why Indian rulers were so easily defeated by the Britishers in revolt of 1857
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Narrow social base: Most of the moneylenders, merchants and educated Indians (Seeing this as a war of barbarism) kept away. Supposedly only 1/10th population participated.
The leadership had no common political strategy or vision keeping the people confused.
While the British were aided by modern rifles(e.g. Enfield) and telegraph, Indians still relied on swords and slower means of communication. This severely limited cohesion.
Bahadur shah Zafar was an old man with only a legacy and poor leadership skills. He could not serve as central leadership to the revolt.
The leadership was seriously under-prepared at all stages and underestimated British might. All the courageous leaders were outclassed by British strategists over time.
Also incidents of sedition and backstabbingfrom people inside the revolt hurt the movement’s cause.