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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 the Indian government, rather than the British government.
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 amongst the provincial Governors.
Much of India was originally 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 BengalFor the breed of cat, see Bengal cat; for the tiger, see Bengal Tiger. Bengal Banga Bangla Bangadesh or Bangladesh in Bengali) comprises a region in the northeast of the Indian subcontinent, today divided between the independent country of Bangladesh and. 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 Sepoy Rebellion, the East India Company was abolished, and India 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 permanent constitutions could be written. Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of BurmaLouis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma ( June 25, 1900 August 27, 1979) was a British statesman and an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He was the last Viceroy and first Governor-General of independent India, and First Sea Lord, as was 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 19561956 is a leap year starting on Sunday. see link for calendar) Events January January 1 End of Anglo- Egyptian Condominium in Sudan. January 16 President Gamal Abdal Nasser of Egypt vows to reconquer Palestine January 26 1956 Winter Olympic Games open in.
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 defence. The other Presidencies of the East India Company ( MadrasChennai in Tamil), formerly known in English as Madras is a sprawling port city on the shores of the Bay of Bengal. One of the major Metropolitan cities of India, it is also the capital of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. It is India's fourth largest c, BombayThis article is about the city formerly known as Bombay. For other uses of this word, see Bombay (disambiguation Mumbai (renamed from Bombay in 1995) is the world's most populous conurbation, and is the sixth most populous agglomeration in the world. 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. Governors were appointed by the British government, to whom they were directly responsible; Lieutenant-Governors and Chief Commissioners, however, were appointed by and were subordinate to the Governor-General. The Governor-General also oversaw the most powerful princely rulersA princely state was a principality or kingdom in British India ruled by a local ruler, called a prince by the British (but who were truly kings). The princely states enjoyed local autonomy and had their own laws, languages, holidays, ministers, and monar: the Nizam of Hyderabad, the Maharaja of Mysore, the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir and the Maharaja Gaekwar 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 entirely ceremonial, with actual power being held by elected Indian politicians. After the nation became a republic, the President of India continued to perform the same ceremonial functions.
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