Viceroy and Governor MCQ Quiz - Objective Question with Answer for Viceroy and Governor - Download Free PDF

The correct answer is Lord Curzon.

Key Points

• Lord Curzon was the Viceroy of India when the decision to partition Bengal was announced and implemented.
• The British government cited administrative efficiency as the primary reason for the partition of Bengal in 1905.
• It claimed that Bengal was too large for effective administration by a single government, given its vast area and large population.
• Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India at the time, argued that the province was unwieldy and that the division would lead to better governance and enhance the welfare of the regions.
• However, many Indians viewed the partition as a divide-and-rule tactic meant to weaken the nationalist movement by splitting Bengal on religious lines, with the eastern part being majority Muslim and the western part majority Hindu.

Additional Information

• Became viceroy of India from 1898 to 1905, playing a significant role in the administration and policies of British India during his term .
• Served as the foreign secretary of the United Kingdom from 1919 to 1924, influencing British foreign policy in the post-World War I era 

The correct answer is Lord Hastings.

Key Points

• The Anglo-Nepal War took place between 1814 and 1816.
• It was fought between Nepal and the British East India Company.
• The War marked the rise of the Gurkha kingdom and the consolidation of the British East India Company's influence in Nepal.
• Lord Hastings​
  • He served as Governor-General of India from 1813 to 1823.
  • The Gurkha War (Anglo-Nepalese) and the Third Anglo-Maratha war occurred during his tenure.
  • He abolished the Censorship Act.
• The war ended with the Treaty of Sugauli, in which Nepal ceded some of its territory to the East India Company.

Additional Information

• Lord Auckland
  • Auckland was appointed Governor-General in the year 1836.
  • George Eden, Earl of Auckland served from 1836 to 1842.
  • The first Anglo-Afghan war was fought during his tenure.
  • He is known for the expansion of the commercial industry in India.
• Lord Hardinge
  • His career was a memorable one which included the visit of King George V to India and the Delhi Durbar of 1911, as well as the move of the capital from Calcutta to New Delhi in 1911.
• Lord Wellesley
  • Subsidiary Alliance was a system devised by Lord Wellesley in 1798.
  • In 1798, Lord Wellesley became the Governor-General.

The correct answer is Lord Hasting.

Key Points

• Lord Hastings instituted the policy of paramountcy. From 1813 until 1823, he served as Governor-General of  Bengal.
• The corporation became the supreme law, the supreme power, and to defend its interests, it justified the conquest of any Indian country under this policy.
• When the British attempted to conquer the minor states of Karnataka during this process, Rani Channamma led an anti-British resistance movement.
• His administration is remembered for its interventionist and war policies.

The correct answer is Sir Charles Metcalfe.

• Sir Charles Metcalfe is known as Governor Generals of 'Liberator of India Press'.

Key Points

• Sir Charles Matcoff had been the Governor-General of India.
• He was born in Calcutta in 1785 AD.
• He was made temporary Governor-General for a few days.
• The most important decision of this term was to make the Indian press independent.
• The Vernacular Press Act was passed by the British government in India in the year 1878 to keep strict control over the newspapers and magazines of Indian languages. 
• Sir Charles Matcoff removed the restrictions due to this act.

Additional Information

• The Saint Helena Act 1833 (or Government of India Act 1833) re-designated the office with the title of Governor-General of India. Lord William Bentinck was first to be designated as the Governor-general of India in 1833.

The correct answer is Warren Hastings.

Key Points

• The Governor-General impeached by the British Parliament was Warren Hastings (1772–1785).
  • He was impeached in the year 1787.
  • He was impeached on charges of administrative excesses, which mainly focused on the Rohilla War (1774) and the Nand Kumar case.
  • In the Rohilla War, when Warren Hastings invaded Rohilkhand (the land between the Marathas and Awadh), he was criticized for using British troops in support of the Nawab of Awadh.

Additional Information

The correct answer is Lord Dalhousie.

