Mangal Pandey, Indian soldier whose attack on British officers on March 29, 1857, was the first major incident of what came to be known as the Sepoy, Mutiny
Mangal Pandey , born in a Brahmin family, was an Indian soldier who played a key part in the events immediately preceding the outbreak of the Indian rebellion of 1857. He was a sepoy (infantryman) in the 34th Bengal Native Infantry regiment of the British East India Company. In 1984, the Indian government issued a postage stamp to remember him. His life and actions have also been portrayed in several cinematic productions. Mangal Pandey was born in Nagwa, a village of upper Ballia district, Ceded and Conquered Provinces (now in Uttar Pradesh).

Mangal Pandey had joined the Bengal Army in 1849. In March 1857, he was a private soldier in the 5th Company of the 34th Bengal Native Infantry. The reason is usually attributed to the British introducing a new type of Enfield rifle that required soldiers to bite off the ends of the cartridge to load the gun. The rumour was that the lubricant being used in the cartridge was either cow or pig lard. The Hindus who consider the cow holy were appalled, while Muslims, consider the pig unholy and hence were furious with its use in the cartridge.

Eminent historian Surendranth Sen in his famous book had written about how the uprising of 1857 was a result of disconent among the masses against anti-people policies and how people like Nana Saheb, Rani Laxmibai, Tatya Tope and Mangal Pandey were in the forefront of rebellion against the British Raj.