Sahil Gupta

The news of the dismissal of 19 Regiment sepoys reached to all the garrisons and cantonments of the company army including Meerut where 34 Infantry Regiment of Mangal Pandey was now stationed. The British did not want to keep it a secret. Infact they wanted it known to all native sepoys as a warning against

The drill officer had to report the matter to the Commanding Officer of Bahrampur, Michael, who was a strict disciplinarian. To add to it he was a racial bigot who believed in the white superiority. He looked down upon Indians and everything connected to them. He talked to Indian subordinates in a manner of a

The country side had turned into a pressure cooker of anger and anytime it could explode. The rumour of cow and pig fat in the cartridge caps had spread through all the army garrisons and cantonments. The sepoys were extremely agitated over it. Their minds had become tinder boxes.Then, Major Mathews of Barrackpore garrison received

One month later, 34 Infantry battalion had settled down in Meerut contonment. Meerut garrison was the seat of Company’s Military Adjutant General. Major General J.B. Hearsy was its Commanding Officer. Both the generals were unsympathetic to the sentiments of the native sepoys.Colonel Douglus was an intelligent officer and he understood the feelings of the natives

Upon return to the Barrackpore cantonment Mangal learnt that his unit was likely to be moved to Meerut cantonment situated near Delhi.The British had got some wind of the impending trouble but they were not unduly worried. They had seen and dealt with many mutinities and rebellions effectively. The most of them were quickly crushed

When Mangal Pandey went home a couple of years before the uprising D. Day he sensed the anti-British atmosphere building up in the country side and the towns. It made him feel uneasy. No one had a good word for the British except a few educated elite who appreciated the reform measures and the opening

Robert Clive, the founder of the East India Company rule in India had been called back. He was made to appear before a parliamentary committee to answer the corruption charges against him. Robert Clive brazenly stated that he had done nothing wrong. What he amassed was forced upon him. If he wished he could have

Lalchand infact was the Drill Havildar. The recruitment incharge Sergeant, a white officer indeed had Lalchand in his good books. The Havildar’s words counted for something which became apparent when the officer paid special attention to Mangal Pandey.Young Mangal was his own recommendation. He had a fair complexion which made the white people feel psychologically

The kid Mangal continued growing up in his dusty village of Ballia. What the old wise man had said on that day on the hillock became more and more meaningful as he gained greater understanding as, he went on maturing into his teens. Meanwhile East India Company (Company Bahadur) was implementing its policies with greater

Sometime around 1845…Columns of red uniformed sepoys were marching on a dusty road of eastern U.P. The columns were headed and flanked by horse mounted white skinned superiors. Their posturing exuded masterly vanity. Although they also wore red liveries yet the material used was of expensive variety compared to that of sepoys. The sepoys were