Who was India's first freedom fighter?

India's first freedom fighter !

Who was India's first freedom fighter ?

2 answers !

The real answer was: Who was India's first freedom fighter? Who is India's first freedom fighter depends on what rebellion / struggle you are calling India's freedom struggle. I am writing about two people. In 1857, the British East India Company introduced the first type of rifle in India called Enfield. A special type of cartridge was used in this rifle. In order for this cartridge to work properly, it was necessary to use a kind of lubricant.

[1853 Enfield type rifle | Image source]

A special lubricant was used with these cartridges. This gun used ball type cartridges. The gun had to be loaded with bullets from the cartridge. As many rounds as you can with these teeth. In the British Empire, a mixture of fat and oils from cattle, pigs and other animals was used as a lubricant in various factories. Here also a mixture of beef and pork fat is used in the cartridges. This is the danger.
Most of the soldiers in the company's army were Hindus or Muslims. Cows were very sacred to Hindus and pigs were strictly forbidden to Muslims. There is no reason to think that pigs were popular with Hindus at that time!
This dealt a severe blow to the religion of the Indian army. Hindus and Muslims were all angry. Sepai Mangal Pandey in the company of the first Barrackpore cantonment disobeyed the order of the superior directly when he was ordered to cut a fat mixed cartridge with his teeth. Under his leadership, some sepoys declared rebellion

[Stamps printed by the Government of India to commemorate the role of Mars Pandey Image source]

The struggle that started in India at the hands of Mangal Pandey turned into an anti-British struggle in a wide area of ​​India. Leaders like Tantiya Topi, Nanasaheb, Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi went to war against the British in a fierce struggle. Although the British won the war till the end, it ended the Company's rule in India. And in 1857-58 the rule of India was snatched from the Company and handed over to the British Parliament. Queen Victoria holds the title of Empress of India.
The incident of this cartridge is actually just an occasion. For a long time, people were disgusted to be treated as second-class citizens in their own country, to be oppressed by the British. People were also upset and angry at the forcible conversion of Hindu-Muslim-Adivasis to Christianity and the abduction of native kings as a ploy. That anger manifested itself in the hands of the sepoy-rebellion.
Many historians object to calling this revolt a freedom struggle and I find enough substance in it. But this anti-British struggle is undoubtedly one of the most important events in the history of the Indian subcontinent. If the Sepoy Rebellion is regarded as a freedom struggle, then Mars Pandey is India's first freedom fighter. What was clearly a freedom movement can be divided into two streams - armed and other movements.
The trend of peaceful movement can also be divided into several parts. Extremist, moderate, moderate, etc. These movements are not man-made. Different people, organizations played an important role in the formation of this movement. None of them can be credited. However, in order to drive the British out of the country, a man first consciously took up arms. He was India's first armed freedom fighter. [1] Her name is Basudev Balvant Pharke.

[Image source]

In Maharashtra, a severe famine resulted from the British government's policy of exploitation and oppression. And the British government adopted blindness as its only policy. Lots of people die of disease and starvation. However, the British government does not give any shortcomings in the collection of rent. Forcible collection of rent continues. Some wealthy merchants sided with the British in their own interests, and even in the midst of a severe famine, they locked up warehouses to sell food grains at Basudev became very angry and devoted himself to the cause of building a British free India. He himself learned to wield a sword, ride a horse, and wield a gun. The local Koli, Veel and Dhangar tribes formed a revolutionary party of 300 people. [2][3]

The group looted various warehouses and distributed food grains to the famine-stricken people. [4] prices.

The various rents and savings centers of the British government were also attacked by this group. He looted millions of rupees and used it to serve famine-stricken people. [5]

He liberated the city of Pune from British rule for a few days. And for this incident, and because of the constant looting, his name became infamous in London as well. [6]

The British rulers called him a "robber" and made repeated attempts to apprehend him, but Major Henry Daniel of the British Army and Superintendent of Police Abdul Haq of the Nizam of Hyderabad in India's most reliable tent in India were unable to apprehend him despite many attempts. [7]

He hid in the woods from village to village to prevent being caught. [8]

The British government set a price of Rs 1 lakh on his head to catch him. He set the counter-bomb on the head of the governor at Rs 1 lakh. Rewards for killing a European. [9]

He is not only famous for looting. He established the Pune Native Institution in Pune in 180, which was later transformed into the Maharashtra Shiksha Sangstha. [10] .

He also set up a school to increase the education of boys in the country. He set up the "Oikyavardhini Sabha" to promote harmony among the Indian youth. A villager reported the incident to the British police, who arrested him on July 20, 189, after a duel. [11]

He was tried in Pune. And as no evidence was gathered against him, the British administration sentenced him to life imprisonment by showing his own diary as evidence. Realizing that it was not safe to keep him in the country, the administration transferred him (to present-day Yemen) to a prison in the city of Aden. It is said that on February 13, 183, he broke down the prison door empty-handed and escaped. But he was soon caught. [12]

He died of a hunger strike on February 17. [13] Several incidents in the famous novel "Ananda Math" by the literary emperor Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay are inspired by the life of Basudev Balwant Pharak. Due to the objections of the British administration, he reduced the events inspired by Farak's life by changing the events to prevent the book from being banned in the next 5 editions. 11

This great man first embarked on a direct armed struggle against the foreign British rulers and he existed as an inspiration to many people. Today he is immortal because of his fame.

[The bust of the fork in Mumbai | Image source]

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