Policy of paramountcy
Also called: Paramountcy · Topic: Europeans in India and the Rise of Company Rule · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Paramountcy was the Company's claim that it was the supreme, or "paramount", power in India. Lord Hastings, Governor-General from 1813 to 1823, pushed this idea strongly. Under it, the Company's interests came before those of any Indian state. The Company said this gave it the right to step into the affairs of Indian states, or even take them over. Indian rulers were no longer treated as equal partners.
Example
Under Lord Hastings, the Company crushed the Pindaris and the Marathas in 1817–1818 and annexed the Peshwa's territory. After that, princely states kept control over their own internal affairs, but under British paramountcy. At Independence there were over 500 such states, covering about 40 per cent of the Subcontinent.
Don't confuse with
- Subsidiary Alliance: this was a treaty signed with one ruler at a time. It involved a Resident, British troops paid for by the ruler, and foreign relations handled by the British. Paramountcy was a general claim of supremacy over all Indian states.
Related concepts
- Divide and rule
- Dastak
- Black Hole of Calcutta
- Siraj-ud-daulah
- Robert Clive
- Battle of Plassey
- Mir Jafar
- Mir Qasim
- Battle of Buxar 1764
- Treaty of Allahabad 1765