In India, the term First War of Independence was first popularized by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in his 1909 book The History of the War of Indian Independence, which was originally written in Marathi. In India, the term First War of Independence was first popularized byVinayak Damodar Savarkar in his 1909 book The History of the War of Indian Independence, which was originally written in Marathi.