The Indian Mutiny

The violent uprisings that swept through northern and central India in 1857 still arouse passionate debate. For the British, this was the Indian Mutiny, an insurrection by native troops that ignited a tinderbox of political and economic grievances against their colonial masters. From the Indian perspective, this was the First War of Independence - a widespread and popular revolt aiming to eject the British Empire and restore the Mughal Empire. More recent studies interpret the uprisings as a war of religion. Walker weighs up the evidence for these three interpretations.