First War Of Independence Downfall Of The Movement

The British were slow to strike back but in the end they besieged Delhi. The
British moved its regiments from China to India. They were also joined by the
Pathan and Sikh soldiers and some elements of Gurkha unit. John Nicholson led
the forces and they fought the main army of rebels in Badl ke Serai and drove
them back to Delhi. Finally they forced through the Kashmiri gate and started
fighting the rebels on the streets. The killed, hanged and fought many rebels
along the way and looted the city. The troops overpowered Delhi within two
months. They soon detained Bahadur Shah and killed his sons.
Kanpur siege by the rebels was led by Nana Sahib, who promised safe passage to
the surviving British and their families after they surrendered. But on the
contrary British men were killed on the spot and women and children were kept
hostages. After noticing the British advance towards Kanpur, they killed the
hostage women and children believing that the English army will not come
further if there were no hostages to be saved. The killing of children and
women was a big mistake as when the British took back Kanpur they massacred the
rebels to avenge the killing of their people.
Under the command of Sir Henry Havelock and Sir James Outram on September 25,
the small army of British soldiers was successful in defeating the rebel. But
this small army was not able break the siege by the mutineers completely. So on
November 18thwith the help of the larger army under the command of Sir Colin Campbell, the
British were finally able to restore the state of Oudh.
Further the English regained controlled of Jhansi in March 1858 under the
leadership of Sir Huge Rose, but were unable to capture Rani Lakshmi Bai who
fled in disguise. The Rani of Jhansi with the help of some Maratha rulers
captured the fort of Gwalior on June 1, 1858 but she was killed three weeks
later, after the British advent in Gwalior. They captured the state within
three days of Rani Lakshmi Bais death.
The Great Uprising of 1857 did not bring desired results as hoped by its
leaders. The main reason was that there was no unity on the Indian side. Many
native princely Indian states for example the powerful state of Hyderabad did
not join the rebels. Many Maratha rulers wanted to be throned as Emperor and
the Awadhis wanted to maintain their powers. There was a difference in opinion
among the Muslims after Bahadur Shah was re-established as the Emperor by the
rebels. There were calls for Jihad by some Muslim leaders which forced the
British to think that they are the main force behind the rebellion. In Oudh,
the Sunni Muslims considered the rebellion as a Shiite rebellion so they did
not participate in the movement as Bahadur Shah who was on the imperial throne
was a Shia Muslim.
Further, many Indians disliked the return of Mughal rule as Muslims were not
regarded as Indians by the Natives. So they supported the English instead. The
Sikh Soldiers and the Pathans of Punjab province remained loyal to the English
throughout the First War of Independence. Their support to the British was a
major setback to the movement. The Punjabi Hindu, Sikhs and Muslims wanted to
avenge the Purabis who helped the British eight years ago in the Anglo-Sikh
wars to capture the Punjab Province. The British used this Sikh grievance to
their advantage and sided with them. Moreover the rebels brought back the
Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah, who shared the same lineage with the Mughal Empire
that had caused havoc on Sikh gurus and other famous Gursikhs.
Bahadur Shah was old and was neither a brave general nor an effective leader of
the people. It is believed by many, the he was forced to the Emperor of India
by his courtiers and the rebels.
The British began to progress by the end of 1857 and on July 8, 1858 a peace
treaty was signed to end the war. The end of the rebellion also saw the end of
British East India Companys rule in India. All the powers were transferred to the British Crown, by Queens proclamation, 1858.