Correct Option: D

Lord Dalhousie formulated and implemented the 'Doctrine of Lapse.' It was customary for a ruler without a natural heir to ask the British Government whether he could adopt a son to succeed him. According to Dalhousie, if such permission was refused by the British, the state would "lapse" and thereby become part of the British India. Dalhousie maintained that there was a difference in principle between the right to inherit private property and the right to govern. This principle was called the Doctrine of Lapse.