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. Much before the birth of the “Maharaja of Punjab”, the English came to India and conquered almost all of India. The main remaining opposition force was Punjab, which was controlled by the Sikh kingdom. Finally, after some tough battles, the British won the war and brought down the Sikh empire, and that was the end of the empire. The British were responsible for the fall of the Sikh empire as they were the ones who caused the Anglo-Sikh wars. They were also responsible for the disappearance due to the fact that it was they who kept Duleep Singh (the last Maharaja of the Sikh empire) and his mother, Maharani Jind Kaur, apart. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Although the English and the Sikhs did not get along, 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 kingdom. The British were responsible for causing the Anglo-Sikh wars. There were two Anglo-Sikh wars: the First Anglo-Sikh War and the Second Anglo-Sikh War. The first war took place and was caused by the British for the reason that they went against the Treaty of Amritsar, 1809. This treaty stated that there would be perpetual friendship between the state of and Lahore, the British East India Company (BEIC) and that there would be no worries between which territories were under Ranjit Singh and which were under the British East India Company. The Sutlej River was the boundary line for both the Sikhs and the British East India Company. The British went against 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) were fought and many more treaties were signed during this war. During this war, the British had plundered most of Punjab and the Punjab government. it was also under the control of the British East India Company. So the kingdom was slowly falling and the Second Anglo-Sikh War was approaching. Due to growing resentment at 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. Furthermore, many battles were fought in this battle (such as Battle of Chillianwala, Battle of Gujrat, Battle of Kineyri and Battle of Ramnagar). Most of these battles resulted in the Sikhs surrendering or defeat. During this period of war, Duleep Singh also renounced all claims on the governance of Punjab. The Sikhs could do nothing 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 caused these Anglo-Sikh wars, and thus were responsible for the end of the Sikh kingdom. In addition to this, the British had also kept Duleep Singh and his mother away from each other, which caused further unrest in the Sikh kingdom. The last Maharaja of the Sikh empire, Duleep Singh, was heldaway from his mother, Jind Kaur, and this was one of the main reasons why the British were responsible for the end of the kingdom. Being the youngest son of Ranjit Singh, he needed his mother by his side to help him run the kingdom, but the British did not allow Jind Kaur to stay with her son. His mother ruled as regent, but was replaced by a Council of Regents and subsequently imprisoned. The British did not allow the son and mother to meet for thirteen and a half years. Only with this cruelty were the English planning to destroy the Sikh kingdom. They were kept away from each other until almost his death. After years and years of trying to meet his mother, Duleep Singh was finally able to meet her in January 1861, at Spence's Hotel in Calcutta, and was allowed to take her to England. The British knew that they no longer considered her a threat because she had lost a lot of energy and was old, defenseless 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 remained together, they would regain power. At this point Maharani Jind Kaur was two years away from her death. All he could have done was talk to Duleep Singh about his father's success on the battlefield and his rule over the Sikh kingdom. He eventually re-embraced Sikhism, but the British kept apart the two people who could have saved the Sikh kingdom, and once again they proved to be the cause of the end of the Sikh kingdom. the Sikhs, but the generals of the Sikh army were also the ones who had caused the destruction of the kingdom and brought it down. The Sikh army fought with the British during the Anglo-Sikh wars but little did they know, their generals were also responsible for the end of the Sikh kingdom. At the time of the Anglo-Sikh Wars, the Sikh army was led by General Lal Singh, along with Tej Singh. These generals were thought to be the leaders and were thought to be the ones who would lead the Sikhs to victory. However, these corrupt generals were working to bring down the Sikh kingdom as they were the ones who betrayed the Sikhs during the course of the war. Lal Singh always provided information to the British about what was happening in the Sikh kingdom and informed them about their plans. Along with this, he also received instructions from them on what to do. Lal Singh and Tej Singh proved that they were working against the Sikhs several times during the wars. During the Sikh advance towards Ferozepur, the Sikh army under 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 demonstrated this during the Battle of Ferozeshah, when he kept the Gorchurras, the Khalsa elite, away from the battlefield. Also for this reason they were relatively ineffective against the opposition army. In this battle, Lal Singh made no effort to reorganize his army and Tej Singh also retired from leading the army. Even during the battle of Sobraon, Tej Singh abandoned the Sikh army during the battle. However, the remaining Sikh warriors fought to the death. With all these betrayals, they disappointed the Sikh kingdom and were thus also declared the cause of the end of the kingdom. What hurt most was that they represented the end of their own reign. As a result of everything that happened, the Sikhs finally faced the brutal side. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get Custom Essay In conclusion, the English were vigorously responsible for the end of the Sikh kingdom. The English were responsible from the start.