Dalhousie

The 1st Marquess of Dalhousie, James Andrew Broun-Ramsay. Lord Dalhousie was designated as Governor-General of India in 1848. He was eager to extend direct British rule over as much land as possible from the start. Lord Dalhousie is a Scottish aristocrat. “The downfall of all native Indian states is only a matter of time,” Dalhousie remarked. The claimed justification for this strategy was his belief that the British programme administration was far higher than the national authority,  despotic and corrupt.

The goal of Dalhousie’s initiatives

The goal of Dalhousie’s initiative was to promote British export products.

Like other aggressive colonizers, Dalhousie argued that British exports to India’s original states were suffering due to mismanagement by the states’ Indian rulers.

What is the Doctrine of lapse?

In this section, we’ll see what is the doctrine of lapse? Lord Dalhousie’s principal instrument for carrying out his annexation objective was the ‘Doctrine of Lapse.’

In Indian history, the concept of lapse is a formula created by Lord Dalhousie, then India’s governor-general, to cope with succession difficulties in Hindu Indian governments. It was a sequel to the idea of paramountcy. As the leading power of the Indian subcontinent, Great Britain held superintendence over the subordinate Indian nations and control over their inheritance. As per Hindu law, if a person or ruler does not have natural successors, they may adopt a person who will have all the personal and political rights of a son. Dalhousie claimed the supreme authority’s to approve such deployments and to act at its discretion in the absence of the maximum power in the event of dependent nations. This meant refusing last-minute implementations and the British invasion of states that did not have a direct natural or fostered successor. Dalhousie felt that Western authority was better than Eastern and should be imposed whenever feasible. Without a biological or foster successor, annexation was charged in Jhansi, Chota Udaipur, Baghat, Jaitpur and Sambalpur, Nagpur, and Satara. Though the doctrine’s reach was confined to subservient Hindu nations, the annexations caused significant consternation and animosity among Indian monarchs and the ancient nobility who served them. They are widely recognized as contributing to the resentment that led to the commencement of the Indian Mutiny (1857) and the broad insurrection that followed.

India in the year 1856

Dalhousie’s avarice and ‘philanthropic’ impulses sparked his interest in Avadh as a market for Manchester products.

Dalhousie grabbed the cotton-producing region of Berar from Nizam in 1853 for similar reasons, to meet Britain’s expanding need for raw cotton.

Early Life

George Ramsay, the 9th Earl of Dalhousie, had three sons, the third of whom was Dalhousie. Dalhousie’s family had a history of military and civic service, but they had not amassed much fortune by today’s standards, so he was frequently concerned about money. He was short in stature and had a variety of medical ailments. He got energy and happiness throughout his life from the belief that he was attaining public accomplishment despite personal handicaps.

Arrival in India

In January 1848, when Dalhousie landed in India, the nation appeared to be quiet. However, only two years before, the troops of Punjab, an autonomous region created by the Sikh religious and military group, had caused a war that the British had only narrowly won. Discontent arose due to the new Sikh regime’s imposed discipline and economy, which was backed by the British, and in April 1848, a local insurrection erupted in Multan. This was Dalhousie’s first significant challenge. Local officials encouraged him to act immediately, but he did not, and Sikh discontent spread across Punjab. Dalhousie despatched British forces in November 1848, and Punjab was seized in 1849 following many British victories.

Dalhousie’s detractors said he had permitted a local insurrection to turn into a national movement to seize Punjab. However, the British army’s commander had notified him against acting too quickly. Indeed, Dalhousie’s actions eventually took unusually; the uprising at Multan had been directed against the Sikh government’s policies, not the British. In any case, he was made Marquess of Dalhousie in recognition of his achievements.

India’s Westernization

Dalhousie’s zeal went beyond just acquiring more areas. The transformation of these regions into a modernized, centralized state was his crowning achievement. His faith in Constitutions and competence as an administrator prompted him to focus on creating a communication and transportation infrastructure right away. He put a lot of thought into the planning of the first railways. He provided the framework for future railway growth, describing the fundamental idea of trunk and branch lines and providing rules to protect railway employees and property owners impacted by railway construction, using his expertise at the Board of Trade in London. Furthermore, he scheduled and established an electric telegraph network, pushed for the completion of the Grand Trunk Road between Delhi and Calcutta, as well as its extension into Punjab, and found a centralized postal system based on a low uniform rate paid in advance through stamp purchases, thus replacing a variety of methods characterized by delivery uncertainty and high speeds. His social reforms included considerable support for the abolition of female infanticide in Punjab and the northwest in general, and the abolition of human sacrifice among Orissa’s hill tribes. He particularly supported girls’ education and advocated using vernacular languages in schools.

His gains in modernizing were eclipsed by the issues sparked by his strategy of annexation, which was widely—and rightly—criticized as critical reasons for the mutiny and insurrection of 1857. His marquessate was abolished. He expired in 1860, weary after years of burnout in India.

Conclusion 

From 1848 to 1854, Lord Dalhousie was India’s Governor-General. He wanted direct British authority over as much territory as possible. His primary tool for enforcing his annexation agenda was the ‘Doctrine of Lapse.’ For similar reasons, Dalhousie seized the cotton-producing region of Berar from Nizam in 1853. He was short in stature and suffered from several illnesses. His belief that he was achieving public success provided him with energy and happiness throughout his life. In 1852, Dalhousie became the first person in India to introduce the Electric Telegraph System. The Grand Trunk Road between Delhi and Calcutta and its extension into Punjab have been pushed for completion. One of his most notable achievements was the annexation of Oudh, the main cause of the 1857 uprising.