Why did Mangal Pandey joined British Government?

Hello! Greetings from me to all my readers, I hope you are all healthy and happy. Today from our Indian history, we are going to get information about Mangal Pandey who was such a Freedom Fighter:

• who sacrificed his life for the country.
• who did not hesitate at all to shoot the British officer.
• the British authorities were swayed by his revolution.
• one among India's first independent soldier.

So let us begin the article about Mangal Pandey whose name is written in golden letters in Indian History.

Mangal Pandey

Who was Mangal Pandey ?

Mangal Pandey was born on 19 July 1827 in Nagwa village of Ballia district of Uttar Pradesh. His father's name was Diwakar Pandey and mother's name was Abhay Rani. Being from a Brahmin family, he had great respect for religion. He was a wrestler since childhood.

Mangal Pandey was one among the first freedom fighters of India who was the first soldier to spread the spark of freedom in the hearts of the Indian people to free India from the slavery of the British. He rebelled against the British to liberate the country without caring about his life.

The British East India Company considered Mangal Pandey a rebel but Indians consider Mangal Pandey a hero of the freedom struggle.

Why did Mangal Pandey joined British Government?

By 1857, the whole of India had come under the control of the British. So the British started doing their own thing in India. The British had started imposing taxes on all the goods.

The British could not see a poor man cultivating his own land, so even the cultivators began to be taxed. The people of India were tired of paying taxes to the British. Thinking so, the British government levied taxes on all the goods. He started working with the British East India Company, believing that he would join the British Army. At that time he was 22 years old.

Why the fire of rebellion spread all over India ?

The British East India Company gave the soldiers a new type of rifle to use. The rifle was used in a different way. If a bullet is to be inserted into a rifle, earlier it was used by opening the bullet from the mouth and inserting it into the rifle.

People believed that the bullets used in rifles were made from cow and pig fat. Cows are considered sacred in Hinduism, while pigs are considered sacred by Muslims. Both Hindus and Muslims were working in the British Army.

Mangal Pandey, coming from a Brahmin family, had great respect for his religion. Gradually the fire of rebellion spread all over India

For what reason did the British hate Hindus and Muslims?

There was a lot of discussion among the soldiers about the bullet made of fat, that the British had corrupted our religion. Because of fat, Hindus and Muslims were very angry with the British government, but no one dared to speak.

Mangal Pandey himself was a Brahmin and the British government makes them do this. At that time people did not tolerate injustice towards religion. Mangal Pandey got very angry as if he had been enslaved by the British all these years and his anger had burst out all at once.

People outrage

Mangal Pandey, along with many soldiers, involved them to revolt against the British. Taking the soldiers with him, he went to Lieutenant Martin Baugh, the officer of the regiment, with planning. On reaching there, he challenged him.

Why Mangal Pandey was given death sentence?

On March 29, 1857, at one o'clock in the afternoon, Mangal Pandey challenged the officer Lieutenant Martin Baugh. British pet soldiers already informed Lt. Martin Baugh about Mangal Pandey coming to mutiny. Hearing Mangal Pandey's speech, the officer came out as Lt. Martin Baugh, at the same time Mangal Pandey, red with anger, shot the officer Lt. Martin Baugh with his gun.

Mangal Pandey

Officer Lt. Martin Baugh was not shot but fell from his horse. At that time, Mangal Pandey took a sword from a soldier standing by and ran after Lt. Baugh and grabbed him by the collar and made his condition worse. He soon freed himself from Mangal Pandey's hold and ordered the soldiers to arrest Mangal Pandey, but he alone was too heavy against ten to fall in anyone's hands.

So Lt. Baugh called Major Ishur to take some more troops with him. Because Mangal Pandey had already started the rebellion and no one seemed to be able to control it. Major Ishur arrived there with the troops and found Mangal Pandey and his colleagues in the field spreading the fire of mutiny.

Major Ishur ordered the platoon of soldiers who came with him to arrest Mangal Pandey. British troops were more, Mangal Pandey's allies were less and Mangal Pandey was also in no condition to face the British troops. So he easily got arrested.

Mangal Pandey was given the death penalty ten days ago for what?

The British government arrested Mangal Pandey for sedition and ordered his immediate execution. The British were afraid of the anger in Mangal Pandey's eyes, a kind of outrage and the fire of rebellion among the people.

If Mangal Pandey was given a moderate punishment as a strong warrior, this man was more likely to rebel again against the British. Therefore they decided to hang him on 18 April 1857.

On 29 March 1857, he rebelled against the British and announced that he would be hanged on 18 April 1857. Afraid of Mangal Pandey's rebellion, the British had sentenced Mangal Pandey to death ten days earlier which was 8 April.

What caused after the news of Mangal Pandey's death penalty?

Mangal Pandey was hanged in public in front of people. A Brahmin was killed in public, and people were furiously outraged. People started raising slogans against the British and gradually the fire of rebellion spread all over India. From that day the rule of the British started to shake.

The British East India Company considered Mangal Pandey a rebel but Indians consider Mangal Pandey a hero of the freedom struggle. The place where Mangal Pandey was executed is known as 'Shaheed Mangal Pandey Maha Udhan'. Government of India issued postage stamps in the name of Mangal Pandey on 5th October 1984.

Conclusion:

In this article we have seen many struggles in the life of Mangal Pandey. The rebellions they committed, the punishments meted out to them and many other things. Here I would like to conclude my article.

So dear readers, how did you liked this article ? What did you learned from this article? What more points can be added to this article? What are your thoughts on Mangal Pandey? do share your views in the comment section.

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We will meet in another article with another new Freedom Fighter from Indian History, until then stay healthy, be happy and keep reading our articles.