१८५७ का स्वातन्त्र्य समर (वीर विनायक दामोदर सावरकर - अंग्रेजों द्वारा छपने से पूर्व प्रतिबन्धित महाग्रन्थ)

THE STORY OF THIS HISTORY

leaders of the A. N. B. Revolutionary Party decided to bring
out the second English edition of this book. Lala Hardayalji
organised the American branch of the A. N. B. and started
his well-known newspaper "The Gadar"—(Rebellion) in
America. Not only was the second English edition of this
Indian War of Independence of 1857 published this time for
regular sale to replenish the party funds; but translations of
this History were published regularly in Urdu, Hindi and
Punjabi languages secretly through the 'Gadar.' It aroused
the Sepoys in the Army, as the "Gadar" reached several
camps in India and especially the large number of the Sikh
agriculturists settled in America. Soon after that, the First
World War broke out. How the Indian revolutionists in India
and outside joined hands with the Germans against England,
how large amounts of arms and ammunitions were smuggled
into India, how the 'Komagatamaru' succeeded in landing
revolutionary forces in India, how the Emden bombarded
Indian ports, how mutinies broke out in Indian regiments
stationed at Hong Kong, Singapore, and Burma under the
leadership of Gadar party and how this attempt by the Indian
revolutionaries to invade India to liberate her was at last
frustrated owing to the defeat of the Germans, is now a matter
of history. Nevertheless, this revolutionary campaign proved
to be a veritable rehearsal of the recent Military Invasion at-
tempted on a mightier scale by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose
with the I. N. A. Throughout this later revolutionary move-
ment, it became evident from the trials of hundreds of leaders
and followers that this history of the first Indian War of
Independence of 1857 proved to be a perennial source of
inspiration, and even provided a detailed sketch of the pro-
gramme of action. The demand for its copies was so great
that they used to be sold and resold, in cases, for such fabulous
prices as 300 Rupees each. Thousands of the arrested revo-
lutionaries were found in possession of them, and possession
of a copy of this book was taken to be a proof by itself of
the complicity of the possessor in the revolutionary activities.

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