Darogas (also spelled darogha or daroghah) were police officials in the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

and the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

. In the Mughal Empire, a daroga was superintendent of the "slaves" of a Mughal monarch.

Duties performed by daroga

The darogas served in the armies of

Kachhwaha The Kachhwaha or Kachawa is a Rajput clan found primarily in India. Sometimes families within the clan ruled a number of kingdoms and princely states, such as Jaipur State, Jaipur, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Alwar State, Alwar and M ...

s and Mughals; and in accordance with the duties performed by them, the darogas were given various titles like ''daroga-i-sutarkhana'', ''daroga-i-topkhana'', and ''daroga-i-baroodkhana''. Daroghas answered to district

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

s who were in charge of areas at least ; because the magistrates were responsible for such a large area, the daroghas were normally the most powerful

local authorities Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

. In some cases, they were in charge of factories. The darogas also had command over the police in rural areas.

Female daroga

The women assigned to the administration of the imperial

harem Harem (Persian: حرمسرا ''haramsarā'', ar, حَرِيمٌ ''ḥarīm'', "a sacred inviolable place; harem; female members of the family") refers to domestic spaces that are reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A hare ...

were also given the title of darogha. The position was appointed by the emperor himself, and marked a great honor for the woman and her family. Consequently, the women given these posts were chosen because they were well brought up, educated and from respectable families. Asmat Banu Begam, the mother of Empress

Nur Jahan Nur Jahan, born Mehr-un-Nissa P ersian: نورجهان (; – 18 December 1645) was the wife and chief consort of the Mughal emperor Jahangir from 1620 until his death in 1627. Nur Jahan was born Mehr-un-Nissa, as the daughter of a Mirza Ghi ...

, had at one time acted in this role. Female daroghas were tasked with maintaining court etiquette and keeping the peace within the harem.

Daroga by birth

Ramya Sreenivasan Ramya Sreenivasan (born 1966) is an Indian scholar of English and early modern Indian history. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of Pennsylvania. She was originally appointed in the Department of South ...

stated that the male children born from "the illegitimate union of Rajputs and their inferiors" were referred to as daroga and gola, while the female children born from such union were referred to as darogi and goli.

Ravana Rajputs

Lindsey Harlan identified the darogas with the

Ravana Rajputs Ravana Rajput is an Indian caste. They are among the castes known as Darogas, who claim Kshatriya status. Origins The Ravana Rajputs (known as Darogas) were issues of men from Rajput, Charan, and Oswal communities and their concubines which b ...

References

Gubernatorial titles Law enforcement titles Government of the Mughal Empire Positions of subnational authority Historical law enforcement occupations Mughal Harem {{Pakistan-hist-stub