Explain lord Dalhousie's Doctrine of Lapse?
Answers
Answer:
The Doctrine of Lapse was an annexation policy extensively applied by East India Company in India until 1859. The doctrine stated that any princely state under the vassalage of the company will how its territory annexed should the ruler of the said state fail to produce an heir. The doctrine and its application were regarded by many Indians as illegitimate.
The Doctrine of Lapse was one of the underlying factors that led to the revolt of 1857.
Explanation:
Features of Doctrine of Lapse
Before the introduction of this doctrine, the princely states had a ritualised method of adoption practised for centuries An heir apparent would eventually be selected from a pool of candidates, who were groomed for succession from an early age, called bhayats if no competent born-to son were produced (an obviously unsuitable or treasonous born-to son could be excluded from the succession).
If the ruler died before adopting a successor, one of his widows could adopt an heir, who would immediately accede to the throne. The adoptee would cut all ties with his birth family. Once the Doctrine of Lapse came into place the following features were now faced by the Indian rulers.
According to this doctrine, any princely state under the direct or indirect (as a vassal) control of the East India Company, should the ruler not produce a legal male heir, would be annexed by the company.
This was not introduced by Lord Dalhousie even though it was he who documented it and used it widely to acquire territories for the British.
As per this, any adopted son of the Indian ruler could not be proclaimed as heir to the kingdom. The adopted son would only inherit his foster father’s personal property and estates.
The adopted son would also not be entitled to any pension that his father had been receiving or to any of his father’s titles.
This challenged the Indian ruler’s long-held authority to appoint an heir of their choice.
Effects of Doctrine of LapseMany Indian states lost their sovereignty and became British territories.This led to a lot of unrest among the Indian princes.A lot of people were unhappy with the ‘illegal’ nature of this doctrine and this was one of the causes of the Indian Revolt of 1857.Nana Sahib and the Rani of Jhansi had grievances against the British because the former’s pension was stopped by the British after his foster father died, and the Rani’s adopted son was denied the throne under the doctrine of lapse.Dalhousie returned to Britain in 1856. After the Indian Revolt broke out in 1857, his governance was widely criticised as one of the causes of the rebellion
Answer:
Under Lord Dalhousie, who was the Governor General from 1848 to 1856, a new scheme for indirect annexation was devised. This policy was known as Doctrine of Lapse. According to doctrine of lapse, if an Indian ruler died without a male heir, his kingdom would lapse and it would be taken over by the East India Company with immediate effect. The Right of adoption was denied to the Indian ruler.