The Sannyasi rebellion or monk rebellion 1770-77 ( bn, সন্ন্যাসী/ সাধু বিদ্রোহ, The monks' rebellion) was a revolt by the ''
sannyasi
''Sannyasa'' (Sanskrit: संन्यास; IAST: ), sometimes spelled Sanyasa (सन्न्यास) or Sanyasi (for the person), is life of renunciation and the fourth stage within the Hindu system of four life stages known as '' As ...
s'' and
sadhus
''Sadhu'' ( sa, साधु, IAST: ' (male), ''sādhvī'' or ''sādhvīne'' (female)), also spelled ''saddhu'', is a religious ascetic, mendicant or any holy person in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism who has renounced the worldly life. The ...
(
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
ascetic
Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...
s, respectively) in
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
, India in the late 18th century which took place around
Murshidabad
Murshidabad fa, مرشد آباد (, or ) is a historical city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located on the eastern bank of the Bhagirathi River, a distributary of the Ganges. It forms part of the Murshidabad district.
During ...
and
Baikunthapur
Baikunthapur is a village in the Cooch Behar II CD block in the Cooch Behar Sadar subdivision of the Cooch Behar district in West Bengal, India
Geography
Location
Baikunthapur is located at .
Baikunthapur i ...
forests of
Jalpaiguri
Jalpaiguri is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Jalpaiguri district as well as of the Jalpaiguri division of West Bengal, covering the jurisdiction of the five districts of North Bengal. The city is loca ...
under the leadership of
Pandit Bhabani Charan Pathak. While some refer to it as an early war for
India's independence
The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947.
The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal. ...
from foreign rule, since the right to collect tax had been given to the
British East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
after the
Battle of Buxar
The Battle of Buxar was fought between 22 and 23 October 1764, between the forces under the command of the British East India Company, led by Hector Munro, and the combined armies of Mir Qasim, Nawab of Bengal till 1764; the Nawab of Awadh, Sh ...
in 1764, other historians categorize it as acts of violent banditry following the depopulation of the province in the
Bengal famine of 1770
The Bengal Famine of 1770 was a famine that struck Bengal and Bihar between 1769 and 1770 and affected some 30 million people. It occurred during a period of dual governance in Bengal. This existed after the East India Company had been granted ...
.
Early events
At least three separate events are called the Sannyasi Rebellion. One refers to a large body of
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
''sannyasis'' who travelled from North India to different parts of Bengal to visit shrines. En route to the shrines, it was customary for many of these ascetics to exact a religious tax from the headmen and ''
zamindar
A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...
s'' or regional landlords. In times of prosperity, the headmen and zamindars generally obliged. However, since the East India Company
had received the ''diwani'' or right to collect tax, many of the tax demands increased and the local landlords and headmen were unable to pay both the ascetics and the English. Crop failures, and famine, which killed ten million people or an estimated one-third of the population of Bengal compounded the problems since much of the arable land lay fallow.
In the Eighteenth Century Pandit Bhavanicharan Pathak was the main hero of the 'Sannyasi Rebellion' against the British rule and exploitation in the land of Bengal. Sannyasi Rebellion was India's first anti-British independence struggle.
In 1771, 150 saints were put to death, apparently for no reason. This was one of the reasons that caused distress leading to violence, especially in
Natore
Natore district is a district of Rajshahi Division located in northern Bangladesh. It borders the metropolitan city of Rajshahi, and used to be part of Rajshahi district.
History
Natore was the District Headquarters of Rajshahi from 1769 to 182 ...
in
Rangpur, now in modern
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
. However, some modern historians argue that the movement never gained popular support.
The other two movements involved a sect of Hindu ascetics, the ''Dasnami naga sannyasis'' who likewise visited Bengal on pilgrimage mixed with moneylending opportunities.
To the British, these ascetics were looters and must be stopped from collecting money that belonged to the company and possibly from even entering the province. It was felt that a large body of people on the move was a possible threat.
