 |
| Patriot and soldier Mangal Pandey. pinterest.com |
 |
| The Mangal Pandey cenotaph at Barrackpore Cantonment, West Bengal, en.wikipedia.org |
 |
| slideplayer.com |
Please refer to my earlier posts on our freedom fighters during the 1857 first major rebellion against the British colonial rule. This month on the 8th way back in 1857 Mangal Pandey and another Sepoy on 21st were sent to the gallows by the East India company for the simple reason, they disobeyed the military and protested against the unjust rule. On 8th April, India observed his 162 death anniversary; but it was a low key event as India is in the middle of General Election. Thus, Mangal Pandey gave inspirations to the Indian native soldiers and later our freedom fighters to get rid of the British rule. Equally inspiring were the roles played by much earlier freedom fighters such as Veerapandya Kattabomman and Velu Nachiyar of Tamil Nadu and others. In this general election period, it is nice to pay our respect to those who sacrificed their lives for us to experience fresh air and democratic freedom which our country upholds despite odd political situations, prevalence of linguistic chauvinism and tough administrative difficulties in dealing with various regions following different culture and traditions, speaking different languages, etc. Also included here are the various tribal communities living across India. In spite of all these odds, the Indian economy one of the 5 largest in the world with GDP showing upward mobility.
Mangal
Pandey's name is etched firmly in the annals of India's 'history of freedom
struggle' against the oppressive British rule. The first major rebellion
against the East India company's misrule slowly snowballed into a huge
one that almost shook the entire British empire in 1857. It was Sepoy
Mangal Pandey who first registered his protest against the British
military and its lousy treatment of Indian soldiers belonging to both
Hindu and Muslim religions. He belonged to the Bengal Native Infantry, a regiment of the East India Company. His valiant protest finally became a towering inferno called ''Indian rebellion of 1957'' (not Sepoy Mutiny as some western historians refer to it; it is believed it is a misnomer) that had almost lasted almost two long years.
It was Mangal Pandey (19 July 1827 - 8 April 1857) hailing from a
Brahmin family in Nagwa, a village of upper Ballia district, now in
Uttar Pradesh) gave the first blow to the repressive British rule in
India. It is obvious he played no less role in the important events
preceding the major outbreak of revolt against the British company that
ran the proxy government for the Crown. Mangal
Pandey aged 18 wanted to join the army after watching a column of
Sepoy infantry on march and, at that point of time many of the soldiers
were both Hindus and Muslims. In August 1856, the British India army
introduced a greased cartridges to be used in the newly designed Enfield rifles and the production had begun in Kolkata, following a British design.
 |
| Enfield Rifle, tthat caused unrest in the Bengal Army in early 1857,en.wikipedia.org |
 |
| Enfield rifle and use of cartridge Connected To India |
By
January 1857, there were rumors going rounds that the new cartridges
were greased with animal fat - both cow and pig, taboo for the Hindus
and the Muslims respectively. The soldier had to bite the greased
cartridge before using it in the new rifle. The high caste Hindus felt
uneasy to use the cartridge
and, so were the Muslims. It created the impression that the British
did not care a fig for the religious sentiments of the Indian natives
and their religions. It was a subtle destruction of the religion of
the Indian people. The British introduced fresh cartridges now covered with paper.
 |
| India Today |
On
February 26, 1857, the 19th Bengal Native Infantry (BNI) regiment felt
that the newly issued paper-covered cartridges were really greased
with cow and pig fat, which had to be opened by the mouth - thus
affecting their religious sensibilities. Infuriated, Pandey spear-headed
a group of Indian soldiers who refused to use the paper-covered
greased cartridge. Further, on March 29, 1857, 29-year-old Mangal Pandey made a statement that he would rebel against his commanders of the English company at Calcutta's Barrackpore parade ground.
Pandey attacked his British sergeant, Lieutenant Baugh and there was a struggle among Baugh, Sergent major Hewson and Pandey. Pandey fired the first shot at Col Baugh and missed him. Immediately, he physically attacked the officer with considerable force. Sepoy Shaikh Paltu held Panday firmly to avoid bloodshed and finally he was subdued by the British officers. The other Indian solders were mere mute spectators and were uncooperative with the British commanders. When Gen. Hearsey wanted to catch him, Pandey tried to commit suicide by shooting himself to avoid punishment. It was not a fatal one and a week after his recovery, Pandey faced the trial and was sentenced to death by hanging along with one Iswari Prasad, a Jamedar who refused to obey the command of his senior officer to arrest Pandey.
In
the wake of this unexpected event caused by Sepoy Pandey, the 34th
B.N.I. Regiment was disbanded "with disgrace" on 6 May, 1857 as a
collective punishment. Reason: The regiment failed to perform their duty
in restraining a mutinous soldier and their officer. As for Sepoy Shaikh Palt, he was given promotion for his timely help in controlling a violent incident on 29th March. Later, he was murdered in barrackpore cantonment before the regiment was disbanded.
Mangal Pandey's bold action inspired countless native soldiers who revolted against the British in many parts of north India. The
contemporary British opinion denounced him as a traitor and mutineer.
But,
Pandey was a hero who, with his patriotic zeal took the cudgel against the
unjust British company. In modern India, he is still remembered for his
patriotism and his spirited protest against the British military. He
could not brook the ill treatment of Indian natives and the intimidating and arrogant attitude of the
foreign rulers. In addition, there was raising
suspicions among the soldiers that the British were intent on
converting them to Christianity. That Col. Wheeler of the 34th BNI and
his wife were distributing the Bible written in Urdu and Devanagari
among the Sepoys had caused further resentment among the native soldiers
who gave due importance to their religious freedom and faith.
Mangal Pandey’s effort didn’t go waste and the rebellion started off from Barrackpore to Meerut, Delhi, Cawnpore and Lucknow. In
the aftermath of this great rebellion initiated by Mangal Pandey, the
East India Company that had enjoyed the supremacy up to that point of
time, at last, lost that special status. The administration of the
Indian subcontinent came under the direct control of the Crown after
1858. Mangal's efforts forced the British to order the soldiers to use their own greasing over the cartridges.
In 1984, the Indian government issued a postage stamp to remember him. He was hanged to death on 8th April, 1857, ten days before the scheduled date 18th April. Jamedar Prasad was put to death on 21 April, 1857. The place where Mangal Pandey first opened fire on the British Officers and where he was later hanged is known as ‘Shaheed Mangal Pandey Maha Udyan’ now
https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/mangal-pandey-sepoy-mutiny-1857-1289927-2018-07-19
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangal_Pandey
