hindustani fanatics, india's pashtuns, and deobandism – connections

Hindustani Fanatics, India’s Pashtuns, and Deobandism – Connectionsprocess of invading India from Afghanistan and his presence and de facto alliance with his fellow Pashtuns, the Rohillas, left Rohilkhand under thecontrol of Hafiz Rahmat Khan. The Imperial Gazetteer of India provides some details:“The Ould [Awadh] Wazir, Safdar Jang, plundered the property of the Farrukhabad Nawab after his death, and this led to a union of theRohilla Afghans with those of Farrukhabad …. But the Wazir called in the aid of the Maratha, and with them defeated [Hafiz] Rahmat Khan and theRohillas…. He then besieged them for four months at the foot of the hills; but owing to the invasion of Ahmad Shah Durrani terms were arranged,and Hafiz Rahmat Khan [guardian to the sons of Ali Muhammad] became de facto ruler of Rohilkhand.”Unfortunately for the Rohillas, the death of Safdar Jang in 1754 brought little long-term relief from the military pressures they were under.His son, Shuja-ud Daulah, was determined to undermine the Pashtuns and gain control of their territory and he embarked on a clever balance of powerexercise between the Rohillas, the Marathas, and the English of the East India Company.His goal was made considerably easier as the Afghans under Ahmad Shah Durrani began to withdraw from India toward the west underpressure from the Sikhs. In 1767 the Afghan Durrani Pashtuns lost Lahore to the Sikhs as large numbers of Sikhs moved east into the Delhi region,attacking Rohillas as the moves were made.The Marathas had lost two of their districts to the Rohillas when they were given to the Pashtuns during Ahmad Shah Durrani’s invasion ofIndia and their goal involved the recovery of lost territory. As they moved in the direction of Rohilkhand in 1768, Rohilla leader Hafiz Rahmat Khanwas encumbered with grumbling troops who had been unpaid for seven months and looted villages near Farrukhabad, but he was able to send men tothe assistance of Ahmad Khan Bangash as the Marathas approached. By June 1772, the Rohillas had signed a treaty with Shuja-ud Daulah, one thathad considerable financial consequences for the leaders of Rohilkhand.Additional unprecedented tribal intrigue resulted, primarily over conflicting goals. Hafiz Rahmat Khan worked to eliminate the large financialobligation he had incurred as Shuja-ud Daulah worked to undermine the alliance in his efforts to gain control of Rohilkhand’s rich lands and controlof multiple trade routes. The external threat to both of them, the Marathas, was forced to withdraw as Hafiz Rahmat Khan found himself in the leastdesirable position. He was faced with a powerful enemy in Shuja-ud Daulah, a leader who was allied with a powerful new force in India, the English,in a strange triangular relationship in which both Shuja and Hafiz Rahmat Khan courted the English commanders.The animosity felt by Shuja-ud Daulah toward the Rohillas is difficult to understand. They were allied together while supporting the Afghanleader, Ahmad Shah Durrani, during his invasion of India, but Shuja turned on his former ally for an unknown reason. Part of his motivation involvedtheir different religions, however. Shujah-ud Daulah, the Nawab of Awadh, was a Persian and a Shi’a 24 , while the Rohillas were Sunni Sufis, and theyoccupied some of the same rich land in northern India at a time when the Mughal Empire was breaking apart during the period following the death ofAurangzeb. Survival depended on the acquisition of resources and Shuja planned on surviving.politics eventually overtook him and he was dismissed in 1753.24. http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/SRR/Volume12/airavat.html#3 (Accessed August 23, 2008).Tribal Analysis Center, 6610-M Mooretown Road, Box 159. Williamsburg, VA, 23188