1857 goes down in the annals of history as major landmark in Indian freedom struggle. Where under the leadership of bahadur shah jafar, Indians tried to forced Britishers out of India. Revolt failed to achieve its objective, but it brought major changes in British administration. The limitation of 187 revolt were:
- Territorial limitation: Even though it had wide coverage in Northern India but it was not so prominent in South India.
- There was a general anger against the exploitation. People residing in rural pockets had grievances against local landlords and money landers. So there was no united front.
- Some princely state were on the side of Britishers. During the revolt, EIC gave some concession and offered a better deal. Hence during the movement some section withdrew from the revolt thereby weakening the movement.
- Indian educated middle class were not in favour of revolt. They were against the rebellious stand on social and humanitarian measure and therefore didn’t support.
- The British had a well trained and efficient army. They were disciplined and equipped with better arms and weapons. They had a better experience to deal with such rebellion. Further monopolistic control over the resources also helped them to deal with rebellions in efficient way. Swift movement of troops, efficient communication via telegraph gave them an additional advantage.
The success of revolt does not depend on whether it achieved its objective or not. It also depend on the consequences and its legacy. Certainly, 1857 revolt has its own legacy and it was the first effort at large scale to throw britishers out of the country.
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