This remarkable volume gives a graphic description of the Revolt of 1857 in India and narrates in full its progress and suppression. The author's breathtaking illustrated account of the sepoys' uprising strictly based on official letters and dispatches, eye-witnesses, and memoirs reported in chronological order cannot be ignored. Of course, this rich material makes the volume indispensable work of historical importance. The book published first in 1858, is now a collector's item.
The author examines the premeditation for the outbreak of the revolt and devotes a full chapter to consider the causes of the revolt. (These are largely admitted by the distinguished historians). He probes deeply into the crucial events and projects the view that there was no definite and coordinated plan of the Indian rulers and they merely shared their deeply-felt grievances. The volume further reveals the motives that animated them to rise against the British Raj. It implicates Bahadur Shah Zafar, Nana Saheb, and Rani Lakshmi Bai for the massacre of the Europeans at Delhi, Kanpur, and Jhansi. The British atrocities, i.e., blowing away of sepoys, indiscriminate hanging, and burning of villages are uniformly highlighted. It also puts on record the Indian rulers who betrayed the country. Conspicuously, the author finds a deep solidarity among the sepoys who made the revolt widespread.
The book is peerless for its illustrations which represent almost each theatre of the rebellion. These are truly historical and free from an artist's whimsical and fanciful ideas. These are not merely entertaining but are of unique documentary value.
An introduction to the volume, written by Professor S.P. Verma critically examines historicity of the text and illustrations. |
