The British were the main reason for the demise and fall of the Sikh kingdom. The Sikh empire lasted for many decades under the rule of Ranjit Singh and had a bright and promising future. However, after the death of Ranjit Singh, the British took advantage of this situation and started increasing their power and strength. Long before the birth of the “Maharaja of Punjab”, the British came to India and took control of almost the entire country. The main remaining opposition force was Punjab, controlled by the Sikh kingdom. Finally, after some fierce battles, the British won the war and destroyed the Sikh empire, resulting in the demise of the empire. The British were responsible for the fall of the Sikh Empire, as they were the ones who provoked the Anglo-Sikh Wars. They were also responsible for the disappearance as they were the ones who took Duleep Singh (the last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire) and his mother, Maharani Jind Kaur, away from each other. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Although the British and the Sikhs did not get along well, they were not responsible for all the destruction brought to the kingdom. Instead, the corrupt generals of the Sikh army also contributed to the fall of the Sikh kingdom. They had betrayed their own kingdom. The British were responsible for the Anglo-Sikh Wars. There were two Anglo-Sikh Wars: the First and Second Anglo-Sikh Wars. The first war took place and was provoked by the British because they opposed the Treaty of Amritsar of 1809. This treaty stipulated that there would be perpetual friendship between the State of Lahore and the British Company of East India Company (BEIC) and that there would be no concern between the territories under Ranjit Singh and those under the British East India Company. The Sutlej River was the boundary between the Sikhs and the British East India Company. The British opposed this treaty and established a military cantonment at Ferozpur and annexed Sindh. In this treaty, Sindh was under the control of the Maharaja, so they basically attacked the Maharaja's territory. With this, the British had started the First Anglo-Sikh War. Many battles (such as Battle of Mudki, Battle of Ferozeshah, Battle of Aliwal and Battle of Sabroan) took place and many other treaties were signed in this war. During this war, the British plundered most of Punjab and the Punjab government. was also under the control of the British East India Company. The kingdom was therefore slowly falling and the Second Anglo-Sikh War was approaching. Due to growing resentment over British interference in government, the Second Anglo-Sikh War began and it was certainly true that things were not going well for the Sikh Empire. Also, many battles took place during this battle (such as Battle of Chillianwala, Battle of Gujrat, Battle of Kineyri and Battle of Ramnagar). Most of these battles resulted in surrender or defeat of the Sikhs. During this period of war, Duleep Singh also renounced all claims to the rule of Punjab. There was nothing the Sikhs could do now that the population of Punjab was poor and, more importantly, the British East India Company and its forces were too powerful and overwhelming. That said, the British provoked these Anglo-Sikh wars and were therefore responsible for the kingdom's demiseSikh. In addition to this, the British had also kept Duleep Singh and his mother away from each other, which caused further disturbances within the Sikh kingdom. The last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, Duleep Singh, was kept away from his mother, Jind Kaur, and this was one of the main reasons why the British were responsible for the kingdom's demise. Being the youngest son of Ranjit Singh, he needed his mother by his side to help him rule the kingdom, but the British did not allow Jind Kaur to stay with her son. Her mother ruled as regent, but was replaced by a regency council and then imprisoned. The British did not allow the son and mother to meet for thirteen and a half years. With this cruelty alone, the British planned to destroy the Sikh kingdom. They were kept apart from each other until his death was near. After years and years of trying to meet his mother, Duleep Singh was finally allowed to meet her in January 1861, at the Spence Hotel in Calcutta, and he was allowed to take her to England. The British knew she no longer posed any threat because she had lost a lot of energy and was old, helpless and blind. The British also did this so that the Sikhs could face defeat once and for all, because they knew that he was the last Maharaja, and they knew that if the Maharaja and the Maharani stayed together, they would have regained power . At this point, Maharani Jind Kaur was two years away from her death. All she could have done was tell Duleep Singh about her father's success on the battlefield and his rule over the Sikh kingdom. He eventually re-embraced Sikhism, but the British separated the two peoples who could have saved the Sikh kingdom, and they once again proved to be the cause of the Sikh kingdom's demise. the Sikhs, but the traitors of the Sikh army generals were also the ones who had caused the destruction of the kingdom and brought down the kingdom. The Sikh army was fighting with the British during the Anglo-Sikh Wars, but little did they know, their own generals were also responsible for the demise of the Sikh kingdom. At the time of the Anglo-Sikh Wars, the Sikh army was led by General Lal Singh, alongside Tej Singh. These generals were believed to be the leaders and those who would lead the Sikhs to victory. However, these corrupt generals were working to overthrow the Sikh kingdom, as they were the ones who betrayed the Sikhs during the war. Lal Singh always provided information to the British about what was happening in the Sikh kingdom and informed them of their plans. Along with this, he was also receiving instructions from them on what to do. Lal Singh and Tej Singh were shown to work against Sikhs many times during wars. During the Sikh advance towards Ferozepur, the Sikh army led by Tej Singh made no effort to attack the British when they needed rest and reinforcements. Instead, Tej Singh waited for the British to recover. Lal Singh showed this during the Battle of Ferozeshah, when he drove the Gorchurras, the Khalsa elite, away from the battlefield. This is also why they proved relatively ineffective against the opposition army. In this battle, Lal Singh did not make any effort to reorganize his army and Tej Singh also withdrew from the leadership of the army. Also during the Battle of Sobraon, Tej Singh deserted from the Sikh army during the battle. However, the remaining Sikh warriors fought to the death. With all these betrayals, they let down the Sikh kingdom and hence were also.