The kingdom annexed by the British in 1856 on the pretext of misgovernance was __________.

Awadh

The correct answer is Option (4) → Awadh

On a variety of pleas, like misgovernment and the refusal to recognize adoption (Doctrine of Lapse), the British annexed not only Awadh but many other kingdoms and principalities like Jhansi and Satara.

In Awadh, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was dethroned and exiled to Calcutta on the plea that the region was being misgoverned. The British government also wrongly assumed that Wajid Ali Shah was an unpopular ruler. On the contrary, he was widely loved, and when he left his beloved Lucknow, there were many who followed him all the way to Kanpur singing songs of lament.