Question

Study the picture and answer the following questions:

1. Identify the person in the picture. Name the proclamation made by her in 1858.
2. Where and by whom was this proclamation made public?
3. What assurance did this proclamation give to the Princely States in India?

Answer 1

1. The person in the photo is Queen Victoria. The Proclamation was referred to as the Queen's Proclamation.
2. Lord Canning, the first Viceroy of India, declared it on November 1, 1858, in Allahabad. The Queen’s Proclamation incorporating the governance transfer from the East India Company to the British Crown became public.
3. The proclamation explicitly assured the Indian Princely States that the British Crown would not annex any more territories or expand its borders within the subcontinent. It promised to respect the rights, dignity, and honour of the native rulers, and declared that all treaties and agreements previously signed with the East India Company would be strictly accepted and honoured by the Crown. Additionally, it abandoned the controversial Doctrine of Lapse, thereby recognising the right of Indian rulers to adopt heirs to inherit their thrones.