The British Governor-Generals and Viceroys: Notes for OAS Prelims and Mains

These Governor-Generals and Viceroys notes for OPSC OAS trace the transformation of British India from the Dual Government of Clive to the Viceroyalty of Mountbatten, covering the Permanent Settlement, the Subsidiary Alliance, the Doctrine of Lapse, the Ilbert Bill and the partition of Bengal. The page connects each office-holder to Odisha’s colonial experience, from the Permanent Settlement of 1793 to the creation of a separate Orissa province in 1936.

Evolution of the Office: From Governor of Bengal to Viceroy

The British administrative office in India evolved through four stages. Robert Clive was the first Governor of Bengal after Plassey (1757). The Regulating Act of 1773 created the post of Governor-General of Bengal, with Warren Hastings as the first incumbent. The Charter Act of 1833 renamed the office Governor-General of India, and Lord William Bentinck became the first to hold that designation. After the Revolt of 1857, the Government of India Act of 1858 transferred power to the Crown and added the title of Viceroy, with Lord Canning becoming the first Viceroy.

Robert Clive and the Foundations of British Power

Robert Clive is called the founder of the British Empire in India. After the Battle of Buxar (1764), the Treaty of Allahabad (1765) secured the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Odisha for the East India Company, and Clive introduced the Dual Government in 1765. Under this system, the Company held the Diwani (revenue) while the Nawab retained the Nizamat (criminal justice and police). The Dual Government was abolished by Warren Hastings in 1772.

Warren Hastings: First Governor-General of Bengal

Warren Hastings (1774–85) was the first Governor-General of Bengal under the Regulating Act of 1773. He abolished the Dual Government, created a Board of Revenue at Calcutta, and patronised oriental learning. The Asiatic Society of Bengal was founded in 1784 by Sir William Jones during his tenure, and Hastings declined its presidentship in favour of Jones. On his return to England, he faced impeachment by the British Parliament from 1788 to 1795 and was acquitted.

Lord Cornwallis: Permanent Settlement and Civil Service

Lord Cornwallis (1786–93) introduced the Permanent Settlement of 1793 in Bengal, Bihar and Odisha, fixing land revenue in perpetuity with zamindars. He also organised the covenanted civil service, separating revenue collection from judicial functions through the Cornwallis Code. The Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790–92) was fought under him and ended with the Treaty of Seringapatam.

For Odisha, the Permanent Settlement is a foundational event. It was enacted in Odisha, Bihar and Bengal in 1793, making zamindars the official owners of land and fixing the state demand permanently. The settlement shaped agrarian relations in coastal Odisha for over a century and contributed to the stagnation of agriculture and the vulnerability of raiyats.

Lord Wellesley and the Subsidiary Alliance

Lord Wellesley (1798–1805) used the Subsidiary Alliance to bring Indian states under British paramountcy without direct annexation. The Nizam of Hyderabad accepted the alliance in 1798, followed by Mysore (1799), Awadh (1801) and Sindhia (1803). A British Resident was posted at each allied court, and the ruler surrendered control over foreign relations and military forces.

Wellesley’s tenure is also the period when British rule was first established in parts of Odisha. Through subsidiary alliances and acquisitions in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, with full control after 1803, the Company extended its authority over Odisha.

Lord Dalhousie: Doctrine of Lapse and Modernisation

Lord Dalhousie (1848–56) applied the Doctrine of Lapse, annexing Satara (1848), Sambalpur and Jaitpur (1849), Baghat (1850), Udaipur (1852), Jhansi (1853) and Nagpur (1854). He also carried out the last major territorial expansion of British India, annexing Punjab (1849), Lower Burma (1852) and Awadh (1856) on grounds of maladministration. His modernising measures included railways (1853), telegraphs, the modern postal system and the Public Works Department.

Sambalpur’s annexation in 1849 is a key Odisha fact. Narayan Singh died without a natural heir, and Dalhousie applied the Doctrine of Lapse, amalgamating Sambalpur into the British Empire. This brought a large part of western Odisha under direct British administration.

Lord Canning: First Viceroy and the Queen’s Proclamation

Lord Canning was Governor-General during the Revolt of 1857 and became the first Viceroy under the Government of India Act of 1858. The Queen’s Proclamation, read out at Allahabad on 1 November 1858, promised non-interference in religion and restored the right of adoption, effectively abandoning the Doctrine of Lapse.

