Rahimullah of Baraikhali

Shahīd Raḥīmullāh of Bāraikhālī (Bengali: বারইখালীর রহিমুল্লাহ; died 25 November 1861) was the leader of native resistance in the Sundarbans of Bengal, against the colonial officers and indigo cultivators of the British Raj.

Boundaries were determined in 1828, with some areas being used for cultivation while others were gifted to allied zamindars such as Kashinath Munshi of the 24 Parganas.

The latter's Baraikhali area later fell under the possession of Rahimullah's father, Jahangir, who became an influential chief among the local villagers.

In the same period, the widow of colonial officer Mr Morrel demanded the British East India Company to grant her two sons the zamindari of Saralia and neighbouring areas.

Munshi gifted parts of his vast zamindari to the Morrel family, who founded a large estate in 1849, consisting of a mansion, warehouse, prison cell and private army base.

However, Rahimullah's Anglophile aspirations did not last too long, as he received news of the poor treatment of the natives of Baraikhali.

Thus, Rahimullah's sojourn in Calcutta was cut short, despite Chatterjee's requests to stay, and he returned to his home village.

[5] The local farmers had become victims of oppression and looting as a result of the lathial forces of Dennis Haley, the manager of the Morrel Estate.

On 21 November 1861, Mamun Taluqdar assisted by hundreds of Morrel's lathials infiltrated Rahimullah's territory.

[1][8] The erstwhile Magistrate of Khulna Subdivision, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, directed an inquiry into the conflict.

The case went on for fifteen years and the Jessore Sessions Court ordered the execution of one person and deportation of 34 others.