Question

Explain briefly , any two steps that the East India Company took to gain political and economic power in India ?

Answer 1

1. The East India Company obtained rights to trade in India from the Mughal Emperor through a firman. This enabled them to obtain a foothold in India from which they could gradually expand power. They then set out to defeat local rulers in the South and Bengal. Their victory in Bengal was particularly significant as it enabled them to obtain the diwani of Bengal through which they could loot the revenue of Bengal.

2. Through the Doctrine of Lapse, Lord Dalhousie, the Governor General of India from 1848 to 1856 annexed various native kingdoms in India on the pretext that the existing kings of these kingdoms did not have any legitimate sons of their own. He disallowed the prevailing practice under which kings could adopt a son and make him the heir.