Previous Year Question

Satara was the first major state annexed under Lord Dalhousie's policy of the Doctrine of Lapse.

Lord Dalhousie served as the Governor-General of India from 1848 to 1856. One of the major instruments of his expansionist policy was the Doctrine of Lapse. Under this policy, when the ruler of a dependent Indian state died without a natural heir, the Company could refuse to recognise the ruling rights of an adopted successor and annex the state.

The decision to annex Satara under this policy was taken in 1848. After the ruler of Satara died, the claim of his adopted successor was not recognised and the state was absorbed into the territories of the East India Company. For this reason, Satara is generally regarded as the first victim of Dalhousie's Doctrine of Lapse.

The policy was subsequently applied to other states as well. Jaitpur and Sambalpur in 1849, Jhansi in 1853 and Nagpur in 1854 were affected by this expansionist policy. It increased apprehension among Indian princely houses that their states could be annexed by rejecting adopted succession.

Jhansi became one of the best-known examples of this policy. The British Government refused to recognise Damodar Rao, the adopted son of Rani Lakshmibai, as the successor and annexed Jhansi. This grievance later also became connected with the political background of the Revolt of 1857.

Karauli creates an important distinction among the given options. Despite a succession issue, it was not permanently annexed by Dalhousie under the Doctrine of Lapse; intervention by the Court of Directors allowed the state of Karauli to continue.

A historical nuance is that examples of rejecting adopted succession existed even before Dalhousie, such as Kittur in 1824. However, the question specifically asks about Lord Dalhousie's policy of the Doctrine of Lapse, under which Satara is regarded as the first state annexed.