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Rohilla
Rohillas are a community of Pashtun heritage,[page needed][page needed] historically found in Rohilkhand, a region in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It forms the largest Pashtun diaspora community in India, and has given its name to the Rohilkhand region. The Rohilla military chiefs settled in this region of northern India in the 1720s, the first of whom was Ali Mohammed Khan.
The Rohillas are found all over Uttar Pradesh, but are more concentrated in the Rohilkhand regions of Bareilly and Moradabad divisions. After the 1947 Partition of India, many of the Rohillas migrated to Karachi, Pakistan as a part of the Muhajir community.
The Indian term "Rohilla" originated from Roh, meaning the hilly country, where Rohilla was used as a fairly broad notion of the people from Roh.[page needed] Later Roh referred to a geographical term which corresponded with, in its limited sense, the territory stretching from Swat and Bajaur in the north to Sibi in the south, and from Hasan Abdal (Attock) in the east to Kabul and Kandahar in the west, which corresponded with the homeland of the Pashtuns. The Pashtun or primarily Yusufzai migrations towards Northern India could be traced to their expulsion from Kandahar due to the Turko-Mongol invasions, who were subsequently resettled in Kabul, where they were again dispelled by the Timurids and forced to settle in Swat, where they assimilated the native Dardic and Tajik Dehqan population, who were collectively termed Yusufzais to the outside. A further migration continued towards Northern India, where typically inhabitants in the valley without land and those seeking trade opportunities quitted the country of Roh and migrated to India. The immigration of Pashtuns from the Peshawar valley was further exacerbated with the collapse of Mughal authority and the invasion of Nader Shah.
This community over generations had become culturally closer to the Awadh region between Katehr and Awadh.[page needed] In the 1700s, the decentralization of Mughal power allowed for the rise of Rohilla power in Katehar, with the rise of Ali Muhammad Khan's territories, in the context of the rise of other elements such as the Marathas, Jats and the Sikhs.[page needed] This region, called Katehar by the Hindus, and Sambhal-Moradabad by the Muslims,[citation needed] was already known as one of the most troublesome regions for its turbulence and rebelliousness under the Katehriya Rajputs, especially since the Delhi Sultanate. In this respect the Rohillas were following their footsteps. As Ali Muhammad occupied Katehar, and had invited a large number of people from Roh, it was during his lifetime that the land of Katehr was named Rohilkhand which means the land of the Rohillas.[page needed] The settlers from Roh consisted primarily of Pashtuns of the Mandarr Yousafzai tribe, as well as the Khattak, Bunerwal Yousafzais, Muhammadzai and Afridi tribes who were inhabitants of the Peshawar valley and the Barech from Kandahār. A majority of Rohillas migrated from Pashtunistan to North India between the 17th and 18th century.[citation needed].[page needed] Finally, a large number of newer Pashtun arrivals from the Northwest swelled their ranks, who were termed "Vilayati".[citation needed] All were collectively termed Rohillas, thus the Rohillas were in the process of developing a real or fictive kinship based on newly forged marriage alliances, consisting of Indian Pathan families, converted Hindus and new arrivals from the Northwest.[page needed]
The founder of the state of Rohilkhand was Ali Muhammad Khan who was a Jat boy of age of eight when he was adopted by Daud Khan Barech. The first immigrant to the Katehr region was Shah Alam Khan, who had settled in Katehr in 1673 and had brought along a band of his tribe, the Barech.[page needed] His son Daud Khan gained a number of villages in the Katehr region by working for the Mughals and various Rajput Zamindars. Originally, some 20,000 soldiers from various Pashtun tribes as mercenaries had immigrated to the region. Daud Khan adopted two Hindus, converted them to Islam, and provided them a proper religious education. These were Ali Muhammad Khan and Fath Khan-i-Saman. They were trained as mercenaries, and the former was put at the head of his following, which included both Pashtuns and various Hindustanis.
