The First Rohilla War of 1773–1774 was a punitive campaign by
Shuja-ud-Daula
Shuja-ud-Daula (b. – d. ) was the Subedar and Nawab of Oudh and the Vizier of Delhi from 5 October 1754 to 26 January 1775.
Early life
Shuja-ud-Daula was the son of the Mughal Grand Vizier Safdarjung chosen by Ahmad Shah Bahadur. Unlik ...
,
Nawab of Awadh
The Nawab of Awadh or the Nawab of Oudh was the title of the rulers who governed the state of Awadh (anglicised as Oudh) in north India during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Nawabs of Awadh belonged to a dynasty of Persian origin from Nishap ...
on the behalf of
Mughal Emperor
The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...
, against the
Rohillas,
Afghan highlanders settled in
Rohilkhand, northern India. The Nawab was supported by troops of the
British East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...
, in a successful campaign brought about by the Rohillas reneging on a debt to the Nawab.
Background
Having been driven into the mountains by the
Maratha
The Marathi people ( Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as ...
s, a few years earlier, the Rohillas had appealed for aid to Shuja-ud-Daulah, at that time an ally of the British. The Nawab demanded in return 40 rods of gold, that Rohilla chiefs refused to pay. The Nawab then decided to annex their country, and appealed to
Warren Hastings
Warren Hastings (6 December 1732 – 22 August 1818) was a British colonial administrator, who served as the first Governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), the head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and so the first Governor-General ...
for assistance, which was given in return for a sum of forty
lakhs of rupees.
Hastings justified his action on the ground that the Rohillas were a danger to the British as uncovering the flank of
Awadh
Awadh (), known in British historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a region in the modern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which was before independence known as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. It is synonymous with the Kośāla region of ...
.
[
]
Course of the war
The Rohillas under Hafiz Rahmat Ali Khan were defeated by Colonel Alexander Champion on 23 April 1774 at the Battle of Miranpur Katra
The Battle of Miranpur Katra was the decisive battle in the First Rohilla War
The First Rohilla War of 1773–1774 was a punitive campaign by Shuja-ud-Daula, Nawab of Awadh on the behalf of Mughal Emperor, against the Rohillas, Afghan high ...
. The decisive battle, in which Hafiz Rahmat Khan died, caused the Rohillas to flee to the mountains near Loll Dong.
Guerrilla War and Siege
By October 1774, the war evolved into a war of attrition. Faizullah Khan with the remaining loyal Rohillas retreated to a forest located in the hills of Lal Dang. The combined forces of the British and Awadh laid siege to the area from late August 1774 to October of the same year. Both sides were worn down and wished for peace.
Shah Shuja, who was suffering from cancer in his leg, wanted an early peace and thus after several attempts to break Rohilla unity under Faizullah Khan, he finally decided to release Mohabbat Khan, son of the late Hafiz Rehmat Khan in an attempt to undermine Faizullah's authority while at the same time he kept communication with Faizullah. His strategy worked and on 7 October 1774 Faizullah signed an amicable treaty of Lal dang and was granted a princely state in the area of his choosing, leading to the creation of Rampur State.
Consequences
Rohilkhand fell to Awadh, was plundered and occupied. The majority of the Rohillas left. They fled across the Ganges
The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...
in numbers, to start a guerrilla war; or emigrated. A Rohilla state under British protection was set up in Rampur. Faizullah Khan
Nawab Sayyid Faizullah Ali Khan (c. 1730 – 17 July 1794) was the first Nawab of Rampur. The princely state of Rampur was set up in year 1774, after the First Rohilla War, by the dismemberment of the Rohilla Kingdom of Rohilkhand. Faizulla ...
managed to become the nawab of newly created Rampur state. After his death his son Muhammad Ali Khan succeeded him who was deposed by his younger brother and second son of Faizullah Khan named Ghulam Muhammad Khan Bahadur.The aspirations of Afghan Rohillas under him led him to participate in the Second Rohilla War
The Second Rohilla War was a conflict between British India and the Rohillas of Rampur in 1794. John Shore was governor general during the second Rohilla war. riginal from the New York Public Library/ref>
Background
The North Western reg ...
, in 1794.The primary intention was to regain the erstwhile territories of Rohillas.
However, Ghulam Muhammad's accession to the throne by leading a conspiracy against his brother was not liked by Britishers, who derecognised him as ruler of the Rampur state. Large number of Afghans then flocked to join him against the British but ultimately he was defeated and the state which was now considerably reduced in size was handed over to the infant son of Muhammad Ali Khan.[
]
Warren Hastings
The war became a matter of Westminster politics during the Impeachment of Warren Hastings
The impeachment of Warren Hastings, the first governor-general of Bengal, was attempted between 1787 and 1795 in the Parliament of Great Britain. Hastings was accused of misconduct during his time in Calcutta, particularly relating to mismanageme ...
. Charges of destroying a nation were brought against Hastings by Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke (; 12 January NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS">New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS/nowiki>_1729_–_9_July_1797)_was_an_NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">N ...
and later Thomas Macaulay
Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay, (; 25 October 1800 – 28 December 1859) was a British historian and Whig politician, who served as the Secretary at War between 1839 and 1841, and as the Paymaster-General between 1846 and 1 ...
.[
]
References
* John Strachey (1892), ''Hastings and the Rohilla War''
Notes
External links
Photo of Rohilla War Memorial at the St. John's Church compound Calcutta
{{Authority control
Invasions
Rohilla
History of Uttar Pradesh
1773 in India
1774 in India
Conflicts in 1773
Conflicts in 1774