Doctrine of lapse

Uncommon card · No. 192817

The Doctrine of Lapse was an imperialist annexation policy devised by the British East India Company to expand its empire in India. in the Indian subcontinent for the princely states, and applied until the year 1858, the year after Company rule was succeeded by the British Raj under the British Crown. The policy is associated with James Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie. Elements of the doctrine of lapse continued to be applied by the post-independence Indian government to derecognise individual princely families until 1971, when the recognition of former ruling families was discontinued under the 26th Amendment to the Indian constitution by the Indira Gandhi government.

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