Oral Resources for Reconstructing the Sannyasi And Fakir Rebellion (1763-1800)

Abstract

The present article intends to throw light on the oral resources in the form of testimony for reconstructing the colonial archives, memoirs and also the argumentative discourses in writing the Sannyasi and Fakir Rebellion of late eighteenth century Bengal. The origin of the Sannyasis and Fakirs need a careful analysis in order to know the roots of the rebellion. The oral sources, either in the form of testimony, interviews taken with the present day Sannyasis and Fakirs in different parts of India including Bengal would either compliment or supplement the version of colonial records and the vernacular literature which have been used here for understanding the Sannyasi and Fakir Rebellion in proper perspective. In order to understand the genesis of the rebellion, their relations with the East India Company, local zamindars and peasantry the importance of the oral testimonies and interviews cannot be ignored. The texts and contexts of the oral sources, which have been used on different occasions, would support the connectivity of various aspects of the rebellion.