Lord Ripon: Local Self-Government and the Ilbert Bill

Lord Ripon (1880–84) is called the father of local self-government in India for his Resolution of 1882, which established elected local boards and municipalities. He repealed the Vernacular Press Act, passed the first Factory Act in 1881, and introduced the Ilbert Bill in 1883 to allow Indian judges to try Europeans. The bill was diluted after fierce European opposition, but the controversy exposed the racial assumptions of colonial rule.

Lord Curzon: Partition of Bengal and Cultural Policy

Lord Curzon (1899–1905) partitioned Bengal in 1905, creating the new province of Eastern Bengal and Assam. The partition triggered the Swadeshi Movement and was annulled in 1911. Curzon reorganised the Archaeological Survey of India, passed the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act of 1904, and sent the Younghusband Mission to Tibet in 1903–04.

In Odisha, the Swadeshi Movement had a visible impact despite official reports of its mildness. A grand meeting was held at Cuttack’s Jubilee Park on 20 August 1905 under Janakinath Bose, and Madhusudan Das urged the boycott of foreign cloth and salt. Curzon also proposed to unite Oriya-speaking areas under a single administration, a scheme that was only partially carried out.

Lord Hardinge and Lord Chelmsford: Capital Shift and Dyarchy

Lord Hardinge (1910–16) annulled the partition of Bengal in 1911 and shifted the capital from Calcutta to Delhi. Lord Chelmsford (1916–21) presided over the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms of 1919, which introduced dyarchy in the provinces, and the Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place during his tenure in 1919.

Lord Irwin, Lord Willingdon and Lord Linlithgow

Lord Irwin (1926–31) was Viceroy during the Dandi March (1930) and negotiated the Gandhi-Irwin Pact (1931). Lord Willingdon (1931–36) presided over the Communal Award (1932), the Second Round Table Conference and the Poona Pact. Lord Linlithgow (1936–43) was Viceroy during the August Offer (1940), the Cripps Mission (1942) and the Quit India Movement.

The creation of a separate Orissa province in 1936 is directly linked to Linlithgow. The Joint Select Committee under his chairmanship recommended the formation of Orissa province, and the Government of India (Constitution of Orissa) Order, 1936, issued on 3 March 1936, created the province with effect from 1 April 1936.

Lord Wavell and Lord Mountbatten: War, Conference and Partition

Lord Wavell (1943–47) convened the Shimla Conference of 1945, which failed over the Muslim League’s demand to nominate Muslim members. The Royal Indian Navy Mutiny of 1946 occurred during his tenure. Lord Mountbatten (1947) was the last Viceroy; his plan of 3 June 1947 became the basis of the Indian Independence Act and the partition of India. He became the first Governor-General of independent India, and C. Rajagopalachari was the first Indian and last Governor-General.

Odisha Angle: Colonial Administration and the Making of a Province

Odisha’s colonial experience was shaped by the policies of successive Governors-General and Viceroys. The Permanent Settlement of 1793 under Cornwallis was applied to Odisha, creating a zamindari system that persisted into the twentieth century. British rule was first established in parts of Odisha under Wellesley, with full control after 1803. Dalhousie’s Doctrine of Lapse led to the annexation of Sambalpur in 1849, integrating western Odisha into the Company’s domains.

The Swadeshi Movement after Curzon’s partition of Bengal found expression in Odisha through meetings at Cuttack, Balasore, Puri and Sambalpur, with Madhusudan Das and Fakir Mohan Senapati among its prominent voices. The demand for a separate province for Oriya-speaking people was finally conceded under Linlithgow, and Orissa became a separate province on 1 April 1936.

How Prelims and Mains Treat This Topic

In Prelims, the treatment is factual: match the Governor-General to the policy, the year to the event, and the Act to the office. In Mains, the treatment is analytical: assess the impact of the Permanent Settlement on Odisha’s agrarian structure, the consequences of the Doctrine of Lapse for princely states, and the role of viceregal policy in the creation of separate provinces. For the History optional, expect questions on the ideology of colonial administration and the relationship between revenue policy and social change.

Practice Questions