Ajnala find: Panjab University researcher to trace kin of 246 soldiers

Naina Mishra

Chandigarh, April 29

A Panjab University researcher from the Department of Anthropology is now trying to trace the families of 246 soldiers of the 26th Native Bengal Infantry Battalion so that their last rites can be performed. For this, the British High Commissioner, New Delhi, and London History Museum will provide the names and addresses of martyrs, killed near Ajnala.

Will match their DNA

Blood samples of kin will be taken and the DNA will be matched with skeletal remains. Every martyr deserves to be honoured. Prof JS Sehrawat, Department of Anthropology, PU

Prof JS Sehrawat from Department of Anthropology said: “Their families will be traced by taking blood samples of families of the freedom fighters residing in the respective villages mentioned on the list. Then the DNA will be matched with the skeletal remains. Every martyr deserves to be honoured.”

The researchers are also trying to ascertain the manner of killing of these martyrs. As per the preliminary MRI findings of their skulls, it has been learnt they were shot with wooden bullet at point-blank range.

“The way the skeletons were found lying, it can be inferred they were dumped from a height and were killed while their hands were tied. They were shot in the head with wooden bullet,” said Professor Sehrawat.

An obscure textbook authored by a civil servant of the British East India Company and Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar in 1857 mentioned a mass burial site in an abandoned well lying underneath a religious structure at Ajnala (Amritsar). It documented the capture, imprisonment, and eventual killings of 282 Indian soldiers of the 26th Native Bengal Infantry Battalion of the British Indian army.

The written accounts mention the battalion stationed at Mian-Meer cantonment had soldiers only from Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh (eastern), and some northeastern states. After killing some British officers, the mutineer soldiers fled from the cantonment, although 282 were captured near Ajnala and killed. Their bodies were dumped in the nearby disused well.

In February 2014, 157 years after the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, some local amateur archaeologists and curiosity seekers took it upon themselves to unearth the reported remains. They did not employ any scientific excavation technique for their exhumation from the well sediments, and in the process, the brittle skeletal remains were severely damaged, fragmented, and commingled.

The manner in which the skeletal remains were handed over by the local amateur archaeologists to the scientists had hampered the identification of their whereabouts to a large extent, said Sherawat.

He added the nature of Ajnala skeletal remains, the haphazard and diverse positioning of the skeletons in soil sediments, and non-scientific excavation had complicated their identification.

The government authorities’ delayed intervention leading to loss of forensic evidence of utmost national importance. “Only teeth, jaw fragments, vertebrae, phalanges, skulls, femurs, clavicles, and hand and foot bones were retrieved among the skeletal debris. The preliminary analyses supported the remains belong to the mid-19th century as they are all adult men with good dental hygiene, indicating their military affiliations,” the study reported.

Sehrawat cited the number of people as 246 based on dental counts, which is very close to the figure of 282 claimed in the written accounts. The stable isotope and mtDNA analyses are consistent with the historical evidence, stating the battalion comprised men from Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, and eastern parts of Uttar Pradesh.

“The current research can uncover the hidden aspects of the struggle of the unknown martyrs against the colonial yoke. If reviewed in light of the findings of this study, the historical data and literature will further corroborate the incidence of this massacre and add another chapter in the annals of Indian history dedicated to the unsung heroes of India’s first freedom struggle,” said Sehrawat.

What hampered identification

• Handling of skeletal remains of Indian soldiers of the British Indian army by amateur archaeologists hampered identification of their whereabouts
• Preliminary analyses suggest remains of adult men belonged to mid-19th century with good dental hygiene, indicating their military affiliations
• Efforts are on to ascertain the manner of killing. MRI findings of skulls suggest they were shot with wooden bullet at point-blank range