Rohilla

The Rohilla Pathans (Pashto: روهیله‎, Urdu: روہیلہ‎, Hindi: रोहिला), or Rohilla Afghan, is a community of Urdu-speaking people of Pashtun ethnicity, historically found in Rohilkhand, a region in the state of Uttar Pradesh, North India. It forms the largest Pashtun diaspora community in India, and has given its name to the Rohilkhand region. Historically, Pashtun people were refereed to as Afghan, but present-day Indian constitution does not recognize Pathan as being synonymous with Afghan.

The Rohilla Pathans are found all over Uttar Pradesh, but are more concentrated in the Rohilkhand regions of Bareilly, Shahjahanpur and Rampur district. Some members of the Rohilla migrated to Pakistan and settled in Karachi after the independence of Pakistan in 1947. Today they make up 30-35% of the Muhajir community of Sindh. Smaller scattered populations of Rohillas of Afghan descent can be found in Burma and the South American countries of Suriname and Guyana.

Origin

The term Rohilla is derived from the word Roh, meaning mountain, and literally means mountain wind. Roh was the name of the area around Peshawar city, in Pakistan. Yousafzai Pathans especially the Mandarr sub clan living in this valley were also known as Rohillas when they settled the area then known as Katehr. It later became known as Rohil Khand which means the land of the Rohillas. The great majority of Rohillas migrated here between 17th and 18th Century." However, in Uttar Pradesh the term was used for Pashtuns who settled in the Rohilkhand region, or for men serving under Rohilla chiefs.

SS Rohilla

Rohilla was a passenger steamer of the British India Steam Navigation Company which was built for service between the UK and India, and as a troopship. After becoming a hospital ship in World War I, Rohilla ran aground in October 1914 near Whitby with the loss of 83 lives.

History

Rohilla was ordered in 1905 by the British India Steam Navigation Company (BI) from Harland & Wolff Ltd of Belfast, at the same time as sister ship Rewa from William Denny & Bros at Dumbarton. They differed mainly in their engines: Rewa was triple-screw with steam turbines, while Rohilla had a pair of quadruple expansion steam engines, also made by Harland & Wolff, and twin screws. Rohilla's engines totalled IHP, producing 16.6 knots on sea trials. Although ordered for the London to Calcutta service, increased competition prompted BI to design the two sisters to be suitable also as troopships.

The steamship was named Rohilla in honour of the Rohillas, Pashtun highlanders who lived in Rohilkhand, east of Delhi, in the modern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.