The forensic analysis of the 282 skeletons found in an abandoned well in Ajnala, Punjab, in 2014, confirmed their identity as Indian soldiers of the 1857 revolt mainly through which combined evidence?
- ACranial measurements and carbon isotope values suggesting local Punjabi ancestry
- BMitochondrial DNA haplogroups and strontium isotope ratios indicating Gangetic plain origins
- CDental caries patterns and skeletal trauma from Partition-era violence
- DRadiocarbon dating and the presence of European-style weapons
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: (b) Mitochondrial DNA haplogroups and strontium isotope ratios indicating Gangetic plain origins
Explanation
In 2014, the remains of 282 people were dug out of an old well at Ajnala, near Amritsar. History linked them to Indian soldiers of the 26th Native Bengal Infantry killed by the British in 1857. Scientists tested this with two kinds of evidence:
- mitochondrial DNA haplogroups, which matched populations of the Gangetic plain (present-day Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal), where the Bengal Army recruited, rather than Punjab;
- strontium isotope ratios in the teeth, which reflect the soil and water of the place where a person grew up and also pointed to the Gangetic plain.
Together they showed that the dead were not local Punjabis or victims of the 1947 Partition, but soldiers from the east, as the records said.