Fakir-Sannyasi Rebellion

The Fakir-Sannyasi rebellion or Fakir-Sannyasi revolt (Bengali: সন্ন্যাসী বিদ্রোহ, The monks' rebellion) were the activities of sannyasis and fakirs (Hindu and Muslim ascetics, respectively) in Bengal against the East India Company rule in the late 18th century. It is also known as the Fakir-Sannyasi rebellion (ফকির-সন্ন্যাসী বিদ্রোহ) which took place around Murshidabad and Baikunthupur forests of Jalpaiguri. Historians have not only debated what events constitute the rebellion, but have also varied on the significance of the rebellion in Indian history. While some refer to it as an early war for India's independence from foreign rule, since the right to collect tax had been given to the British East India Company after the Battle of Buxar in 1764, others categorize it as acts of violent banditry following the depopulation of the province in the Bengal famine of 1770.

At least three separate events are called the Sannyasi Rebellion. One refers to a large body of Hindu 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 zamindars 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.

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