| Group: | Rohilla |
| Popplace: | India (Rohilkhand), Pakistan (Karachi) |
| Langs: | Hindi/Urdu • Pashto |
| Rels: | Islam |
| Related: | Pathans of Uttar Pradesh, Urdu-speaking people, other Pashtun tribes |
Rohillas are a mixed Indian community of Pashtun heritage,[1] [2] [3] historically found in Rohilkhand, a region in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India.[4] It forms the largest Pashtun diaspora community in India, and has given its name to the Rohilkhand region.[4] The Rohilla military chiefs settled in this region of northern India in the 1720s, the first of whom was Ali Mohammed Khan.[4] [5]
The Rohillas are found all over Uttar Pradesh, but are more concentrated in the Rohilkhand regions of Bareilly and Moradabad divisions. Between 1838 and 1916, some Rohillas migrated to Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean region of the Americas in which they form a subset of the Muslim minority of the Indo-Caribbean ethnic group.[6] 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.[7] 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,[8] 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.[9] The immigration of Pashtuns from the Peshawar valley was further exacerbated with the collapse of Mughal authority and the invasion of Nader Shah.[10]
This community over generations had become culturally closer to the Awadh region between Katehr and Awadh.[11] 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.[12] This region, called Katehar by the Hindus, and Sambhal-Moradabad by the Muslims, 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.[13] [14] 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.[15] [16] 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. A majority of Rohillas migrated from Pashtunistan to North India between the 17th and 18th century.[17]
Among the Rohillas were long-domiciled Indian descendants, who were known as the country-born. These included the Shahjahanpur Pathans of the 1600s.[18] A large number of Indian converts were assimilated into the Rohilla fold, such as Ali Muhammad Khan Rohilla and Fath Khan-i-Saman, who swelled their ranks, adopting a professional "Rohilla" identity that reinvented lineage idioms and norms.[19] [20] Finally, a large number of newer Pashtun arrivals from the Northwest swelled their ranks, who were termed "Vilayati". 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.[21]
The founder of the state of Rohilkhand was Ali Muhammad Khan who was a Jat[22] [23] boy of age of eight when he was adopted by Daud Khan Rohilla. 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.[24] 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.[25]
The rise of the Rohilla state owed mainly to Ali Muhammad 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.[26] 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. 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 successfully invaded Kumaon with a well-prepared army that was 10,000 men strong. In late 1743, he captured 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 was defeated by Ali Muhammad Khan at the battle of Kairarau, forcing the Garhwal king to sue for peace. After seven months stay, disliking the climate of the region, the Rohillas returned to their homes in Katehr.[27] Safdar Jang, the Nawab of Oudh,[28] warned the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah[29] 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 has 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 Katehar region came to be known as Rohilkhand. The conversion of Hindus to Islam further resulted in its rapid growth. As Ali Muhammad Khan returned to Rohilkhand, Bareilly was made the capital of this newly formed Rohilkhand state.
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.[30] 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,[31] 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.[32] 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. Qutb Khan Rohilla defeated and beheaded the Maratha general Dattaji at Burari Ghat.[33]
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.
The Marathas invaded Rohilkhand to retaliate against the Rohillas' participation in the Panipat war. The Marathas under the leadership of the Maratha ruler Mahadji Shinde entered the land of Sardar Najib-ud-Daula which was held by his son Zabita Khan after the sardar's death. Zabita Khan initially resisted the attack with Sayyid Khan and Saadat Khan behaving with gallantry, but was eventually defeated with the death of Saadat Khan by the Marathas and was forced to flee to the camp of Shuja-ud-Daula and his country was ravaged by Marathas. The Maratha ruler Mahadji Shinde captured the family of Zabita Khan, looted his fort and desecrated the grave of Najib ad-Dawlah.[34] With the fleeing of the Rohillas, the rest of the country was burnt, with the exception of the city of Amroha, which was defended by some thousands of Amrohi Sayyid tribes.[35] The Rohillas who could offer no resistance fled to the Terai whence the remaining Sardar Hafiz Rahmat Khan Barech sought assistance in an agreement formed with the Nawab of Oudh, Shuja-ud-Daula, by which the Rohillas agreed to pay four million rupees in return for military help against the Marathas. Hafiz Rehmat, abhoring unnecessary violence unlike the outlook of his fellow Rohillas such as Ali Muhammad and Najib Khan, prided himself on his role as a political mediator and sought the alliance with Awadh to keep the Marathas out of Rohilkhand. He bound himself to pay on behalf of the Rohillas. However, after he refused to pay, Oudh attacked the Rohillas.[36]
Afterwards, the Rohillas were attacked by the neighbouring kingdom of Oudh led by the Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula and his principal sardars, Basant Ali Khan, Mahbub Ali Khan, and Sayyid Ali Khan.[37] The Nawab also received assistance from an East India Company force under the command of Colonel Alexander Champion. Hafiz Rehmat was joined by the Indian Pathans of Farrukhabad in the Doab and the Rajput yeomanry.[38] This conflict is known as the Rohilla War. When Hafiz Rahmat Khan Barech was killed, in April 1774, Rohilla resistance crumbled, and Rohilkhand was annexed by the kingdom of Oudh. Shuja-ud-Daulah spread his troops to murder, plunder and commit every on the peasantry. The Rohillas under Faizullah Khan, Ahmad Khan Bakhshi, Ahmad Khan-i-Saman, the son of Fath Khan-i-saman retired to the hills at Lal Dang and started a guerrilla war to avenge their defeat.[39] Warren Hastings' role in the conflict was publicized during his impeachment.
