Question

Nature of the revolt of 1857

Answer 1

The revolt of 1857 was known as the first war of independence my many indians and historians . But it was called sepoy mutiny by the british. The truth perhaps lies somewhere in between the two views . Since the rulers, nobles and sepoys partucipated in it ; calling it a sepoy mutiny would be incorrect

However , to term as a ' first war of independence' would be probably too far - fetched , as the concept of one Indian nation had not yet evolved. However the participants of the revolt of 1857 were bound by one common feature––– their hatred for the british

Answer 2

THE ARTICLE SHARED BELOW IS COMPLETELY MY KNOWLEDGE TAKEN FROM SEVERAL BOOKS BUT NOT A COPIED ANSWER FROM GOOGLE. IT IS SURELY GOING TO HELP YOU TO A GREAT EXTENT.

Different historians and contemporary thinkers have different views regarding the nature of the Revolt of 1857. Thus, debates exist on the Revolt of 1857. These can be discussed as follows :

• SEPOY-MUTINY : Akshay Kumar Dutta, Dadabhai Naoroji, Charles Raikes and many others termed the Revolt of 1857 as mutiny of the sepoys. They sincerely belive that the revolt was actually nothing but the critical uprising of the sepoys.
• FEUDAL-REVOLT : Ramesh Chandra Majumder, Surendranath Sen, Jawaharlal Nehru and many others emphasised the feudal character of the Revolt of 1857. At that time, the feudalistic thoughts were very powerdul and Feudal Lords were the natural leaders of the society. As this Revolt of 1857, was influenced by the Feudal Lords like Zamindars and other Landlords, they termed this Revolt as Feudal revolt.
• REVOLT OF THE MASSES : Few historians termed this Revolt as the Revolt of masses, as this Revolt of 1857 is influenced not only by sepoys but also by other people also. This revolt had spread fast through Awadh, Kanpur, Bihar, Jhansi, etc.
• NATIONAL REVOLT : Karl Marx, Frederick Engels, Disraeli (the then leader of Tory Party) termed this Revolt of 1857 as National Revolt as the revolt gained a popular national character. People from different parts of India joined this Revolt of 1857. Civilians, people from Zamindar class, and others joined in this Revolt.
• FIRST WAR OF INDEPENDENCE : Vinaya Damodar Savarkar and others had termed the Revolt of 1857 as the "First National War of Independence". Hindus and muslims fought shoulder to shoulder with their original aim at the ending of the British rule for winning back their lost independence. From this point of view, they termed the Revolt of 1857 as the First National War of Independence.