British Expansion and Social Reform
NCERT Class 8 - Our Pasts III • NCERT Class 12 - Themes in Indian History Part III
British Expansion and Social Reform
The Company expanded by treaty as much as by war. Two instruments did most of the work - Subsidiary Alliance under Wellesley and the Doctrine of Lapse under Dalhousie. Alongside expansion came a set of social reform laws that reshaped Indian public debate.
Subsidiary Alliance
- Introduced by Lord Wellesley from 1798. A ruler who accepted it agreed to a fixed set of conditions.
- He had to keep a British force in his territory and pay for its upkeep, in cash or by ceding territory.
- He could not employ any European without British approval, and could not make war or negotiate with another state without British permission.
- A British Resident was stationed at his court.
- Hyderabad was the first to accept, in 1798; the Marathas, Mysore, Awadh and others followed.
- The system disarmed the state politically while leaving the ruler nominally on the throne and financially burdened.
Doctrine of Lapse
- Applied systematically by Lord Dalhousie between 1848 and 1856.
- If a ruler died without a natural heir, his state lapsed to the Company, and an adopted heir was not recognised for the succession of a dependent state.
- States annexed under it include Satara (1848), Sambalpur, Udaipur, Jhansi (1853) and Nagpur (1854).
- Awadh was annexed in 1856 on a different ground - alleged misgovernance - although it had been a loyal ally, and this annexation angered the large number of sepoys who came from Awadh.
- Dalhousie also introduced the telegraph, the postal system with a uniform rate, and the first railway line.
Social reform laws
| Year | Measure | Associated with |
|---|---|---|
| 1829 | Abolition of sati | William Bentinck, Raja Rammohan Roy |
| 1835 | English as the medium of higher education | Macaulay's Minute, Bentinck |
| 1843 | Abolition of slavery in Company territory | Ellenborough |
| 1856 | Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act | Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar |
| 1870 | Act against female infanticide | Government measure |
- Sati was abolished by regulation in 1829, first in Bengal and then elsewhere; Raja Rammohan Roy had campaigned for it for years.
- Macaulay's Minute of 1835 made English the medium of higher education and government-funded instruction; the debate was between Anglicists and Orientalists.
- The Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 was the result of a long campaign by Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, who argued the case from Sanskrit texts themselves.
- Reformers worked in two ways - some sought change from within tradition by reinterpreting scripture, and others appealed to reason and law.
- The campaign against thagi was carried out under William Sleeman, and the thugs were suppressed in the 1830s.
हिंदी संकेत: सहायक संधि वेलेजली की और व्यपगत सिद्धांत डलहौजी का है। अवध का विलय 1856 में व्यपगत से नहीं, कुशासन के आरोप पर हुआ - यह अंतर परीक्षा में पूछा जाता है।
Exam me kaise aata hai
Factual questions ask who introduced each policy, which state first accepted the Subsidiary Alliance, and the year sati was abolished. Match-the-following links state with year of annexation, or reform with reformer. Statement-based questions test the ground on which Awadh was annexed.
UPSC / State PSC ke liye
Connect expansion to the revolt - Subsidiary Alliance created resentful dependent rulers, the Doctrine of Lapse created dispossessed claimants such as Nana Saheb and the Rani of Jhansi, and the annexation of Awadh alienated the sepoy recruiting ground. This chain is the expected structure of an answer on the causes of 1857.
Yahan confuse hote hain
✗ Awadh was annexed under the Doctrine of Lapse | ✓ It was annexed in 1856 on the ground of misgovernance
✗ The Doctrine of Lapse was introduced by Wellesley | ✓ Wellesley introduced Subsidiary Alliance; Dalhousie applied the Doctrine of Lapse
✗ Sati was abolished in 1856 | ✓ Sati was abolished in 1829; 1856 is the Widow Remarriage Act
Ek nazar me
- Subsidiary Alliance by Wellesley from 1798; Hyderabad accepted first.
- The ruler paid for a British force, kept a Resident and lost control of foreign relations.
- Doctrine of Lapse under Dalhousie annexed Satara 1848, Jhansi 1853 and Nagpur 1854.
- Awadh was annexed in 1856 on the ground of misgovernance, not lapse.
- Sati abolished 1829 with Rammohan Roy's support; Macaulay's Minute in 1835.
- Widow Remarriage Act 1856 followed Vidyasagar's campaign; thagi suppressed under Sleeman.