Question

Lord Hastings initiated the ______ where the East India Company claimed that its authority was supreme and hence its power was greater than that of Indian states
1. Government's Stores Policy
2. Doctrine of Lapse
3. Imperial Policy
4. Policy of ‘Paramountcy’

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 4 : Policy of ‘Paramountcy’

The correct answer is Policy of ‘Paramountcy’.

• Lord Hastings, who was the Governor-General of India from 1813 to 1823, introduced a new policy of 'paramountcy'.
• By this policy, the Company claimed that its authority was paramount or supreme, hence its power was greater than that of Indian states.

• The chief instrument through which Lord Dalhousie implemented his policy of annexation was the ‘Doctrine of Lapse’.
  • Under the Doctrine of Lapse, when the ruler of a protected state died without a natural heir, his/her state was not to pass to an adopted heir as sanctioned by the age-old tradition of the country.
  • Lord Dalhousie came to India as the Governor-General in 1848.
  • During Lord Canning's tenure “Doctrine of Lapse” was withdrawn.
  • Withdrawal of the “Doctrine of Lapse” was one of the main reasons for the Revolt of 1858.
• British Imperial policies between 1763 and 1776 were focused on using the colonies to raise revenue in ways that the colonists saw as unconstitutional.
  • The majority of the colonists were extremely loyal to the crown and only became “reluctant revolutionists” when there was no other choice.