Clashes between the Company and ascetics
From hundreds of years monks had been visiting North India and pilgrim sites. They also used to take some alms from zamidars. But after British imposed taxes on zamidars, it became hard for them to give alms to the ascetics. Sannyasis & Fakirs were burden with restrictions as the British government thought they were looters & thugs. And thus rebellion began. Most of the clashes were recorded in the years following the famine but they continued, albeit with a lesser frequency, up until 1802. The reason that even with superior training and forces, the company was not able to suppress sporadic clashes with migrating ascetics was that the control of the company's forces in the far-removed hilly and jungle covered districts like
Birbhum
Birbhum district () is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the northernmost district of Burdwan division—one of the five administrative divisions of West Bengal. The district headquarters is in Suri. Other impor ...
and
Midnapore
Medinipur or Midnapore (Pron: med̪iːniːpur) is a city known for its history in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the West Medinipur district. It is situated on the banks of the Kangsabati River (variously known as '' ...
on local events was weak.
Legacy
The Sannyasi rebellion was the first of a series of revolts and rebellions in the western districts of the province including (but not restricted to) the
Chuar Revolt of 1799 and the
Santhal Revolt
The Santhal rebellion (also known as the Sonthal rebellion or the Santhal Hool), was a rebellion in present-day Jharkhand and
West Bengal , Eastern India against both the British East India Company (BEIC) and zamindari system by the Santhal. I ...
of 1855–56.
What effect the Sannyasi Rebellion had on rebellions that followed is debatable. Perhaps, the best reminder of the Rebellion is in literature, in the
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
novels ''
Anandamath
''Anandamath'' ( bn, আনন্দমঠ ''Anondomôţh'') ( The Abbey of Bliss) is a Bengali fiction, written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and published in 1882. It is inspired by and set in the background of the Sannyasi Rebellion in ...
'' (1882) and ''
Devi Chaudhurani
''Devi Chaudhurani'' ( bn, দেবী চৌধুরানী) is a Bengali novel written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and published in 1884. It was later translated to English by Subodh Chunder Mitter. '' (1884), written by India's first modern novelist
Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
Bankim Chandra Chatterjee (also Chattopadhayay) CIE (26 or 27 June 1838 – 8 April 1894) was an Indian novelist, poet, Essayist and journalist. Staff writer"Bankim Chandra: The First Prominent Bengali Novelist" ''The Daily Star'', 30 June 201 ...
. The song, ''
Vande Mataram
''Vande Mataram'' (Sanskrit: वन्दे मातरम् IAST: , also spelt ''Bande Mataram''; বন্দে মাতরম্, ''Bônde Mātôrôm''; ) is a poem written in sanskritised Bengali by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in th ...
'', which was written in 1876, was used in the novel ''Anandamath'' in 1882 (pronounced Anondomôţh in Bengali) and the 1952 movie based on the book. ''Vande Mataram'' was later declared to be India's National Song (not to be confused with the
Indian National Anthem
"" (Sanskrit: जन गण मन) is the national anthem of the Republic of India. It was originally composed as '' Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata'' in Bengali by polymath Rabindranath Tagore. The first stanza of the song ''Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhat ...
).
In 2022, Telugu film producer and
scriptwriter
A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based.
T ...
V. Vijayendra Prasad
Koduri Viswa Vijayendra Prasad is an Indian screenwriter and film director who predominantly works in Telugu cinema. He also worked in a few Hindi, Kannada, and Tamil films. His filmography consists of more than twenty five films as a screenwrit ...
announced his upcoming project tentatively titled ''
1770: Ek Sangram'', based on ''Anandamath'' and the Sannnyasi rebellion. The movie will be simultaneously made in Bengali, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.
'RRR' writer K V Vijayendra Prasad to write film based on Bankim Chandra's novel 'Anandamath'
References
{{Bengal Renaissance
Revolutionary movement for Indian independence
Bengal Presidency
Murshidabad district
18th century in British India
Rebellions in India
Wars involving India
Wars involving the United Kingdom
18th-century conflicts
18th century in India
Rebellions against the British Empire
18th-century rebellions