Question

Who was the Governor General of India at the time of Indian Independence?
A)Lord Mountbatten
B)Lord Wavell
C)Rajagopalachari
D)Lord Linlithgow

Answer 1

Hint: He was a British Royal Navy Officer, which he entered in 1916.
He was assassinated by a bomb planted on his fishing boat, in Ireland.

Complete answer:
The last Governor General of British India at the time of Independence was Lord Earl Mountbatten. He was fond of the INC leader Jawaharlal Nehru. He liked his liberal outlook for the country. Although he was not as much fond of the leader of the Muslim League, Jinnah. He even persuaded to form a united India, stating that it would be difficult to divide states like Punjab and Bengal. But all his persuasions were in vain.

Mountbatten’s personal advisors said that the transfer of power from the British to the Indian Government should be done gradually, but Mountbatten believed that if the transfer of power would be delayed any longer it would give rise to a civil war. He did not want this to happen and decided that the only way to avoid this would be to transfer the powers in a quick and orderly manner, and that too before 1947.
He set a date and provided a fixed timeline for the transfer of powers to convince the Indians of his sincerity in working towards a quick and efficient independence. Mountbatten also postponed the date of the partition of India and Pakistan from June 1948 to August 1947.

Thus, India became an independent dominion on 15th August 1947 and Lord Mountbatten also became the first Governor General of Independent India. He remained the Governor General till June of 1948.

Hence, the correct answer is option (A)

Note: 1)After Lord Mountbatten completed his time in the office, he was succeeded by Chakravarti Rajagopalachari.
2)Chakravarti Rajagopalachari was the last Governor General of Independent India.
3)He served the office until the Indian Constitution came into effect in 1950 and established the Indian Government as we know it today.