How did the doctrine of lapse support the expansion of British Empire in India
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doctrine of lapse
All the states whose ruler died without a natural heir were annexed by the British. Hence the Doctrine of Lapse was were helpful in expansion of the British Empire and the states were easily annexed due to it. For Example: Jhansi, Nagpur, Surat.... etc were annexed by the British using Doctrine Of Lapse.
Dalhousie adopted Doctrine of Lapse policy whereby the adopted children of Indian Kings were refused of their right to throne. According to this policy, “If any Indian ruler dies without children, their adopted children had no legal right over the throne”. And such state gets merged with the British Empire. Princely states like Satara, Nagpur, Sambalpur, Udaipur, Jhansi, Jaipur came under this policy. As the Governor General knew the conditions of these states, he used this policy as a political weapon.