a. Subsidiary Alliance : The Indian rulers who had entered into this military alliance with the British had to keep a British army in their state and bear the expenses of the maintenance of that army. It was introduced by Lord Wellesley in 1798. Expansion of the British Empire in India was its main aim.
Conditions of the subsidiary Alliance :
The Indian state which joins it, must surrender its external relations to the care of the Company. They should not wage wars and their dealings should be conducted only with their the prior permission of the Company.
If any ruler was unable to pay the expenses, he had to cede a part of his Kingdom. The protection of that state was the responsibility of the Company.
A British Resident should be kept in the court of the King. The Company was not to interfere in the internal affairs of that state.
The Company should protect the Indian state against their enemies and no other **** could be appointed in their administration without the permission of the Company.
Advantages to the Company :
The subsidiary Alliance disarmed the Indian states. They came under the mercy of the British. The grave consequences of the war were much reduced.
Indian states practically lost their independence and became financially weak.
The Kings neglected the *** of their people. So Kings also lost their credibility. The Kings were protected by the Company.
The Company was able to check the influence of the French over the Indian states. The Company gradually. brought the whole country under its control.
The Nizam of Hyderabad was the first to sign the Alliance. Later the rulers of Mysore, Oudh, Travancore, Baroda, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bharatpur, Nagpur, and Gwalior also signed the Alliance.
b. The Doctrine of Lapse : According to this policy, when the Ruler of the protected state without a natural heir, then that state would pass on to the British Empire, which was called the ‘Doctrine of Lapse’, (or) According to this policy, if a King without a son or daughter, his estate lapsed. It should be noted that the King had no right to adopt a son under any circumstances.
The Doctrine of lapse was introduced by Lord Dalhousie. His aim was the expansion of the British Empire in India. By following this policy, the British annexed Sitara, Jaipur, Sambhalpur, Udaipur, Jhansi, Nagapur, Bhagatpur. Coorg, etc.
Conclusion: The doctrine of lapse was unjustified both on legal and ethical grounds, Whether right or wrong, two-third of the Indian territories came under the British rule by 1856. These factors contributed to the outburst of. the Indian anger in 1857 in the form of First war of the Indian Independence.