Key Points

• The chief instrument through which Lord Dalhousie implemented his policy of annexation was the ‘Doctrine of Lapse’.
  • Under the Doctrine of Lapse, when the ruler of a protected state died without a natural heir, his/her state was not to pass to an adopted heir as sanctioned by the age-old tradition of the country.
• Lord Dalhousie came to India as the Governor-General in 1848.
• Lord Dalhousie was keen on annexing the kingdom of Avadh.

Important Points

The correct answer is Lord Ripon

Key Points

• The following events took place in the Viceroy-ship of 
• Lord Ripon (1880-1884):
  • The first factory Act of 1881 was passed.
  • In order to review the progress of education, William Hunter Commission was appointed in 1882.
  • The IIbert Bill 1883 was passed.
  • The age of entry in civil services was increased to 21 years.

Additional Information

• Lord Dufferin (1884-1888):
  • The Indian National Congress (INC) was formed (1885).
  • Panjdeh Incident occurred in which a diplomatic crisis took place between Russia and Great Britain but the war was averted by the diplomatic efforts of Lord Dufferin.
  • Third Anglo Burmese war 1886.
• Lord Curzon (1899-1905):
  • Partition of Bengal took place on 16th October 1905.
  • The famine commission was formed under Sir Anthony McDonnel in 1901 to fight back the famine which took place in 1899-1900.
  • Irrigation Commission was established in 1901.
  • The Police Commission has formed under sir Andrew Frazer.
  • Punjab Land Alienation Act 1900 was passed.
  • Indian Universities Act 1904 was passed.
  • Ancient Monuments Preservation Act 1904 was passed.
  • Calcutta Corporation Act 1899 was passed.
• Lord Canning (1856-1862):
  • Lord Canning was the last Governor-General (1856-1857) and the first Viceroy (1858-1862) of India.
  • The first three modern Universities were established i.e the University of Calcutta, the University of Madras, and the University of Bombay.

The correct answer is Lord Cornwallis.

Key Points

• During the British raj, Warren Hastings laid the foundation of the Civil Services.
• Charles Cornwallis reformed, modernized and rationalized it. Hence, Charles Cornwallis is known as 'the Father of civil service in India'.
• British General Charles Cornwallis was appointed in February 1786 to serve as both Commander-in-Chief of British India and Governor of the Presidency of Fort William, also known as the Bengal Presidency.
• He had introduced the Covenanted Civil Services and the Uncovenanted Civil Services.
• The Covenanted Civil Services was created out of the Law of the Company.

Additional Information

Important events and Governor-General at that time: 

Note: Lord Irvin was replaced by Willingdon and remained till 1936

The correct answer is 1773.

Key Points

• Warren Hastings became the first Governor-General of Bengal in 1773.

​Important work by Hasting

1. Abolished the Dual System that had been established by Robert Clive.
2. Regulating Act of 1773 was passed during his term.
3. The First Maratha War in 1775-82 and the Treaty of Salbai in 1782.
4. Second Mysore War in 1780-84.
5. Abolished the system of dastaks.
6. Supported Sir William Jones in the formation of the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1784.
7. Pitt’s India Act of 1784 was passed during his term.
8. Fought Rohilla War of 1774.

Option 2 is correct, i.e. Lord Lytton.

Key Points

Lord Lytton(1876-1880):

• ​The Vernacular Press Act was passed in 1878 by Viceroy Lord Lytton (1876-1880).
• This Act allowed Magistrates to collect security deposits from Regional Language/Native language/Vernacular newspapers and confiscate their printing press if they published anything against the crown.
• However, these same rules are not applied to English Language Printing Press.

Additional Information

Lord Dufferin (1884-1888):

• He was the Viceroy of India when the Third Anglo-Burmese war (1885-1886) took place.
• The Second Anglo-Burmese (1852-1853) took place during the tenure of Lord Dalhousie (1848-1856).
• The Second Anglo-Burmese war ended with the British occupation of Lower Burma.
• During the Third Anglo-Burmese War, the British occupied entire Burma and annexed it as a province of Indian.
• Burma became a separate crown colony in 1935.

