१८५७ का स्वातन्त्र्य समर (वीर विनायक दामोदर सावरकर - अंग्रेजों द्वारा छपने से पूर्व प्रतिबन्धित महाग्रन्थ)

THE ERUPTION
sentiments ! What, then, must be the power of the martyr
over those who believed in him when he was before them
in flesh and blood, ready to undergo martyrdom ? It is
no wonder that a divine love for him inspired all those
who saw Mangal Panday. Not even a low-class man
could be found in the whole of Barrackpore to act as
executioner ! At last four hangmen had to be brought
from Calcutta to do the dirty work ! Mangal Panday
was carried to the scaffold on the morning of the 8th,
surrounded by soldiers. He walked with a steady step
through the ranks and ascended the scaffold. While he
repeated once more that he will never give out the names
of any of the conspirators, the noose dropped and the
glorious soul of Mangal Panday left the body and went
to Heaven !
This was the first skirmish of the Revolutionary War,
and so died the first martyr. We always ought to remem-
ber with pride in our heart the name of Mangal Panday,
whose blood was the source of the river of martyrdom !
The seed of freedom that had been sown for the three
years and more, was first watered with hot blood from the
body of Mangal Panday ! When the time comes to get
its crop, let us not forget who first boldly came forward to
nourish it !
Mangal Panday is gone, but his spirit has spread all
over Hindusthan ; and the principle for which he fought
has become immortal ! He gave not only his blood but
his sacred name also to the Revolution ! It has become
a nickname for all those who fought for religion and
country in the war of 1857 whom friends and foes alike
called by the appellation of “Panday.”² Let every mother
teach her son the story of this hero with pride.
2. “ The name has become a recognised distinction for the
rebellious Sepoys throughout India.”—Charles Ball.
“ This name was the origin of the Sepoys generally being called
Pandays ”—Lord Roberts’s Forty-one years in India.
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