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By which one of the following Acts did the Governor-General of Bengal become the Governor-General of India ?
Explanation
The Charter Act of 1833 was a significant milestone in the centralization of British administration in India. This Act redesignated the 'Governor-General of Bengal' as the 'Governor-General of India' [c1, t5]. Lord William Bentinck became the first individual to hold this unified title, vesting in him all civil and military powers for the entirety of British India [c1, t1]. The Act effectively stripped the Governors of Bombay and Madras of their independent legislative powers, centralizing authority under the Governor-General in Council [t1, t5]. While the Regulating Act of 1773 had previously elevated the Governor of Bengal to 'Governor-General of Bengal' to oversee other presidencies [c1, t4], it was the 1833 Act that formally established the pan-Indian designation and ended the East India Company's commercial activities, turning it into a purely administrative body [c4, t5].
Sources
- [1] History , class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 17: Effects of British Rule > 17.1Establishment of British Raj > p. 265
- [2] https://gacbe.ac.in/pdf/ematerial/18BHI34A-U5.pdf
- [3] Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth(7th ed.) > Chapter 1: Historical Background > The features of this Act were as follows: > p. 3