Mangal Pandey
(died 8 April 1857) was an Indian soldier who played a key role in the events
that led to the Indian Rebellion of 1857, which resulted in the dissolution of
the 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 Infantry. In 1984, the Republic of India issued a postage stamp in his
memory. His life and actions have also been portrayed in several Indian
cinematic productions.
Early life –
Mangal Pandey was born
into a Brahmin family from Nagwa, a village of upper Ballia district, Ceded and
Conquered Provinces (now in Uttar Pradesh) . Pandey had joined the Bengal Army
in 1849. In March 1857, he was a private soldier (sepoy) in the 5th Company of
the 34th Bengal Native Infantry.
Mutiny –
On the afternoon of 29
March 1857, Lieutenant Baugh, Adjutant of the 34th Bengal Native
Infantry, then stationed at 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 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. Testimony at a
subsequent enquiry recorded that Pandey, unsettled by unrest amongst the sepoys
and intoxicated by the narcotic bhang, had seized his weapons and ran to the
quarter guard building upon learning that a detachment of British soldiers was
disembarking from a steamer near the cantonment.
Baugh immediately armed
himself and galloped on his horse 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
bringing both the horse and its rider 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 began to reload his
musket.
A British Sergeant-Major
named Hewson had arrived on the parade ground before Baugh, summoned by an
Indian naik (corporal). Hewson had ordered Jemadar Ishwari Prasad, the Indian
officer in command of the quarter-guard, to arrest Pandey. To this, the jemadar
stated that his NCOs had gone for help and that he could not take Pandey by
himself. In response Hewson ordered Ishwari Prasad to fall in the guard with
loaded weapons. In the meantime, Baugh had arrived on the field shouting 'Where
is he? Where is he?' Hewson in reply called out to Baugh, 'Ride to the right,
sir, for your life. The sepoy will fire at you! At that point Pandey fired.
Hewson had charged
towards Pandey as he was fighting with Lieutenant Baugh. While confronting
Pandey, Hewson was knocked to the ground from behind by a blow from Pandey's
musket. The sound of the firing had brought other sepoys from the barracks;
they remained mute spectators. At this juncture, Shaikh Paltu, while trying to
defend the two Englishmen called upon the other sepoys to assist him. Assailed
by sepoys who threw stones and shoes at his back, Shaikh Paltu called on the guard
to help him hold Pandey, but they threatened to shoot him if he did not let go
of the mutineer.
Some of the sepoys of the
quarter-guard then advanced and struck at the two prostrate officers. They then
threatened Shaikh Paltu and 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 up. Himself wounded by now, Paltu was
obliged to loosen his grip. He backed away in one direction and Baugh and
Hewson in another, while being struck with the butt ends of the guards'
muskets.
Intervention of General
Hearsey –
In the meantime, a report
of the incident had been carried to the commanding officer of the garrison
Major-General John 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 joined
the crowd on the parade ground. While all were unarmed, Hearsey saw the
possibility of general mutiny and sent orders to British troops to assemble at the
Governor-General's residence.
Taking in the chaotic
scene at the bell-of-arms (arsenal) of the 34th BNI, Hearsey then rode up to
the guard, drew his pistol and ordered them to do their duty by seizing Mangal
Pandey. The General threatened to shoot the first man who disobeyed. The men of
the quarter-guard fell in and followed Hearsey towards Pandey. Pandey then put
the muzzle of the musket to his chest and discharged it by pressing the trigger
with his foot. He collapsed bleeding, with his regimental jacket on fire, but
not mortally wounded.
With British and Indian
officers now in control of the situation Mangal Pandey, "shivering and
convulsed", was taken to the regimental hospital for treatment under
guard.
Execution –
Pandey recovered and was
brought to trial less than a week later. When asked whether he had been under
the influence of any substances, he stated steadfastly that he had mutinied on
his own accord and that no other person had played any part in encouraging him.
