Question

List the causes for the failure of the First War of Indian Independence.

Answer 1

Causes of Failure of the War

No common goal

• People fought for different reasons.
• Lacked common purpose to fight the British.

Lack of military equipment

• Lacked artillery to take on the British
• Lacked communication facilities like telegraphs

Lack of Seasoned Military leaders

• British had seasoned military leaders like Havelock, Lawrence and Campbell
• The mutiny was led by relatively inexperienced leaders like Lakshmibai and local Talukdars

Lack of Coordination

• The uprising was spontaneous
• Little or no communication between different rebelling groups

Localised War

• Many regions were unaffected by the war
• Sepoys failed winning the sympathy of some parts of India where the rebellions broke out.

No idea of India

• Rebelling groups had no idea to come together and form a nation state so as to make a single front against the British.