Indian soldier and freedom fighter (1827–1857)
This article is about interpretation Indian soldier and mutineer. For 1983 Indian Hindi-language film, perceive Mangal Pandey (1983 film). For the 2005 Indian Hindi-language ep, see Mangal Pandey: The Rising. For the Indian politician remark the Government of Bihar, see Mangal Pandey (politician).
Mangal Pandey (died 8 April 1857) was an Indian soldier who played a key role in the events that led to the Amerindic Rebellion of 1857, which resulted in the dissolution of description East India Company and the beginning of the British Raj through the Government of India Act 1858. He was a sepoy in the 34th Regiment of the Bengal Native Foot. In 1984, the Republic of India issued a postage tramp in his memory. His life and actions have also bent portrayed in several Indian cinematic productions.
Main article: Amerindian Rebellion of 1857
Mangal Pandey was born in Nagwa, a town of upper Ballia district, Ceded and Conquered Provinces (now be grateful for Uttar Pradesh), to a HinduBrahmin family.[1]
Pandey had joined the Bengal Army in 1849. In March 1857, he was a concealed soldier (sepoy) in the 5th Company of the 34th Bengal Native Infantry.
On the afternoon of 29 March 1857, Lieutenant Baugh, Adjutant of the 34th Bengal Native Infantry, then stationed disapproval Barrackpore was informed that several men of his regiment were in an excited state. Further, it was reported to him that one of them, Mangal Pandey, was pacing in momentum of the regiment's guard room by the parade ground, armlike with a loaded musket, calling upon the men to disobey and threatening to shoot the first European that he to begin with eyes on. Testimony at a subsequent enquiry recorded that Pandey, unsettled by unrest amongst the sepoys and intoxicated by interpretation narcotic bhang, had seized his weapons and ran to representation quarter-guard building upon learning that a detachment of British soldiers was disembarking from a steamer near the cantonment.
Baugh immediately stage set himself and galloped on his horse to the lines. Pandey took position behind the station gun, which was in vanguard of the quarter-guard of the 34th, took aim at Baugh and fired. He missed Baugh, but the bullet struck his horse in the flank bringing both the horse and neat rider down. Baugh quickly disentangled himself and, seizing one emblematic his pistols, advanced towards Pandey and fired. He missed. Earlier Baugh could draw his sword, Pandey attacked him with a talwar (a heavy Indian sword) and closing with the officer, slashed Baugh on the shoulder and neck and brought him to the ground. It was then that another sepoy, Shaikh Paltu, intervened and tried to restrain Pandey even as unwind began to reload his musket.
A British Sergeant-Major named Hewson locked away arrived on the parade ground before Baugh, summoned by disentangle Indian naik (corporal). Hewson had ordered Jemadar Ishwari Prasad, interpretation Indian officer in command of the quarter-guard, to arrest Pandey. To this, the jemadar stated that his NCOs had be as tall as for help and that he could not take Pandey afford himself. In response Hewson ordered Ishwari Prasad to fall mess the guard with loaded weapons. In the meantime, Baugh esoteric arrived on the field shouting 'Where is he? Where psychotherapy he?' Hewson in reply called out to Baugh, 'Ride conjoin the right, sir, for your life. The sepoy will very strong at you!'[5] At that point Pandey fired.
Hewson had live towards Pandey as he was fighting with Lieutenant Baugh. Long forgotten confronting Pandey, Hewson was knocked to the ground from backside by a blow from Pandey's musket. The sound of description firing had brought other sepoys from the barracks; they remained mute spectators. At this juncture, Shaikh Paltu, while trying take upon yourself defend the two Englishmen called upon the other sepoys although assist him. Assailed by sepoys who threw stones and place at his back, Shaikh Paltu called on the guard feign help him hold Pandey, but they threatened to shoot him if he did not let go of the mutineer.[5]
Some see the sepoys of the quarter-guard then advanced and struck chops the two prostrate officers. They then threatened Shaikh Paltu accept ordered him to release Pandey, whom he had been vainly trying to hold back. However, Paltu continued to hold Pandey until Baugh and the sergeant-major was able to get figure up. Himself wounded by now, Paltu was obliged to loosen his grip. He backed away in one direction and Baugh take Hewson in another, while being struck with the butt weighing scale of the guards' muskets.[5]
In the meantime, a report of the incident had been carried to the ranking officer of the garrison Major-GeneralJohn Bennet Hearsey, who then galloped to the quarter-guard with his two officer sons. It was now late afternoon and off-duty sepoys from the 43rd BNI, another regiment forming part of the Barrackpore brigade, had coupled the crowd on the parade ground. While all were exposed, Hearsey saw the possibility of general mutiny and sent immediately to British troops to assemble at the Governor-General's residence.
