The Indian War of Independence 1857, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar

“The Indian War of Independence1857” is a history of the 1857 war of freedom by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. The book was published in 1909 to commemorate 50th anniversary of the 1857 war of freedom. It was the first such account of 1857 war of freedom.

It was written originally in Marathi. The manuscript developed out of a shorter essay Savarkar had written in 1907, printed in India in the newspaper Vihari. It could not be published in India for obvious reasons. The British Government had in its possession only one chapter (Swadharma and Swaraj-part 1, chapter 1) and inferred the other chapters to be of similar seditious nature. 

Director of Criminal Intelligence C.J. Stevenson-Moore said, “Seditious literature is no less deleterious than cocaine but the existing restrictions to its consumption are very insufficient.”

It was translated later on by a well-known revolutionary of Tamilnadu. V.V.S Aiyar. He was with Savarkar at India house in London. Finally, this work was published in Holland in 1909. Madam Bhikaji Cama got it published it in Netherlands, France and Germany. It was later smuggled into India and very soon became an essential reading for Indian nationalists.

The second edition of this book was published by Lala Hardayal on behalf of the Gadar Party in America, the third edition was published by Sardar Bhagat Singh, while the fourth edition was published by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in the Far East.

This book was translated ino Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi and Tamil (the Tamil translation almost becoming mandatory reading for soldiers of Subhas Chandra Bose's Indian National Army-a majority of who were Tamilians from Southeast Asia).

Further, one edition was published secretly in India after the end of World War II. The original Marathi manuscript was kept in the safe custody of Madame Cama in Paris. This manuscript was handed over to Dr. Coutinho of the Abhinav Bharat when Paris was in turmoil during World War I. Dr. Coutinho preserved it like a holy scripture for nearly 40 years. After India became independent, he returned it to Ramlal Vajpeyee and Dr. Moonje who in turn gave it back to Savarkar. The ban on this book was finally lifted by the Congress Government of Bombay in May 1946.

From Censorship: A World Encyclopedia- “The book questioned the official version of the history of the mutiny, and confirmed the  Author’s firm belief in revolutionary methods. The British censors considered the work an attempt to foment a second war of independence and the manuscript was therefore banned in June 1907”

British banned a manuscript even before it was published!!