From 1774 to 1799, the region was administered by Khwaja Almas Khan, a Jat Muslim convert from Hoshiarpur, Punjab,[40] as representative of the Awadh (Kingdom of Oudh) rulers. This period was particularly tough for the Rohillas, as Almas Khan made every effort to violently extract wealth from the inhabitants.[41] Almas Khan carved out a principality and possessed a considerable army like the Nawab.[42] In 1799, the British East India Company annexed the territory, and started to pay a pension to the family of Hafiz Rahmat Khan Barech.[43]
While most of Rohilkhand was annexed, the Rohilla State of Rampur was established by Nawab Faizullah Khan on 7 October 1774 in the presence of Colonel Alexander Champion, and remained a compliant state under British protection thereafter. The first stone of the new Fort at Rampur was laid in 1775 by Nawab Faizullah Khan. The first Nawab proposed to rename the city Faizabad, but many other places were known by that name so its name was changed to Mustafabad. Faizullah Khan suppressed a rebellion of Hurmat Khan, the son of Hafiz Rehmat, and sent a force of horse under Muhammad Umar Khan help the British defeat the Sikh attacks in Bijnor.[44]
The Qissa-o-Ahwal-i-Rohilla written by Rustam Ali Bijnori in 1776 provides an example of the refined Urdu prose of the Muslim Rohilla elite in Rohilkhand and Katehr.[45]
Nawab Faizullah Khan ruled for 20 years. He was a patron of education and began the collection of Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Hindustani manuscripts which are now housed in the Rampur Raza Library. After his death his son Muhammad Ali Khan took over. He was assassinated by Rohilla elders after reigning for 24 days, and Muhammad Ali Khan's brother, Ghulam Muhammad Khan, was proclaimed Nawab. The East India Company took exception to this, and after a reign of just 3 months and 22 days, Ghulam Muhammad Khan was besieged and defeated by East India Company forces. The East India Company supported Muhammad Ali Khan's son, Ahmad Ali Khan, to be the new Nawab. He ruled for 44 years. He did not have any sons, so Muhammad Saeed Khan, son of Ghulam Muhammad Khan, took over as the new Nawab after his death. He established Courts and improved the economic conditions of farmers. His son Muhammad Yusuf Ali Khan took over after his death and his son, Kalb Ali Khan, became the new Nawab after his death in 1865.