The rise of the Rohilla state owed mainly to Ali Muhammed Khan, who succeeded Daud Khan's jagirs in 1721. The Rohillas being a mixture of old pedigree Indian Pathan families, Indian converts and new adventurers from the northwest, were in the process of developing a real or fictive kinship based on newly forged marriage alliances. Ali Muhammad Khan distinguished himself by helping in suppressing the rebellion of the Indian Muslim Barah Sayyid tribe, who controlled the upper Doab under the Mughal Empire, and who had under their chief Saifudddin Barha put the Mughal governor Marhamat Khan and all of his followers to death.[citation needed] As a reward Ali Muhammad Khan was given the title of Nawab by Muhammad Shah in 1737. He became so powerful that he refused to send tax revenues to the central government. Ali Muhammad Khan defeated Despat, the Banjara chief who held Philbit. In 1744, Ali Muhammad Khan tried to invade Kumaon with a well-prepared army that was 10,000 men strong. In late 1743, he tried to capture Almora, after which the king Kalyan Chand fled and sought the protection of the Raja of Garhwal, who forgave his previous mutual animosity and offered military support. As Ali Muhammad Khan burnt down the temple of Jageshwar, the Rohillas were faced by a combined Garhwal and Kumaon army which defeated Ali Muhammad Khan at the battle of Kairarau, forcing the rohilla to sue for peace.[need quotation to verify] Safdar Jang, the Nawab of Oudh, warned the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah of the growing power of the Rohillas. This caused Mohammed Shah to send an expedition against him as a result of which he surrendered to imperial forces. He was taken to Delhi as a prisoner, but was later pardoned and appointed governor of Sirhind. Most of his soldiers had already settled in the Katehar region during Nadir Shah's invasion of northern India in 1739, increasing the Rohilla population in the area to 100,000. Due to the large settlement of Rohilla Pashtuns, this part of Katehar region came to be known as Rohilkhand. The conversion of Hindus to Islam further resulted in its rapid growth.[citation needed] As Ali Muhammad Khan returned to Rohilkhand, Bareilly was made the capital of this newly formed Rohilkhand state.[citation needed]
When Ali Muhammad Khan died, leaving six sons. However, two of his elder sons were in Afghanistan at the time of his death while the other four were too young to assume the leadership of Rohilkhand. As a result, power transferred to other Rohilla Sardars, where Sadullah Khan was made the nominal head of the state. Faizullah Khan retained Bareilly, Dundi Khan gained Moradabad and Bisauli, Fath Khan-i-Saman was placed in charge of Badaun and Usehat, Mulla Sardar Bakhshi gained Kot and Hafiz Rahmat Khan Barech gained Salempur or Pilibhit. In 1755, Qutb Shah Rohilla, who was not a Rohilla by caste, but came to be known as a Rohilla as a preceptor and fighter of the Indian Rohillas, raised the standard of rebellion in Saharanpur against the Wazir Imad-ul-Mulk, who had taken his jagirs and given them to the Marathas. Mian Qutb Shah defeated the Mughal army at Karnal, and plundered the adjoining towns until he conquered the town of Sirhind. When he was completely defeated in his attempt to enter the Jalandhar Doab, he was forced to abandon all his territory. The Marathas invaded Rohilkhand, and as the chiefs could offer no effective resistance, they fled to the Terai, whence they sought the aid of Shuja-ud-Daula of Awadh. Shuja-ud-Daulah came to their aid, and their combined forces in November 1759 drove the Marathas across the Ganges, after inflicting severe losses upon them.[citation needed] Qutb Khan Rohilla defeated and beheaded the Maratha general Dattaji at Burari Ghat.[full citation needed]
In the Third Battle of Panipat (1761) one of the Rohilla Sardars, Najib-ud-Daula, allied himself with Ahmad Shah Abdali against the Marathas. He not only provided 40,000 Rohilla troops but also 70 guns to the allied. He also convinced Shuja-ud-Daula, the Nawab of Oudh, to join Ahmad Shah Abdali's forces against the Marathas. In this battle, the Marathas were defeated and as a consequence the Rohilla increased in power.[citation needed]
Hub AI
Rohilla AI simulator
(@Rohilla_simulator)
Rohilla
Rohillas are a community of Pashtun heritage,[page needed][page needed] historically found in Rohilkhand, a region in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It forms the largest Pashtun diaspora community in India, and has given its name to the Rohilkhand region. The Rohilla military chiefs settled in this region of northern India in the 1720s, the first of whom was Ali Mohammed Khan.
