Question

Why did Dalhousie introduce policy of annexation?

Answer 1

Dear student,

• Lord Dalhousie, the Governer General of British India in 1848, was ambitious for extending direct British control over as large area as possible.
• He believed and projected that the British administration was superior to the corrupt and oppressive native rules (as in the case of the Nawab of Awadh while annexing Awadh).
• The hidden motive of his policy was expansion of British exports to India which otherwise suffered due to poor administration by the Indian rulers.
• The promapr instrument through which he carried the policy of annexatuan was the Doctrine of Lapse under which if a ruler died without a natural heir his state would be annexed by the British givergover and the adopted heir would have no right over the state. States like Jhansi (1854)and Satara(1848) were annexed this way.
• Annexation sometimes also happened for economic reasons like gaining access to resources and fertile lands. For eg, to satisfy Britain's increasing demand for raw cotton, Dalhousie took away the cotton producing province from the Nizam in 1853.

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