Rohilkhand

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Rohilkhand (Hindi: रुहेलखण्ड, Urdu: روہیل کھنڈ) is a region of northwestern Uttar Pradesh state of India.[1][2].

Rohilkhand lies on the upper Ganges alluvial plain and has an area of about 25,000 km² (10,000 square miles). It is bounded by the Ganges River on the south and the west by Uttarakhand and Nepal on the north, and by the Awadh region to the east. The region is named for the Rohilla tribe, and was known as Madhyadesh in the Hindu epic Mahabharata.[3].

Contents

[edit] History

Rohillas were Pathan highlanders of the Yusufzai tribe who were awarded the Katehr region in northern India by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir to suppress Rajput uprisings. Later it gained fame as Rohilkhand due to large settlements of Rohilla Pathans. Roh means mountains and in Pashto Rohilla means mountaineer [4].

Rohillas were distingiushed from local people by their tall stature, fair complexation, and by their separate language and culture. They used to speak Pashto among each other but gradually lost their language.[5] However, some Pathan families in Rohilkhand today can still speak/understand Pashto. The reason was that until recent times, most of them were able to travel to Pakhtunkhwa.[6] Today, the Afghan proper refer to themselves as Ban-i-Afghan or Ban-i-Isrial to differentiate themselves form the Indian Pathan.[7] Rohilkhand was invaded by the Marathas after Panipat war.

The Rohillas requested military help from the Nawab of Oudh in exchange for money. After the defeat of the Marathas, the Rohillas refused to pay. In the Rohilla War of 1773-4 the Rohillas were defeated.

The Rohillas started guerilla warfare against the British occupation of Rohilkhand.[8] The Rohillas were hunted down and slaughtered mercilessly by the British and were scattered in the countryside and settled in many small towns. Later British transferred Rohilkhand to British empire in 1774.

[edit] Further reading

  • History of the Rohilla Afghans, by Charles Hamilton, 1787.
  • Hastings and the Rohilla War by Sir J. Strachey, Oxford, 1892. [4]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition: Rohilkhand
  2. ^ RohilkhandThis article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
  3. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica Online: Rohilkhand
  4. ^ a b Rohilla This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain..
  5. ^ Pashto Language & Identity Formation: Contemporary South Asia, July 1995, Vol 4, Issue 2, p151,20
  6. ^ Dawat: Study of the Pathan Communities in four States of India
  7. ^ Pathan. Lucknow for Jesus. Retrieved on 2007-02-17.
  8. ^ Guyana: The Afghan Muslims of Guyana and Suriname

[edit] External links

Historical regions of North India
Ajmer | Awadh | Bagelkhand | Braj | Bundelkhand | Delhi | Dhundhar | Garhwal | Gird | Godwar | Hadoti | Jaisalmer | Jangladesh | Kumaun | Magadha | Mahakoshal | Malwa | Marwar | Mewar | Mewat | Mithila | Nimar | Purvanchal | Rohilkhand | Shekhawati | Vagad
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