The Rohillas are found all over Uttar Pradesh, but are more concentrated in the Rohilkhand regions of Bareilly and Moradabad divisions. After the 1947 Partition of India, many of the Rohillas migrated to Karachi, Pakistan as a part of the Muhajir community.
The Indian term "Rohilla" originated from Roh, meaning the hilly country, where Rohilla was used as a fairly broad notion of the people from Roh.[page needed] Later Roh referred to a geographical term which corresponded with, in its limited sense, the territory stretching from Swat and Bajaur in the north to Sibi in the south, and from Hasan Abdal (Attock) in the east to Kabul and Kandahar in the west, which corresponded with the homeland of the Pashtuns. The Pashtun or primarily Yusufzai migrations towards Northern India could be traced to their expulsion from Kandahar due to the Turko-Mongol invasions, who were subsequently resettled in Kabul, where they were again dispelled by the Timurids and forced to settle in Swat, where they assimilated the native Dardic and Tajik Dehqan population, who were collectively termed Yusufzais to the outside. A further migration continued towards Northern India, where typically inhabitants in the valley without land and those seeking trade opportunities quitted the country of Roh and migrated to India. The immigration of Pashtuns from the Peshawar valley was further exacerbated with the collapse of Mughal authority and the invasion of Nader Shah.
This community over generations had become culturally closer to the Awadh region between Katehr and Awadh.[page needed] In the 1700s, the decentralization of Mughal power allowed for the rise of Rohilla power in Katehar, with the rise of Ali Muhammad Khan's territories, in the context of the rise of other elements such as the Marathas, Jats and the Sikhs.[page needed] This region, called Katehar by the Hindus, and Sambhal-Moradabad by the Muslims,[citation needed] was already known as one of the most troublesome regions for its turbulence and rebelliousness under the Katehriya Rajputs, especially since the Delhi Sultanate. In this respect the Rohillas were following their footsteps. As Ali Muhammad occupied Katehar, and had invited a large number of people from Roh, it was during his lifetime that the land of Katehr was named Rohilkhand which means the land of the Rohillas.[page needed] The settlers from Roh consisted primarily of Pashtuns of the Mandarr Yousafzai tribe, as well as the Khattak, Bunerwal Yousafzais, Muhammadzai and Afridi tribes who were inhabitants of the Peshawar valley and the Barech from Kandahār. A majority of Rohillas migrated from Pashtunistan to North India between the 17th and 18th century.[citation needed].[page needed] Finally, a large number of newer Pashtun arrivals from the Northwest swelled their ranks, who were termed "Vilayati".[citation needed] All were collectively termed Rohillas, thus the Rohillas were in the process of developing a real or fictive kinship based on newly forged marriage alliances, consisting of Indian Pathan families, converted Hindus and new arrivals from the Northwest.[page needed]
The founder of the state of Rohilkhand was Ali Muhammad Khan who was a Jat boy of age of eight when he was adopted by Daud Khan Barech. The first immigrant to the Katehr region was Shah Alam Khan, who had settled in Katehr in 1673 and had brought along a band of his tribe, the Barech.[page needed] His son Daud Khan gained a number of villages in the Katehr region by working for the Mughals and various Rajput Zamindars. Originally, some 20,000 soldiers from various Pashtun tribes as mercenaries had immigrated to the region. Daud Khan adopted two Hindus, converted them to Islam, and provided them a proper religious education. These were Ali Muhammad Khan and Fath Khan-i-Saman. They were trained as mercenaries, and the former was put at the head of his following, which included both Pashtuns and various Hindustanis.
