Question

The First War of Independence fail inspite of the participation of different sections of Indian Society because:

• The revolt had been planned for months but it broke out before the appointed date.
• There was no unity among the rebels. Their motives were not the nationalism but they fought for their own self-interest.
• The sepoys of Bengal wanted to revive the glory of the Mughals, while Nana Sahab and Tantya Tope tried to re-establish the Maratha power and Rani Laxmi Bai fought for her lost kingdom.
• The revolt was limited to North and Central India. In the North, the Sikhs, the Nizams and the Scindias were unaffected by the revolt and the Gurkhas still remained loyal to the Britishers.
• The rebels lacked the modern weapons and the disciplined army.
• The leadership of the Revolt was very weak. The Indian rulers fought to liberate their own territories and did not think about the freedom of the entire country.