On 21st September 1857 Mughal King Bahadur Shah, his wife Begam Zeenat Mahal and their children were made prisoners and sent to Rangoon. In the middle of 1858 AD the anti-British activities slowed more. With the arrest of Tatya Tope, the first independence revolt of Indians came to an end in Rajasthan.
Now, public openly showed hatred against the Britishers. While meeting the king, the public of Udaipur openly abused Captain Sharves. The soldiers of Jodhpur threw stones on the statue of Captain Sarderland. People of Kota, Bharatpur, Alwar and Tonk sided with the revolutionaries against the policies of rulers. Still the revolt was unsuccessful in Rajasthan.
The failure of revolt was due to the following reasons :
(1) Absence of leadership : Rajasthan was divided into nineteen provinces. Despite the revolt at many places, the agitators had no respectable leadership. The Rajput leaders contacted the king of Mewar. However, the king handed over all documents and letters to Britishers. The feudel lords and soldiers of Marwad tried to struggle under the leadership of Mughal king. Mughal king could not provide leadership outside Delhi in Rajasthan. The revolutionaries could not struggle unitedly and thus they were unsuccessful.
(2) Absence of equilibrium : The eruption of revolt in Rajasthan took place at many places. But there was absence of equilibrium among revolutionaries. There was no contact and understanding between Auwa and Kota revolutionaries. This is the reason the Indians were not successful.
(3) Absence of strategy : The efforts of revolutionaries were not planned in advance. After the revolt, they began to fall apart. On the other hand, Britishers destroyed the influence of revolutionists in planned phase and manner. The leadership of British army was handled by skilled army officers. Their food and weapons fulfillment was being done from entire India whereas revolutionary soldiers had scarcity of resources.
(4) Non – Co – operations of rulers : The non – co – operation of the rulers of Rajasthan was the main reason of the failure of the revolt. Not only this, most of the rulers of Rajasthan and not only in Rajasthan, even outside, gave full support to Britishers. Their lack of foresightedness and of definite policy led the British government to suppress the revolt.
The results of independence : The 1857 revolt for independence by all reasons was a failure. The after effects of this war were far reaching. This revolution proved the belief of Britishers baseless that as compared to Mughals and Marathas, the people of Rajasthan were supporters of British rule.
The 1857 revolt had the following results :
(1) Nationalist states favoured by policy change : The rulers of Rajasthan in order to stop the influence of revolt acted as a dam or binding force. The British rulers understood that to rule in India, the native kings were useful for them. Now the changes were made in British policy.
In order to satisfy the rulers, the principle of doctrine of lapse’ was ended: Preparations we made to give kings the English education. For their services, they were awarded and given territories so that their loyalty could increase in British crown and western civilisation.
(2) Decrease in the power of feudal lords : In the revolt period, the feudal lords acted against the Britishers. Resultantly after the end of the revolt. Britishers adopted a policy to finish the power of feudal lords. The court fees was taken from feudal lords. Their wful rights were snatched, their tax collection rights were also ended. Such laws were made by which trader sect could draw their dues from the court. With this policy in place, the influence of feudal lords on traders and public came to an end.
(3) Change in employment service of bureaucracy : In all states, the important positions or posts of administration were headed by feudal lords. After the revolt, all rulers in order to make feudal lords powerless and to increase their own control on administration, English educated people on the posts of all public services.
(4) Avenues of transportation : In the period of struggle, the British soldiers to be sent from one place to another place faced difficulty. After the revolt, keeping in mind the army and trader benefits, transportation facilities were developed Naseerabad, Neemuch and Devli were connected with roads to Ajmer and Agra.
The rail companies were motivated to construct rail line. British government forced native states to construct roads and rails, and as a result, the transportation facilities quickly developed.
Social Change : British government extended the English education system. The English educated middle class on the basis of English education gave important contribution in other fields too. Britishers due to trade benefits gave reservation to the business class.
Now the influence of Brahmin and Rajput sects began to decline. Through the medium of many colleges, the royal families had to adopt or accommodate western thoughts and luxury. Britishers used to take fixed tax and army expenses.
