The Sanyasi Rebellion, 1763-1800 In the second half of the eighteenth century, the East India Company's official correspondence repeatedly mentioned the invasion of tribal sanyasis and fakirs, primarily in northern Bengal. Even prior to the Bengal famine (1770), small groups of Hindu and Muslim holy men travelled from location to location, launching surprise attacks on food storage facilities, the property of local affluent men, and government officials. Sanyasi and fakir gro