Civil Uprisings Before To 1857: Sanyasi Revolt (1763-1800)

Under the direction of Pandit Bhabani Charan Pathak, the Sanyasi insurrection took place in the late eighteenth century in Bengal, India, in the Murshidabad and Baikunthpur woods of Jalpaiguri. Some describe the Battle of Buxar in 1764 as the first battle for India's independence from foreign rule, while others categorize it as violent banditry in the wake of the Bengal famine of 1770, which resulted in the depopulation of the province and the granting of the British East India Company the authority to collect taxes. 

 

•    As a result of the severe famine of 1770 and the British government's stringent economic policies, a group of sanyasis in Eastern India were compelled to rebel against the British yoke.

 

•    The sanyasis were first peasants, some of whom had been forced off their land, but soon a sizable number of dispossessed minor zamindars, disbanded troops, and the rural poor joined them.

 

•    There are at least three different events that make up the Sanyasi Rebellion. One is a sizable number of Hindu sannyasis who travelled to various Bengali districts from North India to visit shrines.

 

•    On their way to the shrines, many of these ascetics would demand a religious donation from the zamindars and leaders of the surrounding area.

 

•    The headmen and zamindars were more inclined to assist while the economy was booming.

 

•    The main figure in the 'Sanyasi Rebellion' (18th century) against British rule and exploitation in Bengal was Pandit Bhawani Sharan Pathak.

 

•    The Sanyasi Rebellion marked the beginning of anti-British uprising in India.

 

•    The Sanyasis who rebelled against the English in the 18th century weren't always people who had given up on life.

 

•    Naga sadhus, or ascetics who had abandoned clothing, were considered sanyasis. Others, on the other hand, included individuals who were permitted to marry and who wore clothing.

•    These nomads arouse the suspicion of the British who label them as "erratic beggars," "gipsies of Hindustan," "lawless mendicants," "religious vagrants," and so on.

 

•    The high tax rates that followed the British purchase of Bengal's revenue rights caused financial difficulties for many zamindars.

 

•    Once the East India Company obtained the diwani, or right to collect revenue, there were an increasing number of tax requests, which the local landlords and headmen were unable to meet in order to satisfy both the English and the ascetics.

 

•    The situation was made worse by crop failures and hunger, which claimed the lives of 10 million people, or nearly one-third of Bengal's population.

 

•    From northern India, many Sanyasi sects made their way to Bengal to visit numerous temples and sacred places.

 

•    The Sanyasis would solicit alms and donations from these zamindars, while on their pilgrimages.

 

•    This came to an end when the zamindars discovered that they had very little money left over after paying the British their debts, making it difficult for them to distribute charity.

 

•    The Sanyasis were denied entry to holy places because the British thought they were looters.

 

•    In a revolution against the British, the Sanyasis rose up and pillaged English factories and government coffers.

 

•    Bengal's Murshidabad and Baikunthpur woods served as the focal point of the revolt.

 

•    In 1771, Warren Hastings commanded the death of 150 sanyasis who lacked weapons.

 

•    Over 50 years passed before the Sanyasi revolt was finally put down completely in the 1820s.

 

•    The Fakir Rebellion, as the uprisings were sometimes called, was notable for the equal participation of Muslims and Hindus.

 

•    Majnum Shah (or Majnu Shah), Chirag Ali, Musa Shah, Bhawani Pathak, and Debi Chaudhurani were significant figures.

 

•    The participation of Debi Chaudhurani recognizes the role that women played in the early anti-British struggle.

 

The Chuar Revolt of 1799 and the Santhal Revolt of 1855–56 were two revolts that occurred in the western regions of the province after the Sanyasi uprising. Among the best literary memories of the Rebellion are the Bengali novels Anandamath (1882) and Devi Chaudhurani (1884), written by India's first modern novelist Bankim Chandra Chatterjee.