The James Logan Courier

By Margaret Talev and Renee Schoof
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)

WASHINGTON — With lawmakers bleary-eyed and irritable from an all-night debate, Senate Democrats shelved a massive defense policy bill Wednesday after Republicans blocked their amendment to start withdrawing troops from Iraq.

The 52-47 vote in favor of ending debate and moving to a final vote on the withdrawal amendment was eight votes short of the 60-vote supermajority needed under Senate rules to force an end to the orations and 15 votes short of the two-thirds majority required to override a presidential veto.

From wikipedia:
Mangal Pandey (c. July 19, 1827–8 April 1857), also known as Shaheed Mangal Pandey (Shaheed means martyr in Hindustani), was a sepoy (soldier) in the 34th Regiment of the Bengal Native Infantry (BNI) of the English East India Company.

Life
Pandey was born in the village of Nagwa in district Ballia Uttar Pradesh. Families in Nagwa village claim Mangal Pandey to be their first ancestor and trace their family lineage to him. There is some dispute over his exact place of birth. One account (Misra, 2005) claims that Mangal Pandey was born in a Bhumihar Brahmin family to Divakar Pandey of Surhupur village of Faizabad district’s Akbarpur Tehsil. He joined the British East India Company forces in 1849 at the age of 22, as per this account. Pandey was part of the 5th Company of the 34th BNI regiment. He is primarily known for attacking his British officers in an incident that sparked what is known to the British as the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 and to Indians as the First War of Indian Independence. Mangal Pandey was a devout Brahmin and he practiced his religion diligently.

Learn more about Mangal Pandey and the Sepoy Mutiny, free from The Hindu, the online edition of India's national newspaper.