| Nawab of Rampur | Reign Began | Reign Ended | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Faizullah Khan | 15 September 1774 | 24 July 1793 |
| 3 | Muhammad Ali Khan Bahadur | 24 July 1793 | 11 August 1793 |
| 4 | Ghulam Muhammad Khan Bahadur | 11 August 1793 | 24 October 1794 |
| 5 | Ahmad Ali Khan Bahadur | 24 October 1794 | 5 July 1840 |
| – | Nasrullah Khan – Regent | 24 October 1794 | 1811 |
| 6 | Muhammad Said Khan Bahadur | 5 July 1840 | 1 April 1855 |
| 7 | Yusef Ali Khan Bahadur | 1 April 1855 | 21 April 1865 |
| 8 | Kalb Ali Khan Bahadur | 21 April 1865 | 23 March 1887 |
| 9 | Muhammad Mushtaq Ali Khan Bahadur | 23 March 1887 | 25 February 1889 |
| 10 | Hamid Ali Khan Bahadur | 25 February 1889 | 20 June 1930 |
| – | General Azeemudin Khan – Regent | 25 February 1889 | 4 April 1894 |
| 11 | Raza Ali Khan Bahadur | 20 June 1930 | 6 March 1966 |
| 12 | Murtaza Ali Khan Bahadur – Nawabat abolished in 1971 | 6 March 1966 | 8 February 1982 |
| 13 | Murad Ali Khan Bahadur | 8 February 1982 | Incumbent |
They were generally settled in villages, in many of which they own and cultivate the soil, and in some of which they formed large brotherhoods, approaching those of Jats and Rajputs, with a similar constitution. Evidence from 1857 suggests that the survival of degrees of Pathan-derived lineage based identity in villagers of the old Rohilkhand districts. These identities were marked as much by signs of assimilation and transformation as any continuity.[46]
The period between the revolt of 1857 and the independence of India in 1947 was a period of stability for the Rohilla community. In 1858, the British colonial government issued a general pardon to all those who had taken part in the Indian Rebellion and restored many lands. Some of the tribes were punished for aiding the rebels. Some tribes had to migrate to Delhi and Gurgaon, while others migrated to the Deccan region. Conditions improved after some years and migration from the North West Frontier Province and Afghanistan recommenced, adding to the Rohilla population. During this period, the Rohillas were also effected by the reformist movement of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, with many taking to modern education. The founder of the Barelvi sect of Sunni Islam, Ahmad Raza Khan, was also born among the Rohillas and the city of Bareilly became an important centre of Islamic learning in Northern India.
While a majority of Rohillas remained landowners and cultivators, a significant minority took to western education, and entered professions such as law and medicine. They also began to take an interest in the political debates during the last decade of the 19th Century. Some of them joined the newly formed Indian National Congress, while others were attracted to pan-Islamism. This period also saw a wholesale adoption of North Indian Muslim culture, with Urdu becoming the native language of the Rohilla. In fact the term of Rohilla was slowly replaced with the term "Pathan", which was a new self-identification. However a sense of distinct identity remained strong, with the Rohillas residing in distinct quarters of cities, such as, Kakar Tola, Pani Tola and Gali Nawaban in Bareilly, which was home to the descendants of Hafiz Rahmat Khan. There was intermarriages with neighbouring Muslim communities such as the Shaikh, Muslim Rajput and Kamboh. Thus at the dawn of independence, the Rohilla were losing their distinct community status.[47]
The independence of Pakistan and India in 1947 had a profound effect on the Rohilla community. The vast majority of them emigrated to Pakistan in 1947. Those that were left in India, were affected by the abolishment of the zamindari system in 1949, as well as the ascension of the State of Rampur to India and many of them migrated to join their kinsmen in Karachi, Pakistan. The Rohilla now form two distinct communities with the majority in Pakistan and a small minority residing in India.
The Rohilla now form one of the larger muslim and Hindu Rohila Rajput communities of Uttar Pradesh and are found throughout Uttar Pradesh, with settlements in Rampur, Bareilly, Shahjahanpur in Rohilkhand being the densest Rampur. Rampur was established by Hindu Rohilla Rajput king Raja Ram Singh (909 to 966 A.D.) in the 9th century. Till 1254 it was being ruled by Rohilla clan king Maharaja Ranveer Singh Rohilla, who was killed on the day of Rakshabandhan festival by Nasiruddin Changej. Prior to that Nasiruddin Changej was defeated by Maharaja Ranveer Singh Rohilla, but left without killing. He took help of Rajpurohi Pandit Gokul Nath Pandey, who told that Rohilla Rajputs worship Arms at Raksha Bandhan and do prayers. It was while Maharaja Ranveer Singh Rohilla was doing worship of Lord Shiva, under planned conspiracy he was attacked and killed by Royal Army from Delhi led by Nasirudding Changej of Ghulam Vansh, who ruled Delhi.
In Pakistan, the Rohillas and other Urdu-speaking Pathans have now completely assimilated into larger Urdu speaking community. There is no sense of corporate identity among the descendants of Rohilla Pathans in Pakistan with high degree of intermarriage with other Muslims. They mainly live in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, and other urban areas of Sindh.[48]