Governor Generals of India

Lord William Bentinck (1828 – 1835): • Carried out the social reforms like Prohibition of Sati (1829) and elimination of thugs (1830).
• Made English the Medium of higher education in the country (After the recommendations of Macaulay).
• Suppressed female infanticide and child sacrifice.
• Charter Act of 1833 was passed; made him the first Governor General of India. Before him, the designation was Governor General of Bengal.

Sir Charles Metcalfe (1835 – 1836): Abolished all restrictions on vernacular press (called Liberator of the Press).
Lord Auckland (1836 – 1842): The most important event of his reign was the First Afghan War, which proved to be a disaster for the English.

Lord Ellenborough (1842 – 1844)
Lord Hardinge I (1844 – 1848)

Lord Dalhousie (1848 – 1856): 
• Opened the first Indian Railway in 1853 (from Bombay to Thane).
• Laid out the telegraph lines in 1853 (First was from Calcutta to Agra).
• Introduced the Doctrine of Lapse and captured Satara (1848), Jaipur and Sambhalpur (1849), Udaipur (1852), Jhansi (1853) and Nagpur (1854).
• Established the postal system on the modern lines through the length and breadth of the country, which made communication easier.
• Started the Public Works Department. Many bridges were constructed and the work on Grand Trunk Road was started. The harbors of Karachi, Bombay and Calcutta were also developed.
• Made Shimla the summer capital.
• Started Engineering College at Roorkee.
• Encouraged science, forestry, commerce, mineralogy and industry.
• In 1854, “Wood’s Dispatch’ was passed, which provided for the properly articulated system of education from the primary school to the university.
• Due to Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar’s efforts, remarriage of widows was legalized by Widow Remarriage Act, 1856).