Question

The provinces annexed through the Doctrine of Lapse were ________.
a. Udaipur
b. Oudh
c. Jhansi
d. All of the above

Answer 1

Hint: The Doctrine of Lapse was a policy of annexation of states introduced by Lord Dalhousie. It was used like an administrative policy for the extension of the British empire. Lord Dalhousie was the Governor General of India from 1848 to 1856.

Complete Step by Step Answer: The Doctrine of Lapse was formed by a court of Directors of the East India Company in 1847. Even smaller states had already been annexed under this doctrine before Lord Dalhousie had taken the position of Governor General.
Under this policy, if any ruler of a state, which had come under the control of East India Company, had died without any legal heir, that particular state would be annexed by the company. Also, any adopted heir would not proclaim any right to the kingdom but only inherit the personal properties of the king. The adopted son would also not be able to get a pension that his father had been receiving or be entitled to any of the king’s titles. This ultimately took away the long-held authority of a king to appoint his legal heir.
Let us look at the options given:
Option a- Udaipur was one of the states to be annexed under the Doctrine of Lapse in the year 1852. But this was one of the states given in the options. So, this is a wrong option.
Option b- Oudh was annexed by the East India Company under the Doctrine of Lapse in the year 1856. Again, this state is not the only one and is the wrong answer.
Option c- Jhansi was also one of the states to be taken over by the British under the policy of the Doctrine of Lapse in the year 1853 along with other states. Thus, this is the incorrect answer.
Option d- All of the states given in the above options were annexed by the East India Company under the Doctrine of Lapse. Thus, it is the correct answer.
Hence, option ‘d’ is correct.

Note: The Doctrine of Lapse was considered as illegal by the Indians and created huge dissatisfaction among the kingdoms and the people. It was one of the main reasons for the revolt of 1857. Nana Sahib, the adopted son of Maratha Peshwa Baji Rao II, was denied pension after the king’s death, on account of the Doctrine of Lapse. Similarly, Rani of Jhansi’s adopted son was denied the kingdom of Jhansi. These two people led the revolt of 1857.