He was sentenced to death by hanging, along with Jemadar Ishwari Prasad, after
three Sikh members of the quarter-guard testified that the latter had ordered
them not to arrest Pandey.
Mangal Pandey's execution
took place on 8 April before all of the Indian and British units stationed in
Barrackpore. The Delhi Gazette of 18 April described the hanging in some
detail, stating that Pandey had refused to make any disclosures and that the
occasion "had a most disheartening effect upon the sepoy regiments upon
the ground".
Jemadar Ishwari Prasad
was separately executed by hanging on 21 April. In contrast to the silent
Mangal Pandey, the jemadar expressed regret for his actions and urged the
sepoys present to obey their officers in future.
Aftermath –
The seven (out of ten)
companies of the 34th B.N.I. Regiment stationed at Barrackpore on 29 March were
disbanded "with disgrace" on 6 May as a collective punishment after
an investigation by the government: for failing to perform their duty in
restraining a mutinous soldier and in assisting their officers. That came after
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 for his behaviour on 29 March, but he was murdered in an
isolated part of the Barrackpore cantonment shortly before most of the regiment
was discharged.
The Indian historian
Surendra Nath Sen notes that the 34th B.N.I. had a good recent record and that
the Court of Enquiry had not found any evidence of a connection with unrest at
Berhampore involving the 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 military
authorities that the whole regiment was unreliable. It appeared that Pandey had
acted without first taking other sepoys into his confidence but that antipathy
towards their British officers within the regiment had led most of those
present to act as spectators, rather than obey orders.
Motives –
The personal motivation
behind Mangal Pandey's behaviour remains confused. During the incident itself
he shouted to other sepoys: "come out — the Europeans are here";
"from biting these cartridges we shall become infidels" and "you
sent me out here, why don't you follow me". At his court-martial, he
stated that he had been taking bhang and opium, and was not conscious of his
actions on 29 March.
There were a wide range
of factors causing apprehension and 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 Enfield P- 53 rifle which
was to be introduced in the Bengal Army that year. The cartridge was thought to
be greased with animal fat, primarily from cows and pigs, which could not be
consumed by Hindus and Muslims respectively (the former a holy animal of the
Hindus and the latter being abhorrent to Muslims). The cartridges had to be
bitten at one end before use. The Indian troops in some regiments were of the
opinion that this was an intentional act of the British, with the aim of
defiling their religions.
Colonel S. Wheeler of the
34th B.N.I. was known as a zealous Christian preacher. The wife of Captain
William Halliday of the 56th B.N.I. had the Bible printed in Urdu and Hindi and
distributed among the sepoys, thus raising suspicions amongst them that the
British were intent on converting them to Christianity.
The 19th and 34th Bengal
Native Infantry were stationed at Lucknow during the time of the annexation of
Oudh in 1856 because of alleged misgovernment by the Nawab. The annexation had
negative implications for sepoys in the Bengal Army (a significant portion of
whom came from that princely state). Before the annexation, these sepoys had
the right to petition the British Resident at Lucknow for justice — a
significant privilege in the context of native courts. As a result of the East
India Company's action, they lost that special status, since Oudh no longer
existed as a nominally independent political entity.
The 19th B.N.I. is important because it was the regiment charged with testing the new cartridges on 26 February 1857. However, right up to the mutiny the new rifles had not been issued to them, and the cartridges in the magazine of the regiment were as free of grease as they had been through the preceding half-century. The paper used in wrapping the cartridges was of a different colour, arousing suspicions. The non-commissioned officers of the regiment refused to accept the cartridges on 26 February. This information was conveyed to the commanding officer, Colonel William Mitchell; he took it upon himself to try to convince the sepoys that the cartridges were no different from those they had been accustomed to and that they need not bite it. He concluded his exhortation with an appeal to the native officers to uphold the honour of the regiment and a threat to court-martial such sepoys as refused to accept the cartridge. However, the next morning the sepoys of the regiment seized their bell of arms (weapons store). The subsequent conciliatory behaviour of Mitchell convinced the sepoys to return to their barracks.
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