Question

What is meant by doctrine of lapse?

Answer 1

The Doctrine of Lapse was introduced by Lord Dalhousie. According to this doctrine, if any Indian ruler dies without leaving a male heir, his kingdom would automatically pass over to the British.

Doctrine of Lapse – Final Wave of Annexations by Lord Dalhousie

• Lord Dalhousie was the Governor General from 1848 to 1856.
• He led the final wave of annexations.
• This final wave of annexations was done through his policy of Doctrine of Lapse.
• As per Doctrine of Lapse, the Kingdom would ‘Lapse’ and would become part of British East India Company territory if the ruler of a Kingdom died without male heir.

Doctrine of Lapse – Different Kingdoms that were Annexed

Through Doctrine of Lapse many Kingdoms were annexed which are given below:

• The Kingdom of Satara was the 1st kingdom to be annexed through the Doctrine of Lapse in 1848.
• The Kingdom of Sambalpur was annexed in 1850.
• The Kingdom of Udaipur was annexed by Dalhousie through the Doctrine of Lapse in 1852.
• The Kingdom of Nagpur was annexed in 1853.
• The Kingdom of Jhansi was annexed in 1854.
• The final annexation through the Doctrine of Lapse was the Kingdom of Awadh in 1856.

Annexation of India States – East India Company

• From 1757 to 1857, the East India Company used a variety of methods to expand its territory.
• It did not merely use military power, but also used diplomatic, economic and political approaches to annex kingdoms.
• Residents in Indian states were appointed by the British after the Battle of Buxar in 1764.
• British East India Company started interfering in the internal affairs of the States through Residents.
• The Company decided who was selected in administrative posts, even went to the extent of deciding the successors to the throne.

Subsidiary Alliance

• British East India Company enforced the system of ‘Subsidiary Alliance.’
• As per Subsidiary alliance, Indian rulers were not supposed to have their own military.
• As per Subsidiary alliance, the security would be provided by the subsidiary forces, but the Indian rulers had to pay the British to maintain the Subsidiary forces.
• If the Indian rulers were not able to pay the required money for maintenance then they would lose their territory as a penalty.
• An example is, Nawab of Awadh had to cede half of his territory to British, when he was unable to make the payment to the Subsidiary Forces. Nawab of Awadh lost his territory in 1801. At that time Lord Wellesley was the Governor General (1798-1805).
• On similar lines,even the ruler of Hyderabad had to cede his territory to the British.