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RAS question

The first Governor-General of independent India was:

Correct answer: (B) Lord Mountbatten.

Lord Mountbatten was the first Governor-General of independent India, serving from August 1947 to June 1948.

  1. (A)

    C. Rajagopalachari

  2. (B)

    Lord Mountbatten

  3. (C)

    Rajendra Prasad

  4. (D)

    Jawaharlal Nehru

Explanation

Lord Mountbatten is the answer because he moved from being the last Viceroy of India to serving as Governor-General after independence. His tenure ran from 15 August 1947 to June 1948, and Britannica gives the same office period as August 1947 to June 1948. As Viceroy from March to August 1947, Mountbatten administered the transfer of power from Britain to the newly independent nations of India and Pakistan. After that transfer, he served as India’s Governor-General and helped persuade princely states to join either India or Pakistan. C. Rajagopalachari came after him and is remembered as the first Indian Governor-General, not the first Governor-General of independent India.

Why the other options are wrong

  • (A) C. Rajagopalachari succeeded Mountbatten, so he was the second and last Governor-General and the first Indian to hold the office, not the first Governor-General of independent India.
  • (C) Rajendra Prasad belonged to the later republican phase as India’s first President in 1950, whereas the question asks about the Governor-General immediately after independence.
  • (D) Jawaharlal Nehru held the office of Prime Minister, while the Governor-General’s office after independence was held first by Lord Mountbatten.

Concept

This tests the transfer-of-power phase of Modern Indian History, especially the distinction between Viceroy, Governor-General, Prime Minister and President. RAS repeatedly asks such office-and-tenure facts because they mark the constitutional transition from colonial rule to independent India.

Source

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