Answer the following question briefly:

What was the Doctrine of Lapse?

● The doctrine of Lapse was a policy introduced by Lord Dalhousie. This was introduced mainly to extend the British Empire.

● According to the Doctrine of lapse, if a ruler of a dependent state in India died and did not have a male successor, his adopted son would not be his true successor.

● In this case, the state would pass back to the British.

● The adopted son would be the heir only of the inherited personal property of the deceased ruler.

● This was greatly opposed by the Indians and was one of the major causes of sepoy mutiny in 1857.

● On this basis, British had annexed states of Jaipur, Satara, Sambhalpur, Udaipur, Jhansi and Nagpur.