RAS question
Who was the last Viceroy of India?
Correct answer: (D) Lord Mountbatten.
Lord Mountbatten was the last Viceroy of British India, overseeing the 1947 transfer of power and Partition before becoming independent India's first Governor-General.
Explanation
Lord Mountbatten is the right answer because his viceroyalty sits at the constitutional turning point of modern Indian history. He was the last Viceroy of British India, and Encyclopaedia Britannica describes him as the last viceroy of India. As viceroy from March to August 1947, he administered the transfer of power from Britain to the newly independent nations of India and Pakistan at the Partition of the subcontinent, which took effect at midnight on 14-15 August 1947. After that, he served as Governor-General of India from August 1947 to June 1948, becoming independent India's first Governor-General.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Lord Wavell was Viceroy before Mountbatten, so he cannot be the last Viceroy of British India.
- (B) Lord Irwin served as Viceroy from 1926 to 1931, well before the 1947 transfer of power.
- (C) Lord Linlithgow served as Viceroy from 1936 to 1943, so his term ended before Mountbatten's 1947 viceroyalty.
Concept
This tests the end phase of British rule in India, especially the transfer of power and Partition in 1947. RAS repeatedly uses such office-holder questions because they anchor chronology, constitutional change and late-colonial political developments.