James Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie

James Andrew Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie KT, PC (22 April 1812 – 19 December 1860), known as The Earl of Dalhousie between 1838 and 1849, was a Scottish statesman and a colonial administrator in British India. He served as Governor-General of India from 1848 to 1856.

He created the doctrine of lapse; by this some Indian customs of inheritance were forbidden. He passed The Hindu Remarriage Act in 1856. He built the first railway line which was between Bombay and Thane. Under his rule several independent Indian states were annexed by applying the doctrine of lapse, e.g. the state of Jhansi. The Kingdom of Oudh was also annexed because the governor general thought its government was corrupt.