DNA study links 165-year-old skeletons of Indian soldiers found in Punjab to Gangetic plain

The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Genetics, shows that the skeletons were of soldiers belonging to the Gangetic plain region

Human skeletons dating back to 165 years that were excavated from Punjab in 2014 belong to Indian soldiers from the Gangetic plain region who were killed by the British army during the revolt of the 1857 Indian freedom struggle, according to a study.

A large number of these human skeletons were found in an old well in Ajnala town. Some historians believed that these skeletons belong to the people killed in riots during the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947.

Based on various historical sources, the other prevailing belief is that these are skeletons of the Indian soldiers killed by the British army during the revolt of the 1857 Indian freedom struggle.

However, the identity of these soldiers and their geographic origins has been under intense debate due to a lack of scientific evidence.

The latest study, published on Thursday in the journal Frontiers in Genetics, shows that the skeletons were of soldiers belonging to the Gangetic plain region, consisting of people from the eastern part of Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh.

According to Professor Gyaneshwer Chaubey, from the Department of Zoology, Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Uttar Pradesh, the findings add a significant chapter in the history of the "unsung heroes of India's first freedom struggle."

"This study confirms two things: First the Indian soldiers were killed during the 1857 revolt and second that they are from Ganga plain, and not from Punjab," Chaubey, who played a crucial role in the DNA study, told PTI.