The rise of the Rohilla state owed mainly to Ali Muhammed Khan, who succeeded Daud Khan's jagirs in 1721. The Rohillas being a mixture of old pedigree Indian Pathan families, Indian converts and new adventurers from the northwest, were in the process of developing a real or fictive kinship based on newly forged marriage alliances. Ali Muhammad Khan distinguished himself by helping in suppressing the rebellion of the Indian Muslim Barah Sayyid tribe, who controlled the upper Doab under the Mughal Empire, and who had under their chief Saifudddin Barha put the Mughal governor Marhamat Khan and all of his followers to death.[citation needed] As a reward Ali Muhammad Khan was given the title of Nawab by Muhammad Shah in 1737. He became so powerful that he refused to send tax revenues to the central government. Ali Muhammad Khan defeated Despat, the Banjara chief who held Philbit. In 1744, Ali Muhammad Khan tried to invade Kumaon with a well-prepared army that was 10,000 men strong. In late 1743, he tried to capture Almora, after which the king Kalyan Chand fled and sought the protection of the Raja of Garhwal, who forgave his previous mutual animosity and offered military support. As Ali Muhammad Khan burnt down the temple of Jageshwar, the Rohillas were faced by a combined Garhwal and Kumaon army which defeated Ali Muhammad Khan at the battle of Kairarau, forcing the rohilla to sue for peace.[need quotation to verify] Safdar Jang, the Nawab of Oudh, warned the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah of the growing power of the Rohillas. This caused Mohammed Shah to send an expedition against him as a result of which he surrendered to imperial forces. He was taken to Delhi as a prisoner, but was later pardoned and appointed governor of Sirhind. Most of his soldiers had already settled in the Katehar region during Nadir Shah's invasion of northern India in 1739, increasing the Rohilla population in the area to 100,000. Due to the large settlement of Rohilla Pashtuns, this part of Katehar region came to be known as Rohilkhand. The conversion of Hindus to Islam further resulted in its rapid growth.[citation needed] As Ali Muhammad Khan returned to Rohilkhand, Bareilly was made the capital of this newly formed Rohilkhand state.[citation needed]
When Ali Muhammad Khan died, leaving six sons. However, two of his elder sons were in Afghanistan at the time of his death while the other four were too young to assume the leadership of Rohilkhand. As a result, power transferred to other Rohilla Sardars, where Sadullah Khan was made the nominal head of the state. Faizullah Khan retained Bareilly, Dundi Khan gained Moradabad and Bisauli, Fath Khan-i-Saman was placed in charge of Badaun and Usehat, Mulla Sardar Bakhshi gained Kot and Hafiz Rahmat Khan Barech gained Salempur or Pilibhit. In 1755, Qutb Shah Rohilla, who was not a Rohilla by caste, but came to be known as a Rohilla as a preceptor and fighter of the Indian Rohillas, raised the standard of rebellion in Saharanpur against the Wazir Imad-ul-Mulk, who had taken his jagirs and given them to the Marathas. Mian Qutb Shah defeated the Mughal army at Karnal, and plundered the adjoining towns until he conquered the town of Sirhind. When he was completely defeated in his attempt to enter the Jalandhar Doab, he was forced to abandon all his territory. The Marathas invaded Rohilkhand, and as the chiefs could offer no effective resistance, they fled to the Terai, whence they sought the aid of Shuja-ud-Daula of Awadh. Shuja-ud-Daulah came to their aid, and their combined forces in November 1759 drove the Marathas across the Ganges, after inflicting severe losses upon them.[citation needed] Qutb Khan Rohilla defeated and beheaded the Maratha general Dattaji at Burari Ghat.[full citation needed]
In the Third Battle of Panipat (1761) one of the Rohilla Sardars, Najib-ud-Daula, allied himself with Ahmad Shah Abdali against the Marathas. He not only provided 40,000 Rohilla troops but also 70 guns to the allied. He also convinced Shuja-ud-Daula, the Nawab of Oudh, to join Ahmad Shah Abdali's forces against the Marathas. In this battle, the Marathas were defeated and as a consequence the Rohilla increased in power.[citation needed]