Was an absence of leadership the main reason why the War of Independence in 1857 failed? Explain your answer.
*10 marks*
Answers
Explanation:
The majority of the Indian nationals fought bravely against the rule of the foreigner but failed in their bold attempts to overthrow the British Raj. The causes of this failure are many but the important ones are discussed as below.
The foremost cause was the sudden start of the war in confusion, without any preparation or proper planning. Secondly since there was an extreme lack of communication and coordination among various groups of freedom fighters who started their uprising according to their own wishes, it became easy for the English troops to curb the revolt of different areas on by one.
Thirdly there was no experienced leader among them to lead the Indian soldiers. They had declared Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, their leader but instead of warfare he was devoted to poetry and was too old and incompetent to lead the revolutionaries. The British troops, on the other hand, were endowed with extremely competent generals like Edwards and Lawrence.