# doctrine of lapse

> policy of the British East India Company, in force until 1858, that British India will annex any Indian princely state under British suzerainty if its ruler was “incompetent” (according to British judgment) or died without a male heir

**Wikidata**: [Q1233944](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1233944)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctrine_of_lapse)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/doctrine-of-lapse


## References

1. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013