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History Optional PYQ Master Pack · Model answer

What changes did the British attitude undergo towards the Princely states after 1858? Was the Government of India Act of 1858 intended to introduce direct relations between the Princes and the Crown?

  • UPSC 1985
  • Constitutional Developments in Colonial India, 1858-1935

The Revolt of 1857 marked a decisive break in British policy toward the Princely States — from an aggressive annexationist logic to one of conciliation, guarantee, and eventual tightening control.

You are reading the opening of the model answer. The full answer is part of the History Optional PYQ Master Pack.

What the full answer covers

  • From Annexation to Guarantee: The Post-1857 Reversal
  • The Right of Adoption: Sanads of 1862
  • From Subordinate Isolation to Subordinate Union
  • Institutional Consolidation and Later Tightening
  • Was the Act of 1858 Meant to Establish Direct Crown Relations?

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