Lord Dalhousie (1848 – 1856) was one of the greatest Governors-General of India. He was a great annexationist. He followed the policy of annexation by waging wars. He annexed the Punjab and Lower Burma by war. He adopted the policy of Doctrine of Lapse for the establishment of British Imperialism in India. At the same time he also laid the foundation for the modernization of India. Sir W.W. Hunter, his biographer, sums up Dalhousie’s work in India just in three words Conquests, Consolidation and Development.
Doctrine of Lapse (Becomes the property of the British in India) : Every Hindu has a right to adopt a male child as his heir in the absence of a natural heir. The adopted son enjoys all the rights and privileges. He shares all the responsibilities as a natural heir to his father. In the beginning, the English accepted this right of Hindu native rulers without any hesitation. When Lord Dalhousie became the Governor-General he used the Doctrine of Lapse to extend the British power. There were three categories of Indian States at that time, namely, creations, dependents and independent States.
I. Creations : They were created by the English. The rulers of these States were not allowed to adopt heirs to their thrones.
II. Dependents : These States existed by depending on the British power. They were bound to seek permission of the English in case of adoption. They could be granted or
refused.
III. Independent States : The rulers of these states were free to adopt their heirs. But the heirs could succeed to the personal property only and not to the throne. To succeed to
the throne, they were also asked to seek the permission of the British.
States annexed under this scheme : Applying the Doctrine of Lapse, Dalhousie annexed Satara, Jaitpur, Sambalpur, Udaipur, Jhansi and Nagpur. Of these Satara, Nagpur and Jhansi were important ones whose annexation was not justified. In the Great Revolt of 1857 Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi took a dreadful revenge for the loss of her
throne. She massacred every European who fell into her hands.
Results of the Doctrine of Lapse : The English earned the displeasure of the Indian rulers who became victims of this policy. They became strong enemies. It was one of the main causes for the revolt of 1857. The Doctrine of Lapse spread a wave of hatred against the English. There was a constant fear among the Indian rulers. They feared that their kingdom would be annexed. The people also began to hate the English. They preferred the native rulers. The Doctrine was considered as a violation of Hindu Law which permitted adoption.
Modernisation measures of Dalhousie : Lord Dalhousie introduced many reforms. His period is memorable for the introduction of Railways, Telegraphs and Cheap Postage.
Railways : The first railway line from (Bombay) Mumbai to Thana (about 20 miles (36 k.m.) was constructed in 1853. Then in 1854 Howrah and Raniganj were connected. In 1856 a Railway line was laid between (Madras) Chennai and Arakonam. Dalhousie is
considered as the father of Indian Railways and Telegraphs.
Public Works Department : This department was set up in order to construct new roads, canals and bridges. It was also to repair the existing ones. The Ganga Canal was dug. The Grand Trunk Road connecting Calcutta and Peshawar were constructed during his period.
Posts and Telegraphs : Lord Dalhousie introduced ½ anna (3 paise) postal system. The telegraph system was also introduced. From 1853 to 1856, nearly 4000 miles (6400 k.m.) of telegraphic lines connecting (Calcutta) Kolkata with Peshawar, (Bombay) Mumbai
and (Madras) Chennai was installed. The military value of this was realized during the revolt of 1857.
Education : Lord Dalhousie introduced certain educational reforms on the basis of the Sir Charles Woods’ Despatch of 1854. The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) was opened in each province. He took steps to establish universities at Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. They were opened in 1857. Vernacular instruction was given more importance. Dalhousie introduced the grants-in-aid scheme to help the private institutions.
These reform measures of Dalhousie led to the modernization of India.
this article could have been a little more explanatory....the cruelty ,britishers did in the name of annexation is not mentioned.....and also the highly illegitimate act of the company can in no way be justified.if the able queens of our provinces could not rule their state without a so called 'legal heir',then in what way was the so called british queen ruling when she was not even the direct relative of the royal family......the modernisation done by the britishers were for their own good and trade,even if they had not brought these reforms our later leaders or rulers would have done that for the good of our country...may be it would have been a little slower,but we could have enjoyed the freedom of having our freedom...and now even after so many years of independence we have not recovered fro the loot of resources done by the usurpers..now we very well enjoy and most of the time misuse freedom,but those who gave their lives for the purpose couldnt even taste that sweetness.what they have got is criticism and comments from the historians in INDIA and abroad..no one have ever got the right to criticise the freedom fighters because none of us have the courage to do or think of the sacrifices they gave for the country.....vande matharam......
ReplyDeleteDivya ji! I have started this blog for preparation of competitive exams like upsc, state pscs, banks, railways, ssc and others. It was the main reason why I did not go into the depth of the topic. These exams normally need only factual knowledge. In Upsc and State psc (Mains Exams) the deep knowledge of the subject and analysis of the topic is needed. This blog is in initial stage and in future I intend to start a website with complete content on every subject for competitive exams.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the freedom and loot of resources is concerned, I think Britishers done well for their own country looting resources from all over the world. Britishers were selfish but patriotic. They only cut throat of people of other nations but what about the Indians? We have behaved more cruelly with our own people in the past 60 years. We Befooled our own people after freedom in the name of religion, caste, provincialism and much more absurd issues. Present reservation system is a typical example of making the nation weak and devided. We have shown so much selfishness and wasted more than sixty years on such trivial things instead of sustainable development of our nation in all fields.
During British rule a little people done their job very well and inspired others to create such a storm which thrown the Britishers beyond the oceans.
Once more we need some(Hardly a few hundreds)dedicated people for cleaning of our system. Remember! the Indian Cabinet consists of only 30 or 40 members with 550 MPs which runs the country. If they become dedicated to the nation, we get the freedom expressed in the words of Rabindranath Tagore.
"Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up
into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason
has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action---
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake."