Pagal Panthi movement
Topic: Peasant and Tribal Resistance under Company Rule · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Pagal Panthis were a religious sect founded by Karam Shah in the Mymensingh region of northern Bengal. The sect taught that all people are equal. Under Karam Shah's son, Tipu Shah, it turned into a peasant movement. It fought zamindars who squeezed the Garo and Hajong peasants with high rents and illegal extra charges. It matters because it shows a religious group leading tribal and peasant resistance in early colonial Bengal.
Example
In the c. 1820s–1830s, Tipu Shah led Garo and Hajong peasants in the Sherpur area of Mymensingh. They refused to pay unfair rents to the zamindars and fought armed battles with them. The British later stepped in and brought the area back under control.
Don't confuse with
- Sannyasi-Fakir rebellion: This rising was also led by holy men in Bengal. But it began after the 1770 famine, and the ascetics attacked British treasuries and tax collectors for three decades. The Pagal Panthis fought local zamindars over rents.