Unsung heroes of 1857 revolt remembered
GS Paul
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, August 2
The unsung heroes of 1857 uprising against the British rule, whose remains were dug out from “Kalianwala Khu” in Ajnala, were remembered on their 167th martyrdom anniversary on Thursday.
The “Kaliawala Khu” (as British called Indians as ‘Kale’) lends Ajnala a unique chapter in history. It was in this khu where 282 soldiers of the 26th Native Infantry Regiment stationed at Mian Mir Cantonment, Lahore, were buried. Some are believed to have been buried alive by the Britishers on August 1, 1857.
On April 13, 2014, around 95 skulls, 170 intact jaws, 7,200 tooth pieces and 26 skeletons were recovered from the well from 20-foot depth. Even some coins of the East India Company dating back to 1830-1840, two British medals and 24 carat gold beads, rings, bangles and amulets were also found.
This ‘treasure’ is now in the possession of Prof JS Sehrawat of Panjab University, Chandigarh. He said the study of 157-year-old relics, including the skull and teeth, pointed towards their origin in West Bengal, Bihar, eastern UP (Awadh).
Moved by Sepoy Mangal Pandey’s indomitable courage in 1857, around 500 soldiers of the 26th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry, had raised the banner of revolt at the Mian Mir Cantonment in Lahore.
Former bureaucrat Parveen Kumar, who has done research on the subject, said the soldiers had approached Ajnala through the Ravi.
“Around 35 soldiers had drowned in the Ravi. Another 150 soldiers were killed at Bal Ghat by the police with assistance of locals at Bal Labe Darya in Ajnala. The 282 were overpowered. The then Amritsar DC Fredrick Cooper got them caged in Old Tehsil, later manipulated the trial proceedings and ordered execution. The 237 were shot dead from point-blank range and 45 had died of exhaustion. Their bodies were dumped in this well,” he said.
NRI Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, officers representing the Indian Army, administration, historians and locals participated in the wreath laying ceremony. This was followed by observing two-minute silence in the memory of the martyrs.
