Question

Explain the following: a. Subsidiary alliance b. Doctrine of lapse

Answer 1

Hint: Both the mentioned terms; Subsidiary alliance and Doctrine of lapse are defined as a treaty and an annexation policy initiated by the Britishers in India. Both of them hold a huge amount of importance in terms of political and historical reconstruction.

Complete Step by Step answer: a. Subsidiary alliance: One of the most important alliances or treaties to understand the dynamics of the losing sovereignty (India) into the hands of Britishers. The respective alliance had two parties; including princely states of India and the Britishers. The idea was actually introduced by French Governor Joseph François Dupleix but it was then implemented by Lord Wellesley, the then Governor General of India. In the popular academia, it is stated that Nawab of Awadh was the first ruler to enter into subsidiary alliance with Britishers but it was Nizam of Hyderabad who got into a well-crafted political alliance with Britishers. According to the Subsidiary alliance, the ruler (who accepted subsidiary alliance) had to accept the British army into his territory. It was decided that in case of any revolt/protest, the respective state would receive support of British army. But in return, the ruler had to pay for the maintenance of the British army and if he fails to do so, then his territory would be taken away by Britishers.
b. Doctrine of Lapse: The Doctrine of Lapse was the annexation policy, framed by Britishers to apply their aggressive expansionist policies in India. Lord Dalhousie framed and implemented the Doctrine of lapse to deal with the succession problem of Hindu states. According to the policy, the ruler who had accepted or was in an alliance with the Britishers would lose his territory if he dies without having an heir. It also had another provision that if the ruler was competent or not, it was also decided by Britishers and if not, then his territory was taken away. Such policies overthrew the long policy of ‘hereditary’ as the sole criteria for the succession of the throne in India.

 Note: While answering the question, it’s important to mention that the former one was a treaty while the second one was a well-designed annexation policy. Do remember the Governor of that time.