Lord Canning(1856 - 1862):

• Lord Canning was the first Viceroy of India. His tenure lasted for 6 years from 1856-62.
• After 1858, the post of the Governor-General came to be known as the Viceroy.
• Lord Canning was the Governor-General of India during the Revolt of 1857 and he is admired for his calm demeanor and for ensuring that the various government departments and the administration worked smoothly even during the revolt.
• He succeeded Lord Dalhousie as the Governor-general.

The correct answer is Robert Clive.

Key Points

• Robert Clive was the governor of Bengal during 1757-1760 and again during 1765-1767.
• He led the Company’s army against Sirajuddaulah at Plassey in 1757.
• The dual government system in India was introduced by Robert Clive.
• He introduced the dual government system in Bengal in 1765.
  • It was continued till 1772.
• The administration of Bengal was divided into Diwani and Nizamat as a result of the dual government system.
• Robert Clive is known as the 'Babur of British India'.

Additional Information

• Warren Hastings is the only governor who was impeached by the British government in India.
  • Warren Hastings abolished the dual government system in 1772.
• The system of Permanent Settlement and civil services were introduced by Lord Cornwallis.
• The Subsidiary Alliance System in India was introduced by Lord Wellesley.

The correct answer is Lord Irwin.

Important Points

• Lord Irwin was the Viceroy of India at the time of the Dandi March initiated by Gandhiji.
• On 12 March Gandhi began his historic Dandi March to the Gujarat seashore where on 6 April he publicly violated the salt law.
• The march attracted enormous publicity both in India and overseas, and was followed by wholesale illegal manufacture and sale of salt, accompanied by the boycott of foreign clothes and liquor.  
• Gandhiji's arrest came on May 4, 1930 (Dandi march ended on 6th April 1930) when he had announced that he would proceed to continue his defiance of the salt laws by leading a raid on the Dharasana Salt Works on the west coast.

Additional Information

 Lord Irwin was the Viceroy of India from 1926-1931.

• Major Incidents that took place in India under him:
  •  In 1928, Simon's commission came to India.
  • The incidence of Dandi took place in 1930.
  • The Civil Disobedience movement was started in 1930.
  • Gandhi signed the Irwin pact. From November 1930 to January 1931, First Round Table Conference was held.

 Lord Willingdon

• He was the Viceroy of India from 1931-1936.
• Major Incidents that took place in India under him:
  • In his reign, Poona Pact was signed.
  • During his time, the Second and Third Round Table Conference was held.
  • British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald started Communal Award.
  • Government of India Act (1935) was passed.

 Lord Linlithgow

• He was the Viceroy of India from 1936-1944.
• Major Incidents that took place in India under him:
  • In provinces, the Government of India Act 1935 was enforced.
  • In 1942, Cripps Mission visited India.
  • In 1942, the Quit India movement was started.
  • In 1939, the Second World war took place.

 Lord Reading

• He was the Viceroy of India from 1921-1926.
• Major Incidents that took place in India under him:
  • The incidence of Chauri - Chaura took place during his time.
  • Swaraj Party was formed at his time.
  • In 1921, the Ahmedabad session of INC was held.

​Correct Answer Lord Canning

Key Points:

• Lord Canning (1856-1862) was the first viceroy of India.
• Viceroy is the British crown representative of the princely states of India.
• Lord Canning became first the Viceroy and governor-general of India through the government of India Act 1858.
• He was the Governor-General of India during the Indian Sepoy Mutiny in 1857.

The correct answer is Lord Willingdon:

Key Points

• The Government of India Act 1935 was the last constitution of British India.
• It lasted until 1947 when British territory was split into Pakistan and India.
• Lord Willingdon was the governor-general of India when it was passed.