FIRST WAR OF INDEPENDENCE OF 1857 VIEW OF EARLY HISTORIANS

The revolt of 1857 was a decisive event in Indian history, but it has been interpreted differently by different historians according to their views. Early British historians like Sir John Lawrence, T.R. Holmes and Sir John Seely belittled it as a "soldier revolt" or "sepoy mutiny" and considered it an unorganized and unsuccessful movement. According to them, it was a sudden incident of military discontent, in which there was no national sentiment. Some other British historians called it "religious hypocrisy" or "Hindu-Muslim conspiracy" and considered it a mere coincidence against British rule.

 On the other hand, early Indian nationalist historians like R.C. Majumdar, K.M. Panikkar and Savitribai Phule etc. considered it a widespread resistance of the people against British exploitation and unjust policies. They called it "India's first freedom struggle" and considered it an early expression of national consciousness. V.D. Savarkar described it as a well-planned, organised and widespread revolution in his famous book The Struggle for Independence of 1857. According to him, it involved not only soldiers, but also farmers, landlords, craftsmen, saints and the general public. Marxist historians such as Karl Marx also called it a "revolt of the masses" in contemporary writings and presented it as a struggle against the exploitation of British imperialism. He considered it a mass outrage resulting from socio-economic inequalities and colonialism. Subaltern historians did not consider 1857 as only a soldier's revolt or a struggle of leaders, but emphasized the active role of the common people in it. According to them, this movement was also a resistance of farmers, tribals, labourers, artisans and lower classes. They showed that at the local level, the rebellion was also against social, economic and cultural inequalities. Thus, they considered 1857 a symbol of collective consciousness and resistance of the exploited classes. Thus, while early British historians described 1857 as merely a "military revolt" and "local disturbance", the Indian nationalist and Marxist viewpoint considered it the first phase of the freedom struggle. In conclusion, this revolt was the beginning of national consciousness in Indian history, which later laid a strong foundation for the freedom movement.