Mangal Pandey death anniversary: How 1857 Sepoy Mutiny started by soldier led to Queen's Proclamation ending East India Company rule

Mangal Pandey was an Indian soldier in the British army and is believed to be one of the key figures behind Sepoy Mutiny or India’s First War of Independence in 1857. Due to his attack on two British soldiers, Mangal Pandey was hanged to death on April 8, 1857, at the age of 29. [caption id=“attachment_8239671” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Wikimedia Commons[/caption] Born in Uttar Pradesh on July 19, 1827, Mangal Pandey joined the British East India Company in 1849 and is said to have started a rebellion while posted in Barrackpore. The reason is usually attributed to the British introducing a new type of Enfield rifle that required soldiers to bite off the ends of the cartridge to load the gun. The rumour was that the lubricant being used in the cartridge was either cow or pig lard. The Hindus who consider the cow holy were appalled, while Muslims, consider the pig unholy and hence were furious with its use in the cartridge. Eminent historian Surendranth Sen in his famous book Eighteen Fifty Seven had written about how the uprising of 1857 was a result of disconent among the masses against anti-people policies and how people like Nana Saheb, Rani Laxmibai, Tatya Tope and Mangal Pandey were in the forefront of rebellion against the British Raj. Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy paid tributes to Mangal Panday and said that he played a key role in the 1857 revolt against the British rule. The Congress tweeted commemorating the death anniversary of the freedom fighter. “He spearheaded the ‘sepoy mutiny’ in Barrackpore which intensified the feelings of anger and frustration among Indian sepoys eventually leading to the war,” the party wrote.