The Sannyasi rebellion (Bengali: সন্ন্যাসী/ সাধু বিদ্রোহ, lit. 'monk's rebellion') was a revolt by the sannyasis and sadhus (Hindu ascetics) in Bengal, India in the late 18th century which took place around Murshidabad and Baikunthapur forests of Jalpaiguri under the leadership of Pandit Bhabani Charan Pathak. While some refer to it as an early war for India's independence from foreign rule, since the right to collect tax had been given to the British East India Company after the Battle of Buxar in 1764, other historians categorize it as acts of violent banditry following the depopulation of the province in the Bengal famine of 1770.[1]