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Rohilkhand is a region of northwestern Uttar Pradesh state of India. Rohilkhand lies on the upper Ganges alluvial plain and has an area of about 25,000 km² (10,000 square miles). It is bounded by the Ganges River on the south and the west by Uttarakhand and Nepal on the north, and by the Awadh region to the east. The region is named for the Rohilla tribe, and was known as Madhyadesh in the Hindu epic Mahabharata.^{[citation needed]}

Rohillas were Pashtun highlanders^{[citation needed]} (Roh means mountains and Rohilla literally means mountaineer) who belonged to Yusufzai tribe of Pushtuns were awarded the Katehr region^{[citation needed]} in northern India by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir to suppress Rajput uprisings^{[citation needed]}. Later it gained fame as Rohilkhand due to large settlements of Rohilla Pushtuns.

Rohillas were distingiushed from local people by their tall stature,^{[citation needed]} fair complexation,^{[citation needed]} and by their separate language and culture.^{[citation needed]} They used to speak Pashto^{[citation needed]} among each other but gradually lost their language. Rohilkhand was invaded by the Marathas after Panipat war.^{[citation needed]} Rohillas requested military help from Nawab of Oudh in exchange of sums.^{[citation needed]} After the defeat of Marathas the Rohillas refused to pay. Nawab of Oudh was not able to fight Rohillas alone so he sought help from Warren Hastings of the British East India Company.^{[citation needed]} Nawab of Oudh promised stipulated sums in return for their military aid. They invaded and defeat Rohillas after fierce war.^{[citation needed]} The Rohillas started a guerilla warfare against the British occupation of Rohilkhand. The Rohillas were hunted down and slaughtered mercilessly^{[citation needed]} by the British and were scattered in the countryside and settled in many small towns.^{[citation needed]} Later British transferred Rohilkhand to British empire in 1774.

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