Mangal Pandey was an Indian soldier who played a key part in the Indian rebellion of 1857. He was a sepoy in the Sepoy Mutiny who rebelled against British control and led the revolt.

Birth: He was a progressive and ambitious young man who was born in the Ballia district on July 19, 1827. He came from a wealthy landowners high-caste Brahman family with deep Hindu values.

Adult Life: According to some historians, Pandey joined the British East India Company’s service in 1849 after being recruited by a brigade. As a soldier, he joined the 6th Company of the 34th Bengal Native Infantry, which featured many Brahmans (sepoy). Pandey was a driven man who regarded his profession as a sepoy as a stepping stone to bigger and better things.

The Revolt of 1857: Mangal Pandey was a devoted and obedient soldier. During his time, Britishers, mainly the Sepoys, exploited Indians. A new Enfield rifle was brought into India in the mid-1850s, when Pandey was stationed at the Barrackpore garrison, allowing soldiers to load the weapon by chewing off the ends of greased cartridges. The lube used was believed to be either cow or pig grease. The sepoys began to assume that the British had purposefully smeared grease on the cartridges.
The events of March 29, 1857, have been described in numerous ways. Pandey became a rebel after attempting to incite his fellow sepoys to revolt against their British officers.

Mangal Pandey addressed the soldiers on March 29, 1857, “Yeh Azaadi Ki Ladai Hai … Ghuzre Hue Kal Se Azaadi … Aane Waale Kal ke Liye ” and they began to rebel against the British officers. The Great Bengal Mutiny of 1857 is another name for this revolt.