Genetic traces of Indian soldiers killed in 1857 found

The latest DNA-based evidence has confirmed that human remains dumped in a well in the town of Ajnala in Amritsar district in Indian Punjab are those of 246 young Indian soldiers who were brutally killed by the British during the 1857 Mutiny. What was the murder?

According to a report published in the Indian newspaper The Indian Express, researchers say that the soldiers who were killed belonged to the plains of the Ganges River, a 17.2 million-acre strip of fertile land that lies north of present-day India in Pakistan. And located in Bangladesh.

The research, published on Thursday in the journal Frontiers in Genetics, identified the remains of those who belonged to soldiers of the 26th Native Bengal Infantry Regiment of the Indian Army under the British Raj.

Archaeologists have described the site as having the largest number of people killed in a single incident during the 1857 rebellion.

A detailed mention of this incident in this town of Punjab is also found in a book written by a British official.

A book by the then serving Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar in 1857 describes how British officers forced Hindu and Muslim soldiers of the Indian Army to use cartridges greased with beef and pork fat. Gaya, in response to which the Indian soldiers stationed in Mian Mir Cantonment (present-day Lahore city of Pakistan) strongly opposed it.

According to reports, after killing some British officers, a few hundred Indian soldiers escaped to East Punjab (present-day Indian Punjab) but were eventually captured and imprisoned and later brutally murdered near Ajanala. made public. The book states that 282 Indian soldiers were killed in the incident.

According to the report of The Indian Express, the mass murder in 1857 was a very sensitive issue due to which there was a risk of social and political tension, so the concerned British officers immediately threw these bodies into the well of Ajnala. Decided to install.

For many years after this massacre of 1857, no one ever paid much attention to the incident even though it preceded events like the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919.

Later, some historians speculated that the remains in the Ajnala well were the bodies of those killed during the riots that broke out after the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947.

An amateur group of local archaeologists unscientifically exhumed some of the remains, sparking some interest in tracing the origins of the dead in 2014. In the same year, the Indian government commissioned a group headed by Punjab University anthropologist JS Sehrawat to conduct a scientific investigation into the matter.

How was the evidence gathered?

More than 9,000 teeth, as well as various body bones, ornaments and medals were found in the well. More than 4,000 of the approximately 9,646 dental samples have been analyzed so far.

The bones were in abundance, but being 165 years old, the condition was not good, so the researchers preferred to study the teeth for scientific study.

DNA was extracted from 50 teeth in good condition. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) was analyzed to determine genetic origin from biological samples, while 85 dental samples were subjected to oxygen isotope analysis.

According to Gyaneshwar Choubey, co-researcher from the Department of Zoology, Banaras Hindu University (BHU), the ingredients in our diet leave some deposits on the outer layer of the teeth. Therefore, botanical and carnivorous foods can be traced from dental samples obtained in this way.

He said that in the present study traces of food like pulses and pulses were found, which proves that these dead soldiers lived in the Ganga plains.

The remains were believed to belong to people living in Pakistani and Indian Punjab, but this research proved this wrong based on DNA.

According to Da Print, JS Sehrawat said the findings of the study are in line with historical evidence that the 26th Native Bengal Infantry Battalion included people from East Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

Speaking to The Indian Express, anthropologist JS Sohrawat said: ‘Based on trace elements and ancient DNA analysis, the average age of the soldiers was 33 years and there were people between the ages of 21 and 49.

To prove that these were 246 Indian soldiers, the experts also carried out a detailed analysis of dental pathology. The dental samples were compared to an existing data set of the remains of German soldiers of the same age who were killed during World War II.

Anthropologist JS Sehrawat said that their overall health proves them to be soldiers because being part of the army they would have access to hygienic facilities.

Besides the human remains, the archaeologists also recovered some jewellery, medals and coins bearing the royal seal of Queen Victoria and the years 1799, 1806, 1841 and 1853. These non-biological remains were the property of the soldiers.

Bone analysis has also revealed atrocities committed against Indian soldiers. Each of the 86 intact skulls recovered had injury marks between the ribs.

According to Sohrawat, this indicates that they were shot at close range.

Excavators also recovered stone tablets that were commonly used to kill prisoners in the 19th century.

A similar pattern of broken bones suggests that the Indian soldiers were physically tortured before being shot dead.

Sohrawat said: ‘Looking at the condition of the remains, we can now prove that the bodies were thrown into a well from a certain height, rather than being buried in graves.’

Neeraj Roy, the lead researcher of the study, associated with the Birbal Sahni Institute of Paleosciences, Lucknow, said that the team’s scientific research will help to see Indian history in the light of more evidence.