Description
FOREWORD It is now almost five years ago that ,during-the annual session of the' Indian Historical Records Commission, I drew the attention of its members to the need of writing a new history of the great uprising of r8S7, generally described as the Sepoy Mutiny. I did not overlooked the fact that there were already many studies, long or shoat~ on the subject. Even if we consider the work only of recognized historians, the number of books on the uprising can be counted in hundreds. In' spite of this I felt that no objective history of the struggle he'd yet been rotten: Almost all these books were written from one point of view, viz., that of the British. The nature and scope of this great struggle was for long the subject of controversy both within and outside India. Almost all books dealing 'with the struggle represent it as a rebellion of the Indian Army against the constituted government of the day. Some Indian states, they concede, also joined in the revolt but these were' states which nursed a grievance because- of theft annexation by Lord Dalhousie. The British Government, as the constituted authority of the land, suppressed the revolt and restored is wand order. Not one of the many books written on the subject has sought to interpret the events of r8S7 iii any other way. It may, how- ever, be pointed out that the only legal title of the East India Company was to act as the Dewan or agent of the Moghul Emperor in revenue matters in respect of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa. The territories the Company had since' acquired were by military conquest but nowhere had the Company . challenged the suzerainty of the Emperor. 'When the army denied the authority of the Company, it-appealed to the Emperor to resume his sway. It is, therefore, a debatable point' if the revolt of the Indian Army can be regarded as a simple case of mutiny against the sovereign of the land. It may also be mentioned that while most of these authors describe in detail the atrocities perpetrated by Indians on European men, women, and children, very few refer to the equal crimes against Indians committed by the British. I think special mention may be made of a three-volume history of the uprising published early in the twentieth century. This was based on official records contained in the archives of the Imperial Records Department, now called the National Archives of India.