What was/were the object/objects of Queen Victoria's Proclamation (1858)? 1. To disclaim any intention to annex Indian States 2. To place the Indian administration under the British Crown 3. To regulate East India Company's trade with India Select the correct answer using the code given below.
- (a) 1 and 2 only ✓ UPSC's answer
- (b) 2 only
- (c) 1 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Why the answer is (a)
• Queen Victoria's Proclamation of 1 November 1858, read at Allahabad by Lord Canning, transferred the government of India from the East India Company to the British Crown (statement 2) and promised to respect the rights and territories of Indian princes, disclaiming further annexation (statement 1) — ending Dalhousie's Doctrine of Lapse.
• Statement 3 is wrong: the Company's trade had already ended (1813/1833), and the Proclamation concerned governance, not trade.
• Hence 1 and 2 only, option (a).
Why the other options are wrong
- (b) 2 only
- Statement 1 on disclaiming annexation is also correct.
- (c) 1 and 3 only
- Statement 3 is wrong: trade regulation was not an object.
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
- Statement 3 is wrong.
Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2014, held on 24 August 2014. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.