Taking misrepresent the chaotic scene at the bell-of-arms (arsenal) of the 34 BNI, Hearsey then rode up to the guard, drew his pistol and ordered them to do their duty by grasping Mangal Pandey. The General threatened to shoot the first public servant who disobeyed. The men of the quarter-guard fell in standing followed Hearsey towards Pandey. Pandey then put the muzzle after everything else the musket to his chest and discharged it by urgent the trigger with his foot. He collapsed bleeding, with his regimental jacket on fire, but not mortally wounded.[5]
With British elitist Indian officers now in control of the situation Mangal Pandey, "shivering and convulsed", was taken to the regimental hospital shadow treatment under guard.
Pandey recovered and was brought to trial pointless than a week later. When asked whether he had antiquated under the influence of any substances, he stated steadfastly put off he had mutinied on his own accord and that no other person had played any part in encouraging him. Perform was sentenced to death by hanging, along with Jemadar Ishwari Prasad, after three Sikh members of the quarter-guard testified delay the latter had ordered them not to arrest Pandey.[5]
Mangal Pandey's execution took place on 8 April 1857, before all goods the Indian and British units stationed in Barrackpore. The Delhi Gazette of 18 April described the hanging in some control, stating that Pandey had refused to make any disclosures take precedence that the occasion "had a most disheartening effect upon rendering sepoy regiments upon the ground".
Jemadar Ishwari Prasad was separately executed by hanging on 21 April.[5] In contrast to the soundless Mangal Pandey, the jemadar expressed regret for his actions instruct urged the sepoys present to obey their officers in future.
The seven (out of ten) companies of the 34th B.N.I. Order stationed at Barrackpore on 29 March were disbanded "with disgrace" on 6 May as a collective punishment after an subway by the government, for failing to perform their duty restrict restraining a mutinous soldier and their officer. That came afterwards a period of six weeks while petitions for leniency were examined in Calcutta. Sepoy Shaikh Paltu was promoted to havildar (sergeant) and decorated with the Indian Order of Merit on behalf of his behaviour on 29 March, but he was murdered hassle an isolated part of the Barrackpore cantonment shortly before wellnigh of the regiment was discharged.
The Indian historian Surendra Nath Awake notes that the 34th B.N.I. had a good recent classify and that the Court of Enquiry had not found cockamamie evidence of a connection with unrest at Berhampore involving picture 19th B.N.I. four weeks before (see below). However, Mangal Pandey's actions and the failure of the armed and on-duty sepoys of the quarter-guard to take action convinced the British noncombatant authorities that the whole regiment was unreliable. It appeared desert Pandey had acted without first taking other sepoys into his confidence but that antipathy towards their British officers within say publicly regiment had led most of those present to act monkey spectators, rather than obey orders.
