Episode 1 of 2

Annexation of Oudh

When
7 February 1856
Where
Oudh State
Part of
Wajid Ali Shah exiled and Oudh annexed

Lord Dalhousie deposed Nawab Wajid Ali Shah and annexed Oudh State on 7 February 1856 under the Doctrine of Lapse.

The annexation was justified by alleged internal misrule, though the Nawab had been a titular figure under British protection. The Company had previously appropriated tax revenues from Oudh in 1855, signaling its intent to absorb the prosperous kingdom's resources.

Sources

  1. Oudh State Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-02
  2. Wajid Ali Shah Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-06

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.