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{{Short description|1909 history book by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar}}
{{For|the main article on the 1857 revolt|Indian Rebellion of 1857}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
 
{{infobox book | <!-- See [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Novels]] or [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Books]] -->
| name = The Indian War of Independence
| title_orig =
| translator =
| image = File:The_Indian_War_of_Independence_(book).png
| caption = Title page for ''The Indian War of Independence'' (1909)
| caption =
| author = [[Vinayak Damodar Savarkar]]
| illustrator =
| cover_artist =
| country = India
| language = [[Marathi language|Marathi]], English
| genre = History ([[Nationalist]])
| publisher = Sethani Kampani, Bombay (reprint, India)
| release_date = 1909, 1947 (First public edition, India)
| english_release_date = 1909
| media_type =
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
}}
 
'''''The Indian War of Independence''''' is an Indian [[Historical revisionism|nationalist history]] of the [[1857 revolt]] by [[Vinayak Damodar Savarkar]] that was first published in 1909.<ref name="Savarkar">{{cite booksfn|last1=Savarkar|first1=VinayakRanbir Damodar|title=The Indian War of Independence of 1857|date=10 May 1909|location=London|url=https://archive.org/details/ldpd_6260651_000|accessdate=9 November 2017}}</ref><ref name=Vohra70>{{Harvnb|Vohra|2000|p=70}}</ref>
 
== DescriptionCreation ==
 
Savarkar initially wrote ''The Indian War of Independence'' in [[Marathi language|Marathi]], in response to celebrations in [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Great Britain]] of the 50th anniversary of the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]] with records from [[India Office]] archives. The project received support from Indian nationalists in Britain, including the likes of [[Madame Cama]], [[V.V.S. Iyer]] and [[M.P.T. Acharya]], as well as Indian students who had dared not show their support or sympathy for [[India House]] openly.{{sfn|B.D. Yadav|1992|p=14}} The book sought to bring the [[Indian independence movement|Indian movement]] to public attention in Britain as well as to inspire [[Indian nationalism|nationalist]] movements in India.
=== Creation ===
The book, initially written in [[Marathi language|Marathi]], was penned by Savarkar in response to celebrations in [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Great Britain]] of the 50th anniversary of the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]] with records from [[India Office]] archives. The project received support from Indian nationalists in Britain, including the likes of [[Madame Cama]], [[V.V.S. Iyer]] and [[M.P.T. Acharya]], as well as Indian students who had dared not show their support or sympathy for [[India House]] openly.<ref name="Yadav14">{{Harvnb|Yadav|1992|p=14}}</ref> Published during Savarkar's stay in [[London]] at the India House, it sought to bring the [[Indian independence movement|Indian movement]] to public attention in Britain as well as to inspire [[Indian nationalism|nationalist]] movements in India.
 
Savarkar finished writing the book in 1907, when he was at the [[India House]] in London, but could not find a publisher in Europe because the book was written in Marathi. So, he decided to publish an English translation. It is not clear who translated the book, but the language is quite consistent throughout the translation, which suggests that the translation was done by a single person. The anonymous publisher simply states that "other residents at the India house" translated the work, and that they expedited the publication without waiting for an elegant translation.{{sfn|Vinayak Chaturvedi|2022|pp=87-88}}
=== Inspiration ===
 
The book was influenced by histories of the [[French Revolution]], the [[American Revolution]] and Indian histories of the Mahratta conquests.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Visana|first=Vikram|title=Savarkar before Hindutva: Sovereignty, Republicanism, and Populism in India, c.1900–1920|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/modern-intellectual-history/article/abs/savarkar-before-hindutva-sovereignty-republicanism-and-populism-in-india-c19001920/90DC611F3F01B05C2FE4ECC61BECDC73|journal=Modern Intellectual History|pages=1–24|doi=10.1017/S1479244320000384|issn=1479-2443|year=2020}}</ref> Additionally, [[Karl Marx]] had published a short article named "The Indian Revolt" in the [[New-York Tribune]] in 1857 and later went on to write the book "The First Indian War of Independence 1857-58" in the coming years. Savarkar published his book later in 1909, using much the same format as Marx's work. <ref name="UCalI">{{cite web
== Inspiration ==
 
The book was influenced by histories of the [[French Revolution]], the [[American Revolution]] and Indian histories of the [[Maratha Empire|Maratha]] conquests.{{sfn|Vikram Visana|2021|pp=1-24}}
 
Savarkar was inspired by the Italian revolutionary [[Giuseppe Mazzini]]'s assertion that the history of a revolution must consider "the principles and motives of the people involved", and referred to the [[First Italian War of Independence]] as an example for the Indian historians to consider.{{sfn|Vinayak Chaturvedi|2022|p=91}}
 
