Surviving Sikhs and the Sepoy Mutiny

Lets say the Sikhs avoid conquest by the British.

If they were still kicking, what impact would they have on the Sepoy Mutiny?

Would they take advantage of the chaos to conquer the North of India? Ignore the situation entirely? Offer to aid the British in exchange for guarantees of boundaries and/or territorial cessions?
 

Anaxagoras

Banned
Under no circumstances would the Sikhs assist the rebellion if its goal was to restore the Mughal emperor, even if only symbolically. The Sikhs hated the Mughals far, far, far more than they hated the British and they had very long memories.
 
Under no circumstances would the Sikhs assist the rebellion if its goal was to restore the Mughal emperor, even if only symbolically. The Sikhs hated the Mughals far, far, far more than they hated the British and they had very long memories.

I`ve seen this said before but realpolitik generally triumphs over historical dislike. The Sikhs were oppressed by the Mughals in the past but that doesn't necessarily translate to political decisions in the future. Is there any evidence that Ranjit Singh and members of the Sikh Empire elite despised the Mughal emperor in particular? Certainly the Sikh Empire treated Muslims relatively well despite Islamic oppression in the past.
 

Anaxagoras

Banned
I`ve seen this said before but realpolitik generally triumphs over historical dislike. The Sikhs were oppressed by the Mughals in the past but that doesn't necessarily translate to political decisions in the future. Is there any evidence that Ranjit Singh and members of the Sikh Empire elite despised the Mughal emperor in particular?

The evidence is right there IOTL. The Sikhs could easily have allied themselves to the rebellion and kicked the British out, thus regaining their independence and becoming the domination power in the Punjab. Instead, they allied with the British against the rebellion. Without their help, the British could never have subdued the rebels.
 
The evidence is right there IOTL. The Sikhs could easily have allied themselves to the rebellion and kicked the British out, thus regaining their independence and becoming the domination power in the Punjab. Instead, they allied with the British against the rebellion. Without their help, the British could never have subdued the rebels.

The fact that the Sikhs decided not to join the rebellion in OTL is not in itself evidence that the reason for why they didn't is because they despised the Mughals. Plenty of people throughout India decided not to join the revolt. If they had all revolted, then they could have seized power as well. Do you think all the people that didn't revolt did so because they despised the Mughals? I could just as easily say the reason for why the Sikhs didn't rebel is because they were treated well enough by the British already and the risk and rewards of rebelling were not good enough compared to the security and benefits of staying loyal.

Do you have any actual sources?
 
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