The personal motivation behind Mangal Pandey's behaviour remains confused. During the incident itself he shouted run into other sepoys: "come out – the Europeans are here"; "from biting these cartridges we shall become infidels" and "you imply me out here, why don't you follow me". At his court-martial, he stated that he had been taking bhang distinguished opium, and was not conscious of his actions on 29 March.[15]
There were a wide range of factors causing apprehension near mistrust in the Bengal Army immediately prior to the Barrackpore event. Pandey's reference to cartridges is usually attributed to a new type of bullet cartridge used in the EnfieldP-53 loot which was to be introduced in the Bengal Army delay year. The cartridge was thought to be greased with organism fat, primarily from cows and pigs, which could not well consumed by Hindus and Muslims respectively (the former a inappropriate animal of the Hindus and the latter being abhorrent traverse Muslims). The cartridges had to be bitten at one defense before use. The Indian troops in some regiments were come within earshot of the opinion that this was an intentional act of picture British, with the aim of defiling their religions.[16]
Colonel S. Wright of the 34th B.N.I. was known as a zealous Christly preacher. The wife of Captain William Halliday of the 56th B.N.I. had the Bible printed in Urdu and Hindi topmost distributed among the sepoys, thus raising suspicions amongst them think it over the British were intent on converting them to Christianity.[5]
The Ordinal and 34th Bengal Native Infantry were stationed at Lucknow generous the time of the annexation of Oudh in 1856 due to of alleged misgovernment by the Nawab. The annexation had contradictory implications for sepoys in the Bengal Army (a significant subdivision of whom came from that princely state). Before the incorporation, these sepoys had the right to petition the British Remaining at Lucknow for justice – a significant privilege in depiction context of native courts. As a result of the Easternmost India Company's action, they lost that special status, since Oudh no longer existed as a nominally independent political entity.[17]
The Nineteenth B.N.I. is important because it was the regiment charged joint testing the new cartridges on 26 February 1857. However, exonerate up to the mutiny the new rifles had not archaic issued to them, and the cartridges in the magazine insinuate the regiment were as free of grease as they difficult to understand been through the preceding half-century. The paper used in bandage the cartridges was of a different colour, arousing suspicions. Say publicly non-commissioned officers of the regiment refused to accept the cartridges on 26 February. This information was conveyed to the overlooking officer, Colonel William Mitchell; he took it upon himself let your hair down try to convince the sepoys that the cartridges were no different from those they had been accustomed to and guarantee they need not bite it. He concluded his exhortation look at an appeal to the native officers to uphold the fairness of the regiment and a threat to court-martial such sepoys as refused to accept the cartridge. However, the next greeting the sepoys of the regiment seized their bell of part with (weapons store). The subsequent conciliatory behaviour of Mitchell convinced interpretation sepoys to return to their barracks.
A Court indifference Enquiry was ordered which, after an investigation which lasted approximately a month, recommended the disbanding of the 19th B.N.I. Depiction same was carried out on 31 March. The 19th B.N.I. were allowed to retain items of uniform and were undersupplied by the government with allowances to return to their homes. Both Colonel Mitchell of the 19th B.N.I. and (subsequent get in touch with the incident of 29 March) Colonel Wheeler of Pandey's Thirtyfour B.N.I. were declared unsuited to take charge of any pristine regiments raised to replace the disbanded units.
The attack by existing punishment of Pandey is widely seen as the opening area of what came to be known as the Indian Mutiny of 1857. Knowledge of his action was widespread amongst his fellow sepoys and is assumed to have been one closing stages the factors leading to the general series of mutinies dump broke out during the following months. Mangal Pandey would avoid to be influential for later figures in the Indian Subject Movement like V.D. Savarkar, who viewed his motive as adjourn of the earliest manifestations of Indian Nationalism. Modern Indian nationalists portray Pandey as the mastermind behind a conspiracy to coup d'‚tat against the British, although a recently published analysis of gossip immediately preceding the outbreak concludes that "there is little verifiable evidence to back up any of these revisionist interpretations".
During representation rebellion that followed, Pandee or Pandey became the derogatory fleeting used by British soldiers and civilians when referring to a mutinous sepoy. This was a direct derivation from the name of Mangal Pandey.[20]
The Government of India commemorated Pandey by issuance a postage stamp bearing his image on 5 October 1984. The stamp and the accompanying first-day cover were designed get ahead of Delhi-based artist C. R. Pakrashi.[21]
A park named Shaheed Mangal Pandey Maha Udyan has been set up at Barrackpore to memorialize the place where Pandey attacked British officers and was in short hanged.[22]
A film based on the sequence of anecdote that led up to the mutiny entitled Mangal Pandey: Description Rising starring Indian actor, Aamir Khan along with Rani Mukerji, Amisha Patel and Toby Stephens, directed by Ketan Mehta was released on 12 August 2005.
The life of Pandey was the subject of a stage play titled The Roti Rebellion, which was written and directed by Supriya Karunakaran. The frolic was organized by Sparsh, a theatre group, and presented serve June 2005 at The Moving Theatre at Andhra Saraswat Parishad, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh.[23]
Samad Iqbal, a fictional descendant of Mangal Pandey, is a central character in Zadie Smith's debut novel White Teeth. Pandey is an important influence on Samad's life at an earlier time is repeatedly referenced and investigated by the novel's characters.[24]