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Sanyasi Revolt 1763-1800 AD, Causes, Results, Importance-upsc special-In the last years of the eighteenth century, in 1763-1800 AD, in some parts of India, sanyasis (Kena Sarkar, Dwijanarayan) launched a violent movement against British rule, which is called the sanyasi rebellion in history.
This movement mostly took place in the Bengal and Bihar provinces of British India at that time. The raids of fakirs and sanyasis are mentioned several times in the correspondence of the East India Company in the late 18th century. These raids used to take place in North Bengal.
Due to the severe famine in Bengal in 1770 AD, Hindus and Muslims used to roam here and there and loot the houses and granaries of the rich and government officials. These sanyasis were religious mendicants but they were basically farmers whose land had been taken away. Due to increasing problems of farmers, and increasing land revenue, due to famine in 1770 AD, small landlords, employees, retired soldiers, and poor people of the village joined these ascetics.
They used to roam in Bengal and Bihar by forming a group of five to seven thousand people and used gorilla techniques for the attack. In the beginning, these people used to loot the granaries of rich people. Later they started looting the government officials and also used to loot the government treasury. Sometimes they used to distribute the looted money among the poor.
Contemporary government records refer to this rebellion as follows:- "There is a band of dacoits known as Sanyasis and Fakirs who are causing disorder in these areas and going as pilgrims to some parts of Bengal for alms and plunder." They work as scavengers because it is an easy job for them. Their numbers increased enormously after the famine. Hungry farmers joined their ranks, who had neither seeds nor tools to do farming.
In the winter of 1772, these people did a lot of looting on the cultivation of the lowlands of Bengal. Forming a group of 50 to 1000, these people did the work of looting, looting, and burning.
It was started by the ascetics of the Giri sect of Bengal. In which landlords, farmers, and artisans also participated. All of them together attacked the company's cells and funds. These people fought very bravely with the soldiers of the company.
The specialty of this struggle was that Hindus and Muslims participated shoulder to shoulder-in it. Kena Sarkar, Dirjinarayan, Manjar Shah, Devi Chaudharani, Musa Shah, and Bhavani Pathak are notable among the main leaders of this rebellion. Till 1880 AD, there was a rebellion of monks and fakirs with the British in Bengal and Bihar. The British used their full power to suppress these rebellions.
The famous Bengali novelist Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay's novel Anand Math in 1882 is based on the incident of this rebellion.
The Sanyasi rebels established their independent government at Bogra and Mymensingh. Their attack method was based on guerrilla warfare.
Sanyasi Revolt (1763-1800 AD)-timeline
- Movement time – 1763-1800 AD
- Location – Bengal.
- Rebels - Followers of Sanyasi Shankaracharya.
- Reason for the movement – ban on the pilgrimage of armed ascetics of Hindu, Naga, and Giri
- Result – The rebellion was suppressed.
The initial reason for the rebellion was the tax imposed on pilgrimage. Later, eviction-affected farmers, disbanded soldiers, deposed landlords, and religious leaders also joined the movement. The main leaders of the rebellion were: Moosashah, Manjarshah, Devi Chowdhary, and Bhavani Pathak, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee wrote the novel Anand Math by making the rebellion a plot. Warren Hastings is credited with suppressing the rebellion.
- Fakir Rebellion (1776-77 AD): Majmun Shah and Chirag Ali in Bengal.
- Rangpur Rebellion (1783 AD): The rebels in Bengal had stopped paying land revenue.
- Dewan Vellatampi Rebellion (1805 AD): It is also called the predecessor of the 1857 rebellion. This movement started under the leadership of Vellatampi against the imposition of a subsidiary alliance on the ruler of Travancore.
- Kutch Rebellion (1819 AD): This rebellion took place due to the removal of Raja Bharmal from the throne. It was led by Bharmal and Jhareja.
- The Sanyasi rebellion started from 1763 AD and continued till 1800 AD. It was started by the ascetics of the Giri sect of Bengal.
- Landlords, farmers, and artisans also participated in it. All of them together attacked the company's cells and funds. These people fought very bravely with the soldiers of the company.
- Warren Hastings was able to suppress the Sanyasi rebellion only after a long campaign.
- 'Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay' has mentioned the Sanyasi movement in his famous novel "Anandmath". The people involved in this rebellion used to chant "Om Vande Mataram".
- The specialty of the Sanyasi movement was 'Hindu-Muslim unity'. The main leaders of this rebellion were Majmoon Shah, Musa Shah, Dwij Narayan, Bhavani Pathak, Chirag Ali and Devi Chaudharani, etc.
Reasons for the Sanyasi Rebellion
- The main reason for the Sanyasi rebellion was to ban pilgrimage and harshly collect land revenue.
- After the Battle of Plassey, British rule was established in Bengal. Therefore, the British established their new economic policies. Due to this Indian landlords, farmers, and artisans started getting destroyed.
- In 1770 AD, there was a severe famine in Bengal. Revenue collection was done rigorously even during the famine. Due to this, the feeling of rebellion started awakening in the minds of the farmers.
- The sannyasis became very upset due to the restrictions imposed on visiting pilgrimage places. Sanyasis had a tradition of fighting against injustice. So he opposed the British. Landlords, artisans, and farmers also joined them.
- The Sanyasi rebellion was led by religious monks and dispossessed landlords. These people formed their government in a place called Bogra. Warren Hastings had to take drastic action to crush the Sanyasi rebellion.
