[2][3][4] Contemporary anti-imperialists viewed those terms as propaganda and pushed to characterise the uprising as more than just the actions of mutinous native soldiers.
It is possible that the title of the Russian edition was inspired by Savarkar's book, although some later writers wrongly state that the term was coined by Karl Marx.
[10] Some South Indian historians have opposed the use of the term First War of Independence by the Government to describe the 1857 uprising, and have unsuccessfully taken the issue to the court.
[11] 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.
Nonetheless, in May 2007, the Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal and three other MPs from Punjab protested against the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the 1857 revolt over this issue.