Overview

• Series of armed uprisings against British East India Company rule, culminating in the War of Independence 1857 (also called Indian Mutiny/Ghadar 1857)
• Important for CSS: shows continuity of resistance, not a sudden 1857 event

Pre-1857 Revolts (Background)

Fakir-Sannyasi Rebellion (1770s–1820s, Bengal/Bihar)

• Wandering fakirs & sannyasis resisted EIC land revenue policies after the 1770 Bengal famine
• Led by Majnu Shah; guerrilla-style resistance

Wahabi Movement (1820s–1870s)

• Led by Syed Ahmad Barelvi & Shah Ismail Shaheed (grandson of Shah Waliullah)
• Goal: purify Islam, establish Islamic state, wage jihad against Sikhs then British
• Battle of Balakot (1831) — both leaders martyred fighting Sikh forces
• Movement continued underground against British; "Wahabi Trials" held in 1860s–70s
• MCQ trap: Balakot fight was against Sikhs (Ranjit Singh), not directly British — but movement is classified as anti-colonial precursor

Titu Mir's Revolt (1831, Barasat, Bengal)

• Real name Mir Nisar Ali; built a bamboo fort ("Bansher Kella")
• Resisted local zamindars & British forces; killed in 1831

Santhal Rebellion (Hool) (1855–56)

• Tribal uprising in Bengal/Jharkhand against British land policies & moneylenders
• Led by Sidhu & Kanhu Murmu

War of Independence 1857