Pixelated Memories: Rohilla

Showing posts with label Rohilla. Show all posts

August 23, 2014

Najaf Khan and his tomb, Delhi

"Hukumat-e-Shah Alam, Az Dilli te Palam"

"The rule of Shah Alam exists only from Dilli (Red Fort) to Palam (a suburban village then)"

– Popular saying deriding Shah Alam I's weak administration

Prince of an ousted dynasty, related to the ex-Emperor through a distant relationship, he was fleeing persecution and imprisonment in his native land and being given a terrible chase over dense forests and numerous plains by bloodthirsty soldiers and officers of his nemesis; accompanied by his close family and a few still loyal, travelling throughout the day and enforcing forced marches by night, he pressed on. The threat and fear of being tortured, and in all possibility executed, if caught permeated their thoughts and dreams, becoming a recurrent horrific nightmare and pervading their senses till they could think of nothing except escape from the sadist, cruel wolves in human form who were filled with unspeakable joy at the thought of punishing and killing them. Having long lost any understanding of what was happening, and with leaden feet and a terrible dread in their hearts, they ran for their lives – only to be caught.

Just when he had lost all hope and was giving himself to despair, Mirza Najaf Khan Baloch, the Safavid prince, was rescued from the prisons of Shah Nadir of Persia (Iran) by another of his distant relatives Saadat Khan, the Nawab of Awadh, who, on account of being the governor of one of the richest provinces in Mughal India, wielded considerable influence throughout the Indian subcontinent and also among several distant territories with whom the Mughals professed to trade and friendly relationship. The year was AD 1736 and three years later, the prince decided, inexplicably so, to shift residence to Awadh where his sister was married to a relation of the Nawab. In much detail have I recounted the entire tale of Saadat’s rapid rise and meteoric fall and his succession by his farsighted nephew and son-in-law Mirza Muqim Ali “Safdarjung” in an earlier blogpost that can be accessed here – Pixelated Memories - Safdarjung's Tomb Complex. Safdarjung, on ascending to a position of eminence in the court, immediately proceeded to strengthen himself – his influence was further enhanced by addition of numerous titles and command positions to his name by the grace of the fledgling emperor Muhammad Shah I (reigned AD 1719-48), but unsatisfied with the sluggish proceedings, he began on a policy of formidable military posturing by recruiting lethal soldiers and annexing the territories of smaller provinces flanking his own – the feeble emperor soon granted him the enviable position of “Wazir” (Prime Minister) and had Najaf Khan too employed in the Mughal army. But, Najaf had ambitions of his own, in his heart he knew that political intrigue was not his cup of tea and instead dreamt only of achieving an unparalleled skill in arms and a position of unmatched martial superiority further fortified by a massive standing army at his command. Before being hunted down in his own homeland, he had attained formidable training in horsemanship and developed an unmatched skill in the use of arms – now, given the reigns of a contingent of the Mughal forces, he diligently began to train soldiers into becoming lean fighting machines – it is claimed by historians that the toughened force that he trained was the supreme army of the land, equaled perhaps only by the European mercenaries – equipping his soldiers with modern weaponry and infusing them with determination and combat readiness through a backing of efficient organizational management and a superlative cavalry force, he embarked on creating a massive army that could withstand the rigors of prolonged battle as well the monotony of peace – at a time when the once almighty Mughal empire was falling apart and often in arrears with respect to its payments as a consequence of untamable governors expressing rebellion and an internal decay set in by a highly corrupt bureaucracy, he ensured that the soldiers were paid regularly and their training and upkeep of arms, armor and cavalry never suffered. The Mirza (*Mirza being a Mughal title, equivalent of a high-class gentleman) received his first setback in conflict not because of military unpreparedness, but political interference and lack of coordination between ally nobles and governors, resulting in a colossal defeat at the hands of the British East India “trading” Company at the Battle of Buxar (1764 AD) where his forces were irredeemably routed and his Emperor Shah Alam II (reigned AD 1759-1806) chased by the extremely advanced British forces, yet he sustained himself and his forces and continued to strengthen his hand in the background. The pathetic emperor, though able to retrieve the throne of Delhi for the Mughals once again with the help of the Hindu Marathas of central India, was reduced to a wretched supplicant cowering in terror and pleading for the lives of his family and subjects time and again by forces intent on raiding Delhi and its surroundings and plundering the riches and revenues of the land; filial royal rivalry, inexperienced generalship and scheming nobles continued to keep the army on its toes, rushing from one province to another to tackle the threat posed by overarching governors and terribly cruel warlords – appalling were the conditions and the empire seemed to be on the brink of collapse, when Mirza Najaf was decreed the Commander-in-Chief of all forces of Hindustan in 1772. Still hurting from the overwhelming defeat at Buxar, but by now possessing an immensely resolute infantry armed with artillery that was colossal in terms of the damage it inflicted and a reformed cavalry regarded with fear and despair by the enemy, Najaf Khan began the seemingly impossible task of setting the crumbling house in order despite the fact that large segments of the empire were breaking apart with an irrepressible regularity and new foes, in the form of extremely well-trained and unwavering European colonists and mercenaries, were making headway into the subcontinent.

Pristine - Mirza Najaf Khan's simplistic mausoleum

The first task that the valiant Mirza undertook on becoming the Commander-in-Chief was to expel the Rohilla Afghans of western Uttar Pradesh, who had become the regents of the feeble Mughal emperor Shah Alam, from Delhi – he was able to fulfill his mission in 1773 and from then on the emperor placed a blind conviction in his qualifications and administrative capabilities; even the hardliners were won to his side through his courteous manners and conciliatory tone, and he immediately began to grant his unremitting attention to the business of warfare and territorial preservation of the Mughal sovereignty. The revenue of several districts to the north and west of Delhi was assigned to him for raising the cost to assemble an excellent and gallant army which he built by availing the services of tenacious Persian and Turkish Muslim cavalry officers (“Mughalia”) and also by raising a contingent of extraordinarily skilled and fearless European mercenaries for his own personal guard; besides he stationed some of his trusted lieutenants – Mirza Najaf Quli Khan, Niyaz Beg, Muhammad Beg Hamadani and Afrasiyab Khan (the first and the last adoringly referred to by him as his adopted sