List of governors of Bengal Presidency
The Governor of Bengal was the head of the executive government of the Bengal Presidency from 1834 to 1854 and again from 1912 to 1947.[1][2] The office was initially established on 15 November 1834 as the "Governor of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal" and was later abolished on 1 May 1854 and the responsibility of the government of the Presidency was vested in the two Lieutenant Governors of the North-Western Provinces and Bengal.[a] On 1 April 1912 the office of Governor of Bengal was restored and lasted till the Partition of India in 1947 and was replaced by the office of the Governor of West Bengal in West Bengal.
Governor of Bengal
Fort William (1834–1854)
Government House (1912–1947)
Monarch of the United Kingdom (1834–1876)
Emperor of India (1876–1947)
Five years
Governor-General of Bengal
15 November 1834
1 May 1854
(later re-established in 1912)
15 August 1947
Deputy Governor (1836–1854)
The history of the office of the Governor of Bengal dates back to 1644, when Gabriel Boughton procured privileges for the East India Company which permitted them to build a factory at Hughli, without fortifications. Various chief agents, governors and presidents were appointed to look after company affairs in the Bay of Bengal. In 1773, Warren Hastings was appointed as the first Governor General of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal following the enactment of the East India Company Act of 1772.[3]
In 1833, the first Government of India Act was passed enacting that the three presidencies of Fort William in Bengal, Bombay and Madras along with a new "Presidency of Agra", were to be a part of a new "India", and the new office of Governor-General of India along with the Government of India was established. The Governor of Bengal served as the Governor-General of India in addition to his own office.[4]
This setup lasted until the enactment of the Government of India Act 1853, following which, the office of the Governor of Bengal was abolished. From this point onwards the Presidency of Fort William existed only as a nominal administrative division without a government or a head of government. Rather it was made up of two separate lieutenant governorships with separate governments under the Lieutenant-Governor of the North-Western Provinces and the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal. North-Western Provinces were later separated from the Presidency and united with the Oudh Province, leaving only the Bengal Division. This setup was abolished in 1912 after a proclamation by King-Emperor George V was made in 1911 re-establishing the office of the Governor of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal.[5]
In 1947, India was partitioned and the new province of West Bengal was formed following the second partition of Bengal. C. Rajagopalachari was appointed as the first Governor of West Bengal. When the constitution of India came into effect on 26 January 1950, the office of Governor of West Bengal become a ceremonial position.
In 1932 the position came with an annual salary of approximately £114,000 (equivalent to £8,241,000 in 2021), a sumptuary allowance of £25,000 (equivalent to £1,807,000 in 2021) and a grant of £100,000 (equivalent to £7,229,000 in 2021) to cover his staff's wages.[6] In addition to his personal staff he had 120 servants, a seventy-man mounted bodyguard, and a brass band. There were cars, two special trains, a yacht and a house boat.[7]
List of Governor-Generals[edit]
Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal (1773–1833)[edit]
The Regulating Act of 1773 replaced the office of the Governor of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal with Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal. The office of the Governor of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal was restored in 1833.
List of Governors[edit]
1834–1854 – Governors of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal[edit]
By an Act of 1833 (3 & 4 Will. 4. c. lxxxv. Section lvi), it was enacted " that the Executive Government of each of the several Presidencies of Fort William in Bengal, Fort St. George, Bombay, and Agra shall be administered by a Governor and three Councilors, to be styled the Governor-in-Council of the said Presidencies of Fort William in Bengal , Fort St. George, Bombay, and Agra respectively, and that the Governor General of India for the time being shall be Governor of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal. From this time the Governors General of India held also the separate office of Governor of Bengal, until the year 1854.[4] Under the Charter Act 1853 the Governor General of India was relieved of his concurrent duties as Governor of Bengal and empowered to appoint a lieutenant-governor from 1854.
Lieutenant-Governors[edit]
Lieutenant-Governors of the Bengal Division of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal (1854–1912)[edit]
Under the Government of India Act 1853 the Governor-General of India was relieved of his concurrent duties as Governor of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal and a separate Governor was decided to be appointed. Until then a Lieutenant Governor was to be appointed. F. J. Halliday became the first Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal. William Duke served as the last lieutenant governor after which the office was superseded by the restored office of the Governor of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal in 1912.
Post-independence[edit]
In 1947, the British rule over India came to an end, and India was partitioned into two independent dominions of the Indian Union and Pakistan. Bengal Province was partitioned into the province of West Bengal in India, and province of East Bengal (later East Pakistan) in Pakistan. East Pakistan later become independent in 1971 as Bangladesh.
