History of Pashtuns: Nawabs of Rampur

Kalb Ali Khan, Nawab of Rampur, 1880 (c). Photo by Bourne & Shepherd. Source

The Nawabs of Rampur were descendants of Ali Muhammad Khan Rohilla (died in 1748). It is generally acknowledged that Ali Muhammad Rohilla was not Pashtun by birth. He was a Hindu Indian boy (Jat, Ahir or Rajput) adopted as son by Daud Khan (a mercenary from Pakhtunkhwa). However all the 18th century sources refer to Ali Muhammad Khan and his sons as "Afghan" (Pashtun) and "Rohilla" (Pashtun) which indicate that Ali Muhammad Khan and his sons identified as Pashtuns , spoke Pashto and had Pashtun manners and customs. Anandram Mukhlis who saw Ali Muhammad Khan Rohilla in 1743, describes him as a man of medium height with a fair complexion, blooming face and open forehead, about forty years old, but looking youthful and dauntlessly brave.

In 1815 Mountstuart Elphinstone noted that Pashto was still spoken in Rampur. In late 19th and 20th century the Nawabs of Rampur, now fully Indianized, began to claim Syed ancestry.

The Nawabs of Rampur were known for their fine aesthetic taste and preservation of ancient history. One of the dynasty's greatest accomplishments was the founding of the Rampur Raza Library: retaining one of India's largest collections of Arabic and Persian historical documents.