta to Delhi, the Viceroy occupied a newly-built Viceroy's House, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens. Though construction began in 1912, it did not conclude until 1929; the home was not formally inaugurated until 1931. The final cost exceeded £877,000 (over £35,000,000 in modern terms) — more than twice the figure originally allocated. Today the residence, now known by the Hindi name of "Rashtrapati Bhavan," is used by the President of India.

Throughout the British administration, Governors-General retreated to the Viceregal Lodge (see Rashtrapati Niwas) at Shimla each summer to escape the heat, and the government of India moved with them. The Viceregal Lodge now houses the Indian Institute of Advanced Study.

List of Governors-General

Governors-General of India, 1774–1858

Name	Began	Ended
Warren Hastings	20 October 1784	1 February 1785
Sir John MacPherson (Provisional)	1 February 1785	12 September 1786
The Earl Cornwallis (from 1792, The Marquess Cornwallis)	12 September 1786	28 October 1793
Sir John Shore	28 October 1793	March 1798
Sir Alured Clarke (Provisional)	March 1798	18 May 1798
The Earl of Mornington (from 1799, The Marquess Wellesley)	18 May 1798	30 July 1805
The Marquess Cornwallis	30 July 1805	5 October 1805
Sir George Hilario Barlow (Provisional)	10 October 1805	31 July 1807
The Lord Minto	31 July 1807	4 October 1813
The Earl of Moira (from 1817, The Marquess of Hastings)	4 October 1813	9 January 1823
John Adam (Provisional)	9 January 1823	1 August 1823
The Lord Amherst (from 1826, The Earl Amherst)	1 August 1823	13 March 1828
William Butterworth Bayly (Provisional)	13 March 1828	4 July 1828
Lord William Bentinck	4 July 1828	20 March 1835
Sir Charles Metcalfe (Provisional)	20 March 1835	4 March 1836
The Lord Auckland (from 1839, The Earl of Auckland)	4 March 1836	28 February 1842
The Lord Ellenborough	28 February 1842	June 1844
William Wilberforce Bird (Provisional)	June 1844	23 July 1844
Sir Henry Hardinge (from 1846, The Viscount Hardinge)	23 July 1844	12 January 1848
The Earl of Dalhousie (from 1849, The Marquess of Dalhousie)	12 January 1848	28 February 1856
The Viscount Canning	28 February 1856	1 November 1858

Governors-General and Viceroys of India, 1858–1947

Name	Began	Ended
The Viscount Canning from 1859, the Earl Canning	1 November 1858	21 March 1862
The Earl of Elgin	21 March 1862	20 November 1863
Sir Robert Napier (Provisional)	21 November 1863	2 December 1863
Sir William Denison (Provisional)	2 December 1863	12 January 1864
Sir John Lawrence	12 January 1864	12 January 1869
The Earl of Mayo	12 January 1869	8 February 1872
Sir John Strachey (Provisional)	9 February 1872	23 February 1872
The Lord Napier (Provisional)	24 February 1872	3 May 1872
The Lord Northbrook	3 May 1872	12 April 1876
The Lord Lytton	12 April 1876	8 June 1880
The Marquess of Ripon	8 June 1880	13 December 1884
The Earl of Dufferin	13 December 1884	10 December 1888
The Marquess of Lansdowne	10 December 1888	11 October 1894
The Earl of Elgin	11 October 1894	6 January 1899
The Lord Curzon of Kedleston	6 January 1899	18 November 1905
The Earl of Minto	18 November 1905	23 November 1910
The Lord Hardinge of Penshurst	23 November 1910	4 April 1916
The Lord Chelmsford	4 April 1916	2 April 1921
The Earl of Reading	2 April 1921	3 April 1926
The Lord Irwin	3 April 1926	18 April 1931
The Earl of Willingdon	18 April 1931	18 April 1936
The Marquess of Linlithgow	18 April 1936	1 October 1943
The Viscount Wavell	1 October 1943	21 February 1947
The Viscount Mountbatten of Burma	21 February 1947	15 August 1947

Governors-General of India, 1947–1950

Name	Began	Ended
The Viscount Mountbatten of Burma	15 August 1947	June 1948
Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari	June 1948	25 January 1950

Governors-General of Pakistan, 1947–1958

Name	Began	Ended
Mohammad Ali Jinnah	15 August 1947	11 September 1948
Khwaja Nazimuddin	14 September 1948	17 October 1951
Ghulam Mohammad	17 October 1951	6 October 1955
Iskander Mirza	6 October 1955	23 March 1956

See also

• Commander-in-Chief, India
• British Empire
• Emperor of India
• Governor-General
• Governor-General of Pakistan
• Indian independence movement
• President of India
• President of Pakistan
• Viceroy
• British Raj
• Secretary of State for India
• India Office
• Indian Civil Service
• Partition of India
• History of Bangladesh
• History of India
• History of Pakistan

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Association of Commonwealth Archivists and Record Managers, (1999). "Government Buildings - India"
• Forrest, G.W., CIE, (editor), Selections from The State Papers of the Governors-General of India - Warren Hastings (2 vols), Blackwell's, Oxford, 1910.
• Encyclopædia Britannica ("British Empire" and "Viceroy"), London, 1911, 11th edition, Cambridge University Press.
• James, Lawrence, Raj: The Making and Unmaking of British India London: Little, Brown & Company, 1997, ISBN 0-316-64072-7
• Keith, A. B. (editor), Speeches and Documents on Indian Policy, 1750–1921,Oxford University Press, 1922.
• Oldenburg, P. (2004). "India." Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia.

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