[[Karl Marx]] had published a short article named "The Indian Revolt" in the [[New-York Tribune]] in 1857.<ref name="UCalI">{{cite web
| publisher = University of California, Irvine
| url= https://eee.uci.edu/programs/humcore/Student/Spring2008/LectureNotes/LNWk5-2_SavarkarLecture1_S08.htm
| title= V.D. Savarkar and The Indian War of Independence, 1857
| accessdateaccess-date=2008-06-20
}}{{dead link|date=October 2022}}</ref> Some later writers have wrongly claimed that Karl Marx inspired Savarkar's use of the term "war of independence" for the event. Marx never used the term to describe the 1857 revolt, although a volume of his articles was published in [[Moscow]] in 1959 under the title ''The First Indian War of Independence 1857–1859''. This volume was based on a Russian-language edition, whose title does not use the term "First". The title may have been inspired by Savarkar's book, whose original edition did not use the term "First" either. The word "first" appears in an edition of Savarkar's book published in 1945 in [[Kuala Lumpur]]. The edition, titled ''The Volcano, or The First War of Indian Independence'', was published by the [[Indian National Army]] (INA) and the Japanese Ministry of Propaganda.{{sfn|Vinayak Chaturvedi|2022|pp=29-31}}
}}</ref>
 
=== ReceptionBan ===
 
The book, which describes the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]] as a unified and national uprising of India as a nation against British authority,<ref name=Misra184>{{Harvnb|Misra|2004|p=184}}</ref> was seen at the time as highly inflammatory, and the Marathi edition was banned in [[British India]] even before its publication.<ref name=Hopkirk45>{{Harvnb|Hopkirk|2001|p=45}}</ref> Publication of the English translation faltered after British printers and publishing houses were warned by the [[Home Office]] of its highly seditious content, while the British foreign office brought pressure on the French government to prevent its publication from [[Paris]].<ref name=Hopkirk45/> It was ultimately printed in the Netherlands in 1909, with the British government not tracing it until too late.<ref name="Yadav14"/><ref name=Hopkirk45/><ref name=EdinUni>{{cite web
The book was seen at the time as highly inflammatory, and the Marathi edition was banned in [[British India]] even before its publication.{{sfn|Peter Hopkirk|2001|p=45}} Publication of the English translation faltered after British printers and publishing houses were warned by the [[Home Office]] of its highly seditious content, while the British foreign office brought pressure on the French government to prevent its publication from [[Paris]].{{sfn|Peter Hopkirk|2001|p=45}}
| publisher = University of Edinburgh
 
In July 1909 [[Madan Lal Dhingra]], a member of Savarkar's [[Abhinav Bharat Society]], had assassinated the British official [[Curzon Wyllie]]. The British officials knew that Savarkar had planned to release a text, and were concerned that it may incite further acts of violence against the British administration.{{sfn|Vinayak Chaturvedi|2022|p=87}}
 
Savarkar's earlier works were not widely read: his fist book - on Mazzini - was immediately banned by the government; the manuscript of his second book - on the history of the [[Sikhs]] - was either lost in post or destroyed by officials before it could be published. Therefore, Savarkar's associates maintained secrecy regarding the book's publication and circulation. An underground network of revolutionaries circulated the book, hoping that it would encourage a revolution against the British.{{sfn|Vinayak Chaturvedi|2022|p=87}}
 
On 21 July 1909, H.A. Stuart, the Director of the [[Criminal Investigation Department (India)|CID]] in [[Bombay]], sent a [[telegram]] to Indian government officials urging them to intercept the text that was expected to arrive in Indian ports from England. He knew that the subject of the text was 1857 uprising, but did not know the title of the work or the number of copies being shipped. He suspected that there were two editions of the text - the original Marathi text published in Germany, and an English translation published in London.{{sfn|Vinayak Chaturvedi|2022|p=87}} The Viceroy of India, [[Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto|Lord Minto]], supported the confiscation even though officials complained that they could not confiscate the book under the Sea Customs Act or the Indian Post Office Act, without more details about the text. By this time, the first edition of Savarkar's work had already been published as a 451-page book titled ''The Indian War of Independence of 1857'', with the author listed as "An Indian Nationalist".{{sfn|Vinayak Chaturvedi|2022|p=86}}
 
