imported>Erik Kennedy: /* British nomenclature */

2021-08-06T01:23:01Z

British nomenclature

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The [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]] has been variously termed as a [[war of independence]], a [[rebellion]], and a [[mutiny]]. Several Indian writers, who consider it as a part of the [[Indian independence movement]] that ultimately led to the country's independence in 1947, have termed it as "The First War of Independence", the "great revolution", the "great rebellion", and the "Indian freedom struggle". Several British writers, who view it as a military disturbance, have termed it as "sepoy revolt", "sepoy war", "Indian rebellion", and the "great revolt". Since the 19th century, a section of British writers have challenged the choice of the word "mutiny" to describe the events.<ref>{{cite book |last=Frith |first=Nicola |title=The French Colonial Imagination: Writing the Indian Uprisings, 1857–1858, from Second Empire to Third Republic |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O4t_AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA28 |year=2014 |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=978-0-7391-8001-3 |pages=28–29}}</ref>

== British nomenclature ==
The British and colonial press, along with contemporary Europeans, referred to the events under a number of titles, the most common being the '''Sepoy Mutiny''' and the '''Indian Mutiny'''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gatewayforindia.com/history/british_history2.htm|title=Indian History – British Period – First war of Independence|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/2007/08/DALRYMPLE/15000|title=Il y a cent cinquante ans, la révolte des cipayes|date=1 August 2007|publisher=}}</ref><ref>[http://www.nationalgeographic.de/php/entdecken/wettbewerb2/forum.php3?command=show&id=3118&root=3052 German National Geographic article] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050503231048/http://www.nationalgeographic.de/php/entdecken/wettbewerb2/forum.php3?command=show&id=3118&root=3052 |date=2005-05-03}}</ref> Contemporary anti-imperialists viewed those terms as propaganda and pushed to characterise the uprising as more than just the actions of mutinous native soldiers. At the time, they used the term '''Indian Insurrection''' in the British and colonial press at the time.<ref>''The Empire'', Sydney, Australia, dated 11 July 1857, and the ''Taranaki Herald'', New Zealand, 29 August 1857</ref> [[Karl Marx]] was the first Western scholar to call the events of 1857 a "national revolt",<ref>{{cite book
| first = Karl
| last = Marx
| author-link = Karl Marx
|author2=Friedrich Engels
|author2-link=Friedrich Engels
| title = The first Indian war of independence, 1857–1859
| publisher = Foreign Languages Pub. House
| location = [[Moscow]]
| year = 1959
| oclc = 9234264
}}</ref><ref>[[Prakash Karat]], [http://www.cpim.org/pd/2007/0513/05132007_prakash.htm 1857: In The Hearts And Minds Of People] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716183545/http://www.cpim.org/pd/2007/0513/05132007_prakash.htm |date=2011-07-16 }}</ref> although he used the term '''Sepoy Revolt''' to describe them.<ref name="NatwarSingh_Marx">{{cite news
| url = http://www.asianage.com/presentation/columnisthome/natwar-singh/marx,-nehru-and-on-1857.aspx
| title = Marx, Nehru and on 1857
| author = K. Natwar Singh
| author-link = K. Natwar Singh
| publisher = [[Asian Age]]
| date = 2004-08-23
| accessdate = 2008-03-10
}}</ref>

==Indian nomenclature==

In India, the term ''First War of Independence'' was first popularized by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in his 1909 book ''[[The Indian War of Independence (book)|The History of the War of Indian Independence]]'', which was originally written in [[Marathi language|Marathi]].<ref name="NatwarSingh_Marx"/><ref name="InderMalhotra_AsianAge">{{cite web
|url = http://www.asianage.com/presentation/columnisthome/inder-malhotra/the-first-war-of-independence.aspx
|title = The First War of Independence
|author = Inder Malhotra
|publisher = [[Asian Age]]
|accessdate = 2008-03-10
|url-status = dead
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20090816180943/http://www.asianage.com/presentation/columnisthome/inder-malhotra/the-first-war-of-independence.aspx
|archivedate = 2009-08-16
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
| url = http://www.rediff.com/news/2004/aug/23spec1.htm
| title = Who was Veer Savarkar?The First War
| author = Amberish K Diwanji
| work = The Rediff Special
| publisher = [[Rediff.com]]
| date = 2004-08-23
| accessdate = 2008-03-10
}}</ref>

