On May 10, 1857, sepoys at Meerut began their revolt, igniting a conflict that spread across northern India and would influence Indian politics for decades. Many Indians, familiar with the NCERT maps showing rebel leaders and locations, know this story well. However, less well known is the narrative Britain crafted about the rebellion at the time — through its newspapers and public performances — and how that narrative marginalised the everyday Indian from the core of the uprising. Reading the British press and theatre of 1857 is like entering a parallel universe. Consider The Times of London. Early reports from India prompted an almost complacent assurance: “So far there is no great grievance to be remedied, and no immediate danger to be apprehended.” The phrasing is telling. If there is “no great grievance,” then the revolt cannot be about decades of economic extraction or the humiliation of kings and communities.…