The British occupied Punjab in-1849. The Punjab was still thinking about the loss of its independence when the mutiny of 1857 took place. The native regiments from the UP, which had rebelled, had fought against the Punjab in 1845-46, when it was struggling for its independence, and had taken a leading part in subjugating the country for the British in 1848-49.
The memory was so fresh that the Punjabis could not take up the case of their immediate enemies without being reconciled, consulted and invited. The mutineers now wished to restore a descendant of theirs to the throne of Delhi. Him the People of the Punjab could not be persuaded to fight for.
However, the spirit of independence was still there. In 1930, a powerful man raised his voice which was heard by a sizeable audience in and even outside India.