The
Doctrine of Lapse was an
annexation policy purportedly devised by
Lord Dalhousie, who was the
Governor General for the
East India Company in
India between 1848 and 1856. According to the Doctrine, any
princely state or territory under the direct influence (paramountcy) of the
British East India Company (the dominant
imperial power in the
subcontinent), as a
vassal state under the British Subsidiary System, would automatically be annexed if the ruler was either "manifestly incompetent or died without a male heir". The latter supplanted the long-established right of an Indian sovereign without an heir to choose a successor. In addition, the British decided whether potential rulers were competent enough. The doctrine and its application were widely regarded by many Indians as illegitimate.