July 19 is observed as birth anniversary of one of the greatest Indian soldiers, Mangal Pandey. Born in 1827, he was the sepoy in the Bengal Native Infantry's 34th Regiment of the British East India Company.
He was a brave and courageous warrior of India who stood against injustice. He spearheaded the Revolt of 1857, which is also known as the first war of Indian Independence.
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Pandey revolted as the East India Company introduced a new weapon Enfield rifled musket for its troops. These rifled had cartridges, with annimal fat and many India soldiers doubted that it was made of beef which is holy animal for Hindu.
He was posted at Barrackpore in the mid-1850s. he was the first soldier who revolted against it and stood against Britishers. Solidiers were supposed to bite these cartridges before using it. So many soldiers started using these cartridges which were made of beef.
It started a massive revolt against the British colonial rulers and spreaded across various part of the country. Even common citizens opposed the harsh anti-Indian laws imposed by the Britishers. The hit of the revolt was such that the British army was forced to introduce new rules through passage of the Government of India Act 1858.
After that India was administered directly by the British government till India gained complete Independence in 1947.
