| Year / Tenure | Governor-General | Major Reforms & Events |
|---|---|---|
| 1772–1785 | Warren Hastings | • First Governor-General of Bengal • Abolished Dual System of Administration in Bengal • Regulating Act of 1773 passed • Supreme Court at Calcutta (1774) established • Founded Asiatic Society of Bengal (1784) • First Anglo-Maratha War (1775–1782) → Treaty of Salbai • First English translation of Bhagavad Gita • Pitt’s India Act of 1784 |
| 1786–1793 | Lord Cornwallis | • Introduced Cornwallis Code (civil, judicial, police reforms) • Established Appellate Courts & Lower Courts • Introduced Permanent Settlement (1793) • Laid foundation of Modern Civil Services • Reformed Police Administration • Third Anglo-Mysore War → Treaty of Seringapatam |
| 1793–1798 | Sir John Shore | • Charter Act of 1793 • Followed Policy of Non-Intervention • Battle of Kharda (1795) between Nizam & Marathas |
| 1798–1805 | Lord Arthur Wellesley | • Introduced Subsidiary Alliance System • Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1799) – defeat of Tipu Sultan • Second Anglo-Maratha War • Treaty of Bassein (1802) • Established Fort William College (1800) |
| 1805–1807 | George Barlow | • Served as Acting Governor-General • Policy of Economy & Retrenchment • Vellore Mutiny |
| 1807–1813 | Lord Minto I | • Treaty of Amritsar with Ranjit Singh • Charter Act of 1813 |
| 1813–1823 | Francis Rawdon-Hastings | • End of Policy of Non-Intervention • Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–18) • Abolition of Peshwaship • Ryotwari System introduced in Madras & Bombay by Thomas Munro • Mahalwari System in North-Western Provinces |
| 1823–1828 | Lord Amherst | • First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–1826) • Annexation of Assam • Barrackpore Mutiny |
| 1828–1835 | Lord William Bentinck | • First Governor-General of India (after 1833 Act) • Abolition of Sati (1829) • Suppression of Thuggee (1830) • Charter Act of 1833 • Promoted English Education with Thomas Babington Macaulay • First Medical College in Calcutta (1835) |
| 1848–1856 | Lord Dalhousie | • Introduced Doctrine of Lapse • Annexed Satara, Jhansi, Nagpur, Awadh • Introduced Railways (1853) – Bombay to Thane first line • Introduced Telegraph & Postal System • Completed Ganga Canal • Known as “Maker of Modern India” |
| 1856–1862 | Lord Canning | • Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act • General Service Enlistment Act (1856) • Indian Rebellion of 1857 during tenure • Adopted Policy of Clemency after revolt |
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