Socio-Religious Movements

Fakir Uprising

Shortly after the annexation of Bengal in 1776-77, Majnum Shah, the leader of these fakirs, began to levy contributions on the zamindars and peasants and, defied the British Authority.

  • Chirag Ali shah, supported by Pathans, Rajputs and the disbanded Indian soldiers extended the operations to the northern districts of Bengal. There were a number of skirmishes between the fakirs and the Company’s troops. The fakirs were finally brought under the control at the beginning of the nineteenth century.

Sanyasi Uprising

  • The Hindu Naga Sadhus were once armed Sanyasis, a part of the armies of the Nawabs of Awadh and Bengal, and also of the Maratha and Rajput chiefs.
  • The immediate cause of the rebellion was the restrictions imposed on the pilgrims visiting the holy places.
  • The Sanyasis raided the English factories and collected contributions from the towns, leading to a series of conflicts between the large bands of Sanyasis and the British forces. After nearly half —a-century long strife, It

ended in the second quarter of the nineteenth century.

Pagal Panthis

  • Pagal Panth was a semi religious sect having influence in the northern district of Bengal in around late 18th century. It was founded by Karam Shah.
  • The sect sought to uphold religious principles and the rights of landless peasants in Bengal against British and Zamindar system. It was finally crushed with the help of army in 1833.

Wahabi Movement

  • It was an Islamic revivalist movement founded by Syed Ahmed of Rai Bareilly. Syed Ahmed condemned the west ern influence on Islam and advocated a return to pure Islam and society.
  • It aimed at converting the Dar-Ul-Harb (the land of kafirs) into Dar-U1-Islam (land of Islam) by instigating missionary activities and and byJihad.
  • It targeted North-Western India (mainly Punjab) and in India its important influential centres were located at Patna (HQ), Hyderabad, Madras, Bengal, UP and Bombay. It was crushed by British military operations in late 1880s.

Kuka Revolt

  • Itt was founded in 1840 by Bhagat Jawahar Mal (also called Sian Saheb) in western Punjab. When the British took the Punjab, the movement transformed from a religious purification campaign to a political one. Its basic tenets were abolition of caste and similar discriminations among Sikhs, discouraging the eating of meat and intake of alcohol and drugs.