It is noteworthy that no Indian of that period has written anything which can be regarded as an account of the struggle from an Indian point of view; but if we think over the matter, this is not surprising. We know that the struggle was suppressed with great violence and for many years there was an atmosphere of terror in the country. Hundreds were executed without trial. There was hardly any region in Northern India where corpses, hanging from gibbets, did not remind the people of the vengeance of the Government. No Indian dared at that time to speak or write freely about the events of 1857. A few Indians who were servants or supporters of the Government have left some account but nobody who wanted to write freely and frankly had the courage to do so (Azad vii).
Azad, Maulana Abul Kalam. Foreword. Eighteen Fifty-Seven, by Surendra Nath Sen, Publications Division, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India, 1957, pp. v-xxi.