Veer Savarkar was the first man who called the mutiny of 1857 ‘A War of Independence’.  Until his time, no Indian had dared to say so. The martyrs of 1857 are really fortunate that they got such a historian to tell their history who himself was both a historian and a creator of history. At times, we visualise Veer Savarkar coloured in the red colour of that revolution, as if he himself was present on the battlefield and participated in the heroic war.  At other times, we see him patiently analyse the strengths and weaknesses of both sides—why the mutineers lost and why the British won. The way he analyses the politico-military aspects of the revolution shows his wisdom as a youth of 26 years. 
The Indian War of Independence, 1857, is a step by step account of the uprising of Indian Hindus and Muslims against the ruthless British rulers. Tracing footsteps of the barefooted, undernourished and almost unarmed Indian masses challenging the British bullets by the sheer force of their will power, the author establishes beyond an iota of doubt that the uprising was a War of Independence and not a mere Sepoy Mutiny as dubbed by the British.
Some glaring truths about this book:
• This book became the Bible for Indian revolutionaries.
• The book was proscribed by the British Government before its publication.
• The book was smuggled into India and England after it was published in Holland.
• The demand for this book was so enormous that it used to be sold and resold at the stupendous price of Rs. 300 (in 1910).

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Contents

The Original Publisher’s Preface—Pgs. 5

The Story of this History—Pgs.7

PART—I The Volcano

The Indian War of Independence—Pgs.19

Swadharma and Swaraj—Pgs.23

The Chain of Causes—Pgs.32

Nana Sahib and Lakshmi Bai—Pgs.41

Ayodhya—Pgs.52

Adding Fuel to Fire—Pgs.61

Lit up the Sacrificial Fire—Pgs.71

Secret Organisation—Pgs.74

PART—II The Eruption

Shahid Mangal Pandey—Pgs.99

Meerut—Pgs.104

Delhi—Pgs.111

The Interlude and Punjab—Pgs.119

Aligarh and Nasirabad—Pgs.144

Rohilkhand—Pgs.149

Benares and Allahabad—Pgs.158

Cawnpore and Jhansi—Pgs.180

Oudh—Pgs.205

The Summing Up—Pgs.219

PART—III The Conflagration

The Fight in Delhi—Pgs.239

Havelock—Pgs.254

Behar—Pgs.262

Delhi Falls—Pgs.274

Lucknow—Pgs.286

Tatia Tope—Pgs.309

The Fall of Lucknow—Pgs.319

Kumar Singh and Amar Singh—Pgs.340

Moulvie Ahmad Shah—Pgs.360

Ranee Lakshmi Bai—Pgs.371

PART—IV Temporary Pacification

A Bird’s Eye View—Pgs.401

The Culminating Offering in the Sacrificial Fire—Pgs.421

Conclusion—Pgs.435

GLOSSARY—Pgs.439

List of Important Books Consulted—Pgs.447

 

Swatantrayaveer Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was a great Indian revolutionary and a politico-military strategist, who tried to build India militarily in order to drive out the British. 
The word, ‘Savarkar’ is synonymous with courage, bravery, might and patriotism. Inscribed on golden pages of revolutionary history, freedom fighter Savarkar’s overall personality was full of matchless qualities—a revolutionary who put his life at stake for liberating his motherland; a visionary who raised his voice against social evils, such as casteism, untouchability and superstition; a karmayogi who followed the principles of the Gita in his life; a philosopher who suffered atrocities at the Cellular Jail of Andaman with forbearance while experiencing pulsation of the ageless and endless divine soul inside him; an orator who shook and left his audience spellbound with his fiery thoughts. Freedom-fighter Veer Savarkar was a gifted writer who wrote high-quality poems, novels, stories, biographies, history, essays etc. in an engaging and convincing style.
It is rarely seen that a person engaged in the freedom struggle and social reforms is an excellent author as well, and Savarkar is a living example of such rarity.