The First Martyr of the Freedom Struggle : Mangal Pandey

     The First Martyr of the Freedom Struggle : Mangal Pandey

March 29, 1857 was the great day on which the beloved son of Bharat Mata made the first attempt to free his mother from the shackles of slavery. The great grandson of India, the revolutionary freedom fighter Mangal Pandey was the first to shoot at the British. Then the spark of such a bullet became a flame and fell on the British. Mangal Pandey performed this great deed and became immortal. They knew what would happen if they did. But not worrying about the outcome, the pain of the weight of the shackles of slavery forced them to do so. By shooting at his British officer, he made his name in golden words in the history of India's Independence. He was a simple Brahmin and not a great leader or Paramvir yodha. He was a mediocre British soldier, but Indian blood was flowing in his nerves. Hearing this cry for blood, he become a victim of freedom.

In 1857, while the country was in the grip of slavery, Nana Sahib had worked hard to instill patriotism in the hearts of the Indian soldiers. This flame ignited the flames and incited the patriot to revolt. March 31, 1857 was fixed. To blow the trumpet of rebellion against the British. But for some reason, Mangal Pandey shot dead a British officer on March 29, marking the auspicious beginning of the Yogya of this great revolutionary. Many say that Mangal Pandey made a big mistake by firing and therefore the revolution of 1857 failed. Apparently, he did not do it on purpose, when the situation became so intolerable that he was forced to shoot. This revolution started from Kolkata. It was rumored among the which the British gave to the soldiers and which they cut open with their teeth, contained pork and beef fat. what happened next? The rumor sparked outrage among soldiers of both Hindu and Muslim faiths. These soldiers were incensed by the spirit of rebellion against the British. He vowed to give his life but would never tolerate the humiliation of the country and religion. news of the revolt also reached the British. He decided to suppress the rebellion. A white platoon was called from Burma and they decided to disband the same platoon number nineteen. One of the soldiers of this platoon was ' Mangal Pandey'. With this decision, a river of fire rose in their hearts. He felt that March 31 was a long way off. If they waited until that day, the British would by doomed. Mangal Pandey wanted the trumpet of revolt to be blown now. But his colleagues refused to support him. 

                                                       

It was about 10 O' clock on March 29, 1857. Mangal Pandey stood on the ground with his loaded gun. Soldiers are parading there. Roaring like a lion, he said to his companions, ' Sitting still will not bring you freedom! The country and religion are calling you. Listen to her cry. Get up, support me so we can drive the Firangis out!' No one supported him. He roared like a lion. Then Major Hewson came over. As soon as Mangal Pandey's words reached his ears, he ordered the soldiers to take him prisoner. But no soldier moved. Hewson words were then answered by Mangal Pandey's gun. A shot was fired from the gun and Hewson fell to the ground. Seeing Hewson fall, another British officer, ' Lieutenant Bagh', came on horseback. Mangal Pandey also targeted him with his gun. When Mangal Pandey started firing again in his gun, Bagh fired at him with his pistol but luckily, the target got tired,. Mangal Pandey killed him with a sword. After that, the third one also collapsed. The bodies of three white women were lying on the parade ground and Mangal Pandey, mother India was roaring red. colonel wheeler then arrived, but the soldiers refused to obey his orders. Mangal Pandey saw white soldiers all around him and realized that he would be arrested but he did not want to fall into the hands of the British while he was alive. He shot himself in the chest but was unlucky. He fell to the ground but did not die! He was rushed to a hospital where he recovered. He was tried in a military court and sentenced to death and was hanged on 8 April 1857. When the day came for his execution, the executioners of Barrack Pore flatly refused to hang that great grandson. This surprised the British government. Four executioners were summoned from Kolkata. He was not even allowed to know who he was hanging and what his crime was, meaning that information about those executioners. 

Thus the first revolutionary of the was of independence was hanged. But even after his martyrdom, he is still alive in the hearts of his countrymen. He is immortal even after death.