The first governor general of India was Warren Hastings. He served from 1774 to 1785. Hastings was appointed by the East India Company to be the first governor general of India after the company's victory in the Battle of Plassey in 1757.

Early Life and Career
Warren Hastings was born in 1732 in Churchill, Oxfordshire, England. He was educated at Westminster School and later joined the East India Company in 1750 as a clerk. He quickly rose through the ranks of the company and became a member of the Bengal Council in 1761.

Hastings in India
Hastings arrived in India in 1757, just after the Battle of Plassey. He served in various capacities in the Bengal Presidency and was appointed as the governor of Bengal in 1772. Two years later, he was appointed as the first governor general of India.

Achievements
During his tenure as governor general, Hastings made several significant contributions to the development of India. He established the Bengal Native Infantry and reformed the judicial system. He also introduced the Permanent Settlement, which was a system of revenue collection that gave landowners the right to keep a fixed share of their land's revenue.

Controversies
Hastings' tenure as governor general was marred by several controversies. He was accused of corruption and mismanagement of funds, and was impeached by the British Parliament in 1787. However, he was ultimately acquitted of all charges.

Legacy
Despite the controversies surrounding his tenure, Warren Hastings is remembered as a key figure in the history of British India. His contributions to the development of India, particularly his reforms in the judicial and revenue systems, laid the foundation for future British rule in the country.

Warren Hastings

The first governor-general in India( of Bengal) wasWarren Hastings, the first official governor-general of British India was Lord William Bentinck, and the first governor-general of the Dominion of India was Lord Mountbatten.