The Rohilla War

01A debt and a bargain

The Rohilla Afghans had ruled the country between the Ganga and the hills, Bareilly at its heart, since the 1740s. When the Marathas threatened them in 1772, Hafiz Rahmat Khan promised Shuja-ud-Daula a large sum for his protection, then failed to pay once the danger passed. Shuja decided to take Rohilkhand instead. At Benares in 1773 Warren Hastings agreed to lend him a Company brigade for forty lakh rupees and its costs.

02Miranpur Katra and Lal Dang

Colonel Champion’s brigade met the Rohilla army at Miranpur Katra on 23 April 1774. The Rohillas charged the Company guns bravely, and Hafiz Rahmat Khan was killed. Awadh’s troops then plundered the country. Faizullah Khan led the survivors into the forests of Lal Dang at the foot of the hills and held out until October, when the Treaty of Lal Dang left him the small state of Rampur under Awadh.