>Glorious 93 at 21:06, 7 July 2021

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{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2017}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = The First Rohilla War
| width =
| partof = [[Rohilla Wars]]
| image = Rohilla Horsemen.jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption = Rohilla Cavalry
| date = 1773-1774
| place = [[Rohilkhand]]
| coordinates = 
| map_type =
| map_relief =
| map_size =
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| map_label =
| territory = Annexation of the [[Kingdom of Rohilkhand]] and the Creation of [[Rampur State|Rampur Princely State]].
| result = Rohilla Defeat. Treaty of Lal Dang
| status =
| combatants_header =
| combatant1 = [[File:Flag of the Rampur State.svg|23px]] [[Kingdom of Rohilkhand]]
| combatant2 = {{flagcountry|UKGBI}}
* [[File:Flag of Awadh.svg|23px]] [[Oudh State]]
| combatant3 =
|commander1 = [[File:Flag of the Rampur State.svg|23px]] [[Faizullah Khan|Nawab Faizullah Khan of Rohilkhand]]

[[File:Flag of the Rampur State.svg|23px]] [[Hafiz Rahmat Khan Barech|Hafiz Rehmat Khan Barech]] {{KIA}}

[[File:Flag of the Rampur State.svg|23px]] [[Abdullah Khan of Rohilkhand|Nawab Abdullah Khan of Rohilkhand]] {{KIA}}

[[File:Flag of the Rampur State.svg|23px]] [[Muhammad Yar Khan of Bareilly|Nawab Muhammad Yar Khan of Bareilly]]{{KIA}}
| commander2 = [[File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg|23px]] [[Warren Hastings]]

[[File:Flag of the British East India Company (1707).svg|23px]] [[Alexander Champion (East India Company officer)|Colonel Alexander Champion]]

[[File:Flag of Awadh.svg|23px]] [[Shuja-ud-Daula|Shuja-ad-Daula]]
| commander3 =
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| notes =
| campaignbox =
}}
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 [[Rohilla]]s, Afghan highlanders settled in [[Rohilkhand]], northern India. The Nawab was supported by troops of the [[British East India Company]], 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]]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]] for assistance, which was given in return for a sum of forty [[lakh]]s of rupees.<ref name=EB1911>{{EB1911 |wstitle=Rohilla |volume=23 |page=461 |inline=1}}</ref>

Hastings justified his action on the ground that the Rohillas were a danger to the British as uncovering the flank of [[Awadh]].<ref name=EB1911/>

==Course of the war==
The Rohillas under [[Hafiz Rahmat Ali Khan]]<ref>[http://www.library.upenn.edu/collections/sasia/crafts1820/introduc.html Introduction to the Eleven Illustrations of Ghulam Yahya]</ref> were defeated by Colonel [[Alexander Champion (East India Company officer)|Alexander Champion]] on 23 April 1774 at the [[Battle of Miranpur Katra]]. The decisive battle, in which Hafiz Rahmat Khan died, caused the Rohillas to flee to the mountains near Loll Dong.<ref>[http://www.india9.com/i9show/Miranpur-Katra-80142.htm Miranpur Katra in India]</ref>

===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.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Prasad |first1=Alok |title=Rohilla Resistance Against Colonial Intervention Under Nawab Faizullah Khan of Rampur (1774-1794) |journal= Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=73 |pages=563–572 |jstor=44156249 |year=2012 }}</ref>

==Consequences==

Rohilkhand fell to Awadh, was plundered and occupied. The majority of the Rohillas left. They fled across the [[Ganges]] in numbers, to start a guerrilla war; or emigrated. A Rohilla state under British protection was set up in [[Rampur, Uttar Pradesh|Rampur]]. [[Faizullah Khan]] 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]], in 1794.The primary intention was to regain the erstwhile territories of Rohillas.<ref name=Strachey>{{cite book | last=Strachey | first=John | title=Hastings and the Rohilla war | publisher=Clarendon Press | year=1892 | oclc=1045958597 | url=https://archive.org/details/hastingsrohillaw00strauoft | access-date=2019-08-27|pages=[https://archive.org/details/hastingsrohillaw00strauoft/page/280 280]–281}}</ref>

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.<ref name=Strachey/>

==Warren Hastings==

The war became a matter of Westminster politics during the [[Impeachment of Warren Hastings]]. Charges of destroying a nation were brought against Hastings by [[Edmund Burke]] and later [[Thomas Macaulay]].<ref name=EB1911/>

==References==
* [[John Strachey (civil servant)|John Strachey]] (1892), ''Hastings and the Rohilla War''

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.rangan-datta.info/photo/viewpic.php?gallery=41&id=206 Photo of Rohilla War Memorial at the St. John's Church compound Calcutta]

{{British colonial campaigns}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Invasions]]
[[Category:Rohilla]]
[[Category:History of Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:1773 in India]]
[[Category:1774 in India]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1773]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1774]]

First Rohilla War - Revision history

>Glorious 93 at 21:06, 7 July 2021