The Revolt of 1857 was of a formidable nature but it failed due to various reasons:
1. Lack of good and effective leadership : The great leaders like Bahadur Shah, Nana Sahib, Tantia Tope, Rani Lakshmi Bai, Kunwar Singh, etc. who brave fought to overthrow the British empire. But these leaders were not as trained and good commanders who suppressed the revolt like Lawrence, Campbell, Havelock, Outram, etc. The activities of Indian leaders were confined to a narrow area and extended over a short brief period.
2. The mutiny was not centralised : The mutiny was not centralised and occurred only in some places. R. C. Mazumdar says, “It was never in all India character but was localised, restricted and poorly orgainsed.” The mutiny had not spread in South India. Punjab, Rohilkhand, Awadh, Bihar and Western Bengal were the areas where the mutiny had spread. Some of the feudal princes like the Rajas of Patiala, Jind, Gwalior, Hyderabad helped its suppression.
3. Lack of Resources : The resources of the British Empire were far superior to those of the rebels. Even though the British was engaged in so many wars before the revolt. The Chinese and the Crimean wars had been concluded by 1856 and the British troops around 1,12,000 were poured into India from many parts of the world.
Apart from this the British had also recruited 3,10,000 additional Indian soldiers in India. The rebels did not possess the modern weapons like the British troops. They fought with swords and spears. The electric telegraph kept the commander in chief informed about the movements of the Indian rebels and their strategy. The British which had colonies throughout the world derived its resources to suppress the revolt with men and money powers, whereas the rebels lacked man power and money which was a major set back for the revolt.
4. The Revolt was poorly organised : The leaders of the revolt like Nana Sahib, Tantia Tope, Rani Lakshmi Bai, Kunwar Singh, etc. were not lacking in bravery, but were deficient in experience, organising ability and concerted operation. Surprise attacks and the guerilla tactics of Tantia Tope and other leaders could not win them their lost independence. When the revolt was suppressed the Government of India and the provincial governments appointed various commissions and boards to find out the scheme of plan of the rebels, but they could not find out any preplan of the revolutionaries before the occurrence and after it.
5. The rebels had no common ideals : The rebels had only anti-foreign sentiments except that they did not have any common ideals. When the rebels marched into Delhi, they captured it and they proclaimed Bahadur Shah the Emperor at Delhi. At the same time Nana Sahib was proclaimed as the Peshwa of Kanpur | and Gwalior. Hindu-Muslim differences lay dormant against the common enemy, but were not dead. The peasants and the lower caste people did not show any sympathy for the rebels. In the Bombay and Madras Presidencies the lower class people who were recruited into the British troops remained loyal to the British. The Hindus wanted to set up a Maratha rule while the Muslims wanted to revive the Mughal kingdom. The selfishness of the revolt sapped the strength of the revolt.
Gaurav Seth 4 years, 4 months ago
The Revolt of 1857 was of a formidable nature but it failed due to various reasons:
1. Lack of good and effective leadership : The great leaders like Bahadur Shah, Nana Sahib, Tantia Tope, Rani Lakshmi Bai, Kunwar Singh, etc. who brave fought to overthrow the British empire. But these leaders were not as trained and good commanders who suppressed the revolt like Lawrence, Campbell, Havelock, Outram, etc. The activities of Indian leaders were confined to a narrow area and extended over a short brief period.
2. The mutiny was not centralised : The mutiny was not centralised and occurred only in some places. R. C. Mazumdar says, “It was never in all India character but was localised, restricted and poorly orgainsed.” The mutiny had not spread in South India. Punjab, Rohilkhand, Awadh, Bihar and Western Bengal were the areas where the mutiny had spread. Some of the feudal princes like the Rajas of Patiala, Jind, Gwalior, Hyderabad helped its suppression.
3. Lack of Resources : The resources of the British Empire were far superior to those of the rebels. Even though the British was engaged in so many wars before the revolt. The Chinese and the Crimean wars had been concluded by 1856 and the British troops around 1,12,000 were poured into India from many parts of the world.
Apart from this the British had also recruited 3,10,000 additional Indian soldiers in India. The rebels did not possess the modern weapons like the British troops. They fought with swords and spears. The electric telegraph kept the commander in chief informed about the movements of the Indian rebels and their strategy. The British which had colonies throughout the world derived its resources to suppress the revolt with men and money powers, whereas the rebels lacked man power and money which was a major set back for the revolt.
4. The Revolt was poorly organised : The leaders of the revolt like Nana Sahib, Tantia Tope, Rani Lakshmi Bai, Kunwar Singh, etc. were not lacking in bravery, but were deficient in experience, organising ability and concerted operation. Surprise attacks and the guerilla tactics of Tantia Tope and other leaders could not win them their lost independence. When the revolt was suppressed the Government of India and the provincial governments appointed various commissions and boards to find out the scheme of plan of the rebels, but they could not find out any preplan of the revolutionaries before the occurrence and after it.
5. The rebels had no common ideals : The rebels had only anti-foreign sentiments except that they did not have any common ideals. When the rebels marched into Delhi, they captured it and they proclaimed Bahadur Shah the Emperor at Delhi. At the same time Nana Sahib was proclaimed as the Peshwa of Kanpur | and Gwalior. Hindu-Muslim differences lay dormant against the common enemy, but were not dead. The peasants and the lower caste people did not show any sympathy for the rebels. In the Bombay and Madras Presidencies the lower class people who were recruited into the British troops remained loyal to the British. The Hindus wanted to set up a Maratha rule while the Muslims wanted to revive the Mughal kingdom. The selfishness of the revolt sapped the strength of the revolt.
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