The book was ultimately printed in the Netherlands in 1909, with the British government not tracing it until too late.{{sfn|B.D. Yadav|1992|p=14}}{{sfn|Peter Hopkirk|2001|p=45}}<ref name=EdinUni>{{cite web
| publisher=University of Edinburgh
| url=http://www.csas.ed.ac.uk/mutiny/history3.html#_edn1
| title=Mutiny at the Margins
| accessdateaccess-date=2008-06-20
| archive-date=18 May 2008
}}</ref> The copies were printed with false dust wrappers purporting to be copies of ''[[The Pickwick Papers]]'' and other literary classics, and large quantities were shipped to India, where it quickly became a bible of political extremists.<ref name=Hopkirk45/> It was excluded from the catalogue of the [[British Library]] to prevent Indian students from accessing it. In India, the book remained banned till the end of [[British Raj|the Raj]] forty years later.<ref name=Hopkirk45/>
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080518004312/http://www.csas.ed.ac.uk/mutiny/history3.html#_edn1
| url-status=dead
}}</ref> The copies were printed with false dust wrappers purporting to be copies of ''[[The Pickwick Papers]]'' and other literary classics, and large quantities were shipped to India, where it quickly became a bible of political extremists.{{sfn|Peter Hopkirk|2001|p=45}} It was excluded from the catalogue of the [[British Library]] to prevent Indian students from accessing it. In India, the book remained banned until the end of [[British Raj|the Raj]] forty years later.{{sfn|Peter Hopkirk|2001|p=45}}
 
== LegacySavarkar's views ==
 
''The Indian War of Independence'' is considered to be an influential work in Indian history and nationalist writing,<ref name=Dirks127>{{Harvnb|Dirks|2001|p=127}}</ref> and also one of Savarkar's most influential works in developing and framing ideas of [[Hinduism]].<ref name=Bannerjee50>{{Harvnb|Bannerjee|2005|p=50}}</ref> While some erstwhile and modern histories draw similar conclusions as the Savarkar,<ref name=Hasan149>{{Harvnb|Hasan|1998|p=149}}</ref> others, including [[R.C. Majumdar]], disagreed with Savarkar's conclusions in his book on the national and unified character of the mutiny.<ref name=Vohra70/><ref name=Hasan149/><ref name=Nanda701>{{Harvnb|Nanda|1965|p=701}}</ref>
{{Quote box |width=25em |align=right |salign = right
|quote=So, now, the original antagonism between Hindus and Mahomedans might be consigned to the Past. Their present relation was one not of rulers and ruled, foreigner and native, but simply that of brothers with the one difference between them of religion alone. For, they were both children of the soil of Hindusthan. Their names were different, but they were all children of the same Mother; India therefore being the common mother of these two, they were brothers by blood.
|source = V.D. Savarkar, ''The Indian War of Independence''{{sfn|Vinayak Chaturvedi|2022|p=98}}
}}
The book describes the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]] as a unified and national uprising of India as a nation against British authority.{{sfn|Amalendu Misra|2004|p=184}}
 
Savarkar states that both the British and the Indians committed cruel and brutal acts during the uprising, but characterizes such acts by Indians as justifiable acts of vengeance. On the other hand, he describes such acts by the British as oppressive and disproportionate, giving the example of massacres by General [[James George Smith Neill]]. According to Savarkar, the number of Indians killed by Neill in [[Allahabad]] alone was more than all the English people killed, but the colonial historians described him as a "bold and brave" man, whose "timely cruelty" showed his "great love of humanity". Stating that [[Krishna]] advised [[Arjuna]] to abandon the code of ethics against an enemy who was unethical, Savarkar argues that the cruel acts committed by Indians in revenge were justifiable.{{sfn|Vinayak Chaturvedi|2022|pp=100-103}}
 
Unlike Savarkar's later works, the book emphasizes [[Hindu-Muslim unity]], stating that they worked together for "freeing their country". In the introduction to the book, Savarkar states that the feeling of hatred against the Muslims was necessary during [[Shivaji]]'s period, but it would be "unjust and foolish" to nurse such hatred now.{{sfn|Vinayak Chaturvedi|2022|p=97}}
 
== Critical reception and legacy ==
 
Regarding the national character of the revolt, some erstwhile and modern histories draw similar conclusions as Savarkar,{{sfn|Farhat Hasan|1998|p=149}} while others, including [[R.C. Majumdar]], disagree with Savarkar's conclusions in his book on the national and unified character of the mutiny.{{sfn|Ranbir Vohra|2000|p=70}}{{sfn|Farhat Hasan|1998|p=149}}{{sfn|Krishan Nanda|1965|p=701}}
 
The book is considered to be an influential work in Indian history and nationalist writing,{{sfn|Nicholas B. Dirks|2001|p=127}} and also one of Savarkar's most influential works in developing and framing ideas of [[Hinduism]].{{sfn|Sikata Bannerjee|2005|p=50}}
 
