I am not sure about Maratha being any influence to India at all but they screwed up the whole 1857 mutiny against British. Does any of Indian book teach that??? Just curious....
Not really...I actually subscribe to the Western view of the 1857 mutiny. It was not a nationalist movement by any measure like the US Revolution. The socio-political landscape after Brits became the dominant power in the 1800's was a hodge-podge of vested interests, combined with social disparaties and ills. The East India Company took on these issues with fanatical zeal, not for moral purposes, but to make governance easier. They campaigned against the thugees (who were cultivated by the regional powers, Marathas included), introduced land reform (infuriating zamindars), encouraged Catholic proselytization and frowned upon caste divisions (angering orthodox Hindus), and antagonized the Nawabs by interfering in governance and curbing purses.
The mutiny was hence a loose confederation of a few disaffected parties with nothing in common, except their dislike of the Brits. Moreover, the mutiny was confined to the north, with the entire south staying out of it, barring a few instances. Even in the north, various sections like Sikhs, some nawabs, etc. stayed neutral or sided with the Brits. Had the people been unified , like they did in the years to come under Gandhi, it would have still been successful, maybe with French cooperation. The political environment was not yet in place for it to succeed, in marked contrast to the US Revolution.
The Marathas could not ensure success of the mutiny. The reasons go far deeper. It was doomed from the start.
