Against whom did the zamindar-ryot combination revolt and when? What were the causes of the rebellion?

a. Zamindar-ryot Revolt:

The zamindars and ryots jointly raised the banner of rebellion against Devi Singh, the ijaradar of Rangpur in 1783.

b. Causes of the Rebellion:

Narahari Kaviraj has called the Rangpur uprising to be the first formidable peasant uprising against the rule of the East India Company.

Several factors may be assigned to the Rangpur uprising of 1783. First, the period of Warren Hastings was marked by several experiments in land settlement.

Under the Ijaradari system land was farmed out to the highest bidder, for say one or five years. The Rangpur uprising took place because the burden of revenue was placed at the highest on the zamindars.

Second, failure to pay revenue would deprive the zamindar of his estate.

Third, alongside the revenue other illegal demands made the total demand so high that the ryots were unable to pay revenue even after selling their wives and children.

Fourth, as remedial measures were of no avail the ryots and the zamindars combined to rebel against the ijaradar, in this case against Devi Singh, the ijaradar of Rangpur.