Reconsidering the Sannyasi Rebellion

The historiography of the Sannyasi Rebellion has a chequered career. The first book about that uprising was a historical novel by Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay, Ananda Math (1882). If Ananda Math is seen as an index of Bankim’s historical consciousness, one has to the admit that he was not at all faithful to historical reality. Set in the 1770s, it is a story of a band of inspired Hindu monks who take upon themselves the task of restoring order in the country, torn by anarchy and strife. We will demonstrate below that far from being a band of well-meaning ascetics, as Bankim would have it, the sann- yasis were actually oppressors of peasants who thrived on traditionally sanc- tioned, thinly veiled plunder from villagers. However, there is more to it than just plunder.