Question

Which of the following is/are the characteristic(s) of the Sannyasi and Fakir uprisings?
1. These uprisings refer to a series of skirmishes between the English East India Company and a group of sannyasis and fakirs.
2. One reason for the uprising was the free movement of the sannyasis along pilgrimage routes.
3. In the course of the uprising in 1783, Warren Hastings issued a proclamation banishing all sannyasis from Bengal and Bihar.
4. Are contemporaneous with the Non-Cooperation Movement.
Select the correct answer using the codes given:
A) Only 1
B) 1 and 3
C) 1, 2 and 3
D. 2 and 4

Answer 1

Hint: The Chuar Revolt of 1799 and the Santhal revolt of 1855-56 are also regarded as parts of the Sannyasi and fakir revolt. The revolts began shortly after the British company was given the right to collect taxes after the Battle of Buxar (1764). It is also debated that it was the Bengal famine of 1770 that fueled this revolt.

Complete answer:
The Sannyasi and Fakir uprisings were a series of revolts against the English East India Company who had received the right to collect taxes. Moreover, around 150 saints were killed for no apparent reason. This caused more distress and violence. The first statement is correct in terms of this uprising.

Another reason for the uprising was the movement of sannyasis along the pilgrimage routes. This involved a sect of Hindu ascetics who went on pilgrimage with the intention of money lending. For the British, they were looters who were taking the money that supposedly belonged to the company and hence they stopped the sannyasis from entering the province. Second statement of the question is also correct about sannyasis.

Also, due to the moneylending reasons mentioned above, Warren Hasting, who was then the Governor of the Province of Bengal, issued a proclamation to banish all sannyasis from the province and also prohibited their entry. The third statement of the question is also correct.

The sannyasi and fakir revolts were not contemporaneous with the Non-Cooperation movement. The sannyasi and fakir revolts took place over a time period from 1766 to 1856. The Non-Cooperation movement on the other hand was launched in 1920. Thus, this statement is incorrect.

Thus, the correct answer is Option (C) 1, 2 and 3

Note: A majority of the rebellious activities in this regard took place around the Murshidabad forests of Jalpaiguri. India’s first modern novelist Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, wrote a novel called ‘Anandamath’ which is considered as the best reminder of the Sannyasi and Fakir Revolt in English literature.