Mangal Pandey
| Mangal Pandey | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
19 July 1827 Nagwa, Ballia district, Ceded and Conquered Provinces, India |
| Died | 8 April 1857 (aged 29) Barrackpore, Calcutta, Bengal Province, British India |
| Occupation | Sepoy (soldier) in the 34th Bengal Native Infantry (BNI) regiment of the British East India Company |
| Known for | Mutineer / Indian independence fighter |
Mangal Pandey was an Indian soldier who played a key part in events immediately preceding the outbreak of the Indian rebellion of 1857. He was a sepoy (sipahi) in the 34th Bengal Native Infantry (BNI) regiment of the British East India Company. While contemporary British opinion considered him a traitor and mutineer, Pandey is widely regarded as a hero in modern India. In 1984, the Indian government issued a postage stamp to commemorate him. His life and actions have also been portrayed in several cinematic productions.
Mangal Pandey was born on 19 July 1827 in a Brahmin family in Nagwa, a village of upper Ballia district, Ceded and Conquered Provinces (now in Uttar Pradesh). He had joined the East India Company's army in 1849. Pandey was a soldier in the 6th Company of the 34th Bengal Native Infantry and is primarily known for his involvement in an attack on several of the regiment's officers. This incident marked an opening stage in the Indian rebellion of 1857, and paved the way for his death.
At Barrackpore on the afternoon of 29 March 1857, Lieutenant Baugh, Adjutant of the 34th Bengal Native Infantry (BNI), 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 front of the regiment's guard room by the parade ground, armed with a loaded musket, calling upon the men to rebel and threatening to shoot the first European that he set eyes on. Baugh immediately buckled on his sword, placed loaded pistols in his holsters, mounted his horse, and galloped to the lines. Pandey took position behind the station gun, which was in front 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, and horse and rider were brought down. Baugh quickly disentangled himself and, seizing one of his pistols, advanced towards Pandey and fired. He missed. Before Baugh could draw his sword, Pandey attacked him with a talwar (a heavy Indian sword) and closing with the adjutant, 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 he tried to reload his musket.
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Wikipedia