[[Jawaharlal Nehru]], the first Prime Minister of India, insisted on using the term ''First War of Independence'' to refer to the event, and the terminology was adopted by the Government of India.<ref name="InderMalhotra_AsianAge"/>

Some [[South India]]n historians have opposed the use of the term ''First War of Independence'' by the Government to describe the 1857 revolt, and have unsuccessfully taken the issue to the court.<ref name="SMuthiah_TheHindu">{{cite news
| url = http://www.hindu.com/mag/2007/03/25/stories/2007032500140400.htm
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071206044305/http://www.hindu.com/mag/2007/03/25/stories/2007032500140400.htm
| url-status = dead
| archive-date = 2007-12-06
| title = The First War of Independence?
| author = S. Muthiah
| date = 2007-03-25
| work = [[The Hindu]]
| accessdate = 2011-08-21
}}</ref> These historians insist that several other anti-British uprisings in South India, such as the [[Vellore Mutiny]] in 1806 had preceded the 1857 revolt, and should be called the First War of Indian independence. In 2006, when the Indian postal department issued a postal stamp to commemorate the Vellore Mutiny of 1806, [[M. Karunanidhi]], the former Chief Minister of [[Tamil Nadu]], said that the move had given "due recognition" to India's "first war of independence".<ref>{{cite news
| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5168550.stm
| title = Tamils dispute India mutiny date
| author = LR Jagadheesan
| publisher = [[BBC News]]
| date = 11 July 2006
| accessdate = 2008-05-10
}}</ref>

Some [[Sikh]] groups have also opposed the use of the term. They insist that the [[First Anglo-Sikh War]] (1845–46) should be called the First War of Independence instead, although other localised wars against the British had taken place previously, such as the [[First Anglo-Maratha War]] and the [[First Anglo-Mysore War]]. Nonetheless, In May 2007, the [[Lok Sabha]] Deputy Speaker [[Charanjit Singh Atwal]] and three other [[Member of Parliament|MPs]] from Punjab protested against the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the 1857 revolt over this issue.<ref name="TheHindu_DySpeaker">{{cite news
| url = http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/may/10atwal.htm
| title = 1857 anniversary: Dy speaker creates flutter
| publisher = [[The Hindu]]
| date = 2004-05-10
| accessdate = 2008-03-10
}}</ref>

Some Indian writers also insist that none of the armed uprisings against the British in India, including the 1857 uprising, should be termed as a "war of independence" since they were neither national in nature nor motivated mainly by nationalist sentiment and they involved only a minority of people or soldiers.<ref name="SMuthiah_TheHindu"/><ref>Ganda Singh. [http://www.sikhspectrum.com/082004/1857_mutiny_g_s.htm "The Truth About the Indian Mutiny of 1857"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120218234541/http://www.sikhspectrum.com/082004/1857_mutiny_g_s.htm |date=2012-02-18 }}. Issue No. 17, August 2004. (originally published in ''The Sikh Review'', August, 1972, pp. 32–44.)</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite web|last1=Marx|first1=Karl|title=The Indian Revolt|url=https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1857/09/16.htm|website=www.marxists.org|publisher=New-York Daily Tribune|accessdate=2 December 2015|date=16 September 1857}}
* {{cite web|last1=Marx|first1=Karl|title=The Revolt in the Indian Army|url=https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1857/07/15.htm|publisher=New-York Tribune 1857|accessdate=2 December 2015}}
* Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. The Indian War of Independence –1857
* {{cite book
| last = Embree
| first = Ainslie Thomas
| author-link = Ainslie Embree
| title = 1857 in India; mutiny or war of independence?
| url = https://archive.org/details/1857inindiamutin00embr
| url-access = registration
| publisher = Heath
| location = Boston
| year = 1963
| oclc = 870396
}}

[[Category:Indian Rebellion of 1857]]
[[Category:Naming controversies]]

Names of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 - Revision history

imported>Erik Kennedy: /* British nomenclature */