Successful Sepoy Rebellion?

What would happen in a world where the Sepoy Rebellion was more organized and supported? WWould the British be pushed off India? If so, what next?
My knowledge of Indian history is next to zero, so any awnsers would be very much appreciated.
 
Didn't we just have a thread on this recently? If I remember correctly, there was no cohesive plan after the Sepoy Rebellion, and I think the consensus was that it wouldn't be a case of an independent Indian state emerging, but several princes and warlords making their own way, only to be brought down again and made to heel later.
 

Anaxagoras

Banned
Would the British be pushed off India?

No. It needs to be remembered that the Sepoy Rebellion affected less than half of British India. Bengal and southern India were stable throughout the entire conflict.

People sometimes suggest that the Sikhs might have thrown in with the rebels, since the British had only subdued them a decade or so before. This is a naive idea that stems from a lack of understanding of Indian history. The rebels stated aim was the restoration of the Mughal emperor, and the Sikhs hated the Mughals much, much, much, much, much, much more than they disliked the British.
 
Get the Sikhs to revolt as well, which isn't very hard. India post-Mutiny would be disunited, at least in the North west of Bengal (where it happened). India would see yet more war, and I'd say the Sikhs would be dominant for a while, until either the British or Russians come knocking (or some combination thereof).

People sometimes suggest that the Sikhs might have thrown in with the rebels, since the British had only subdued them a decade or so before. This is a naive idea that stems from a lack of understanding of Indian history. The rebels stated aim was the restoration of the Mughal emperor, and the Sikhs hated the Mughals much, much, much, much, much, much more than they disliked the British.

That's an oversimplification. Some rebels supported the restoration of the Mughals, but others did not. I believe there was a movement to restore the Maratha Peshwa as well, among others, and the Marathas played a tremendous role in destroying the Mughals. The Sikhs would just be yet another rebel faction.
 
Get the Sikhs to revolt as well, which isn't very hard. India post-Mutiny would be disunited, at least in the North west of Bengal (where it happened). India would see yet more war, and I'd say the Sikhs would be dominant for a while, until either the British or Russians come knocking (or some combination thereof).


That's an oversimplification. Some rebels supported the restoration of the Mughals, but others did not. I believe there was a movement to restore the Maratha Peshwa as well, among others, and the Marathas played a tremendous role in destroying the Mughals. The Sikhs would just be yet another rebel faction.

Which would suggest that the outcome would be a mass of warring states and statelets.
 
Which would suggest that the outcome would be a mass of warring states and statelets.

Yes. It would be an awful lot like India before British, a land in constant flux. Perhaps one empire could win hegemony, but I bet that would not be the case, though the revived Sikh Empire would be the largest of the states. The British may take a few decades absorbing these warring states.

But another thing to note is that Russia has essentially won the Great Game. Its zone of influence now indisputably extends to Afghanistan. More likely than not, this zone of influence will expand further, encompassing Baluchistan and Kashmir. Depending on the performance of the Sikh Empire, it may very well expand into parts of Punjab. This scenario would be a great boon to Russia.
 
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