==References==
{{reflist}}
 
=== Bibliography ===
==Further reading==
{{ref begin}}
*{{Citation
* {{cite book |author=Amalendu Misra |year=2004 |title=Identity and Religion: Foundations of Anti-Islamism in India |publisher=SAGE |isbn= 0-7619-3226-7 }}
| surname1 = Bannerjee
* {{cite book |author=B.D. Yadav |title=M.P.T. Acharya, Reminiscences of an Indian Revolutionary |year=1992 |publisher=Anmol |isbn= 81-7041-470-9 }}
| given1 = Sikata
* {{cite journal |author=Farhat Hasan |title=A Welcome Study |year=1998 |journal=Social Scientist |volume=26 |issue=1/4 |pages=148–151 |doi=10.2307/3517586 |jstor=3517586 }}
| year = 2005
* {{cite journal |author=Krishan Nanda |title=1857 in India: Mutiny or War of Independence? by Ainslee T. Embree |journal=The Western Political Quarterly |volume=18 |issue=3 |year=1965 |pages=700–701 |publisher=University of Utah on behalf of the Western Political Science Association |doi=10.2307/445762 |jstor=445762 }}
| title = Make Me a Man!: Masculinity, Hinduism, and Nationalism in India
* {{cite book |author=Nicholas B. Dirks |year=2001 |title=Castes of Mind: Colonialism and the Making of Modern India |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=0-691-08895-0 }}
| publisher = SUNY press
* {{cite book |author=Peter Hopkirk |author-link=Peter Hopkirk |year=2001 |title=On Secret Service East of Constantinople |publisher=Oxford Paperbacks |isbn=0-19-280230-5 }}
| ISBN= 0-7914-6367-2
* {{cite book |author=Ranbir Vohra |year=2000 |title=The Making of India: A Historical Survey |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |isbn= 0-7656-0712-3 }}
}}.
* {{cite book |author=Sikata Bannerjee |title=Make Me a Man!: Masculinity, Hinduism, and Nationalism in India |year=2005 |publisher = SUNY Press |isbn=0-7914-6367-2 }}
*{{Citation
* {{cite journal |author=Vikram Visana |title=Savarkar before Hindutva: Sovereignty, Republicanism, and Populism in India, c.1900–1920 |journal=Modern Intellectual History |issn=1479-2443 |volume=18 |issue=4 |year=2021 |pages=1106–1129 |doi=10.1017/S1479244320000384 |s2cid=224983230 |url=https://pure.hud.ac.uk/ws/files/27768049/Visana_Savarkar_Article_Edited21.pdf }}
| surname1 = Dirks
* {{cite book |author=Vinayak Chaturvedi |title=Hindutva and Violence: V. D. Savarkar and the Politics of History |year=2022 |publisher=SUNY Press |isbn=9781438488776 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oiRbEAAAQBAJ }}
| given1 = Nicholas B
{{ref end}}
| year = 2001
 
| title = Castes of Mind: Colonialism and the Making of Modern India
== External links ==
| publisher = Princeton University Press
* {{cite book |author=Vinayak Damodar Savarkar |title=The Indian War of Independence of 1857 |date=1909-05-10 |location=London |url=https://archive.org/details/ldpd_6260651_000 |access-date=9 November 2017}}
| ISBN= 0-691-08895-0
}}.
*{{Citation
| surname1 = Hasan
| given1 = Farhad
| year = 1998
| title = Social Scientist, Vol. 26, No. 1/4 (Jan. - Apr., 1998), pp. 148-151
}}.
*{{Citation
| surname1 = Hopkirk
| given1 = Peter
| authorlink = Peter Hopkirk
| year = 2001
| title = On Secret Service East of Constantinople
| publisher = Oxford Paperbacks
| ISBN = 0-19-280230-5
}}.
*{{Citation
| surname1 = Misra
| given1 = Amalendu
| year = 2004
| title = Identity and Religion: Foundations of Anti-Islamism in India
| publisher = SAGE
| ISBN= 0-7619-3226-7
}}.
*{{Citation
| surname1 = Nanda
| given1 = Krishan
| year = 1965
| title = The Western Political Quarterly, Vol. 18, No. 3 (Sep., 1965), pp. 700-701
| publisher = University of Utah on behalf of the Western Political Science Association
}}.
*{{Citation
| surname1 = Vohra
| given1 = Ranbir
| year = 2000
| title = The Making of India: A Historical Survey
| publisher = M.E. Sharpe
| ISBN= 0-7656-0712-3
}}.
*{{Citation
| surname1 = Yadav
| given1 = B.D
| year = 1992
| title = M.P.T. Acharya, Reminiscences of an Indian Revolutionary
| publisher = Anmol Publications Pvt ltd
| ISBN= 81-7041-470-9
}}.
*Visana, Vikram (2020), "[https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/modern-intellectual-history/article/abs/savarkar-before-hindutva-sovereignty-republicanism-and-populism-in-india-c19001920/90DC611F3F01B05C2FE4ECC61BECDC73 Savarkar before Hindutva: Sovereignty, Republicanism, and Populism in India, c. 1900-1920]," ''Modern Intellectual History.''
 
{{India House}}
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[[Category:Works about the Indian Rebellion of 1857]]
[[Category:Vinayak Damodar Savarkar]]
[[Category:Censored books]]
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