Question

Who annexed upper Burma to the British dominions?
1. Lord Dalhousie
2. Lord Dufferin
3. Lord Lawrence
4. Sir Ashley Eden

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 2 : Lord Dufferin

The correct answer is ​Lord Dufferin.

Lord Dufferin :

• His experiences in Russia and Turkey had further increased his awareness of the British Empire's place in international affairs, and his time in Russia had provided great insight into the Russian threat to British rule in India.
• In 1884, he finally achieved his last great diplomatic ambition with his appointment as Viceroy of India.
• He advanced the cause of the Indian Nationalists greatly during his term, without antagonizing the conservative whites.
• Among other things, the Indian National Congress was founded during his term in 1885, and he laid the foundations for the modern Indian Army by establishing the Imperial Service Corps, officered by Indians.
• He handled the Panjdeh Incident of 1885 in Afghanistan, in which Russian forces encroached into Afghan territory around the Panjdeh oasis.
• Britain and Russia had for decades been engaged in a virtual cold war in Central Asia and India, known as the Great Game, and the Panjdeh incident threatened to precipitate a full-blown conflict.
  • Dufferin negotiated a settlement in which Russia kept Panjdeh but relinquished the furthest territories it had taken in its advance.
  • His tenure also saw the annexation of Upper Burma in 1886, after many years of simmering warfare and British interventions in Burmese politics.
• His time as Viceroy of India featured in the Rudyard Kipling poem 'One Viceroy Resigns', which was written from Dufferin's point of view, giving advice to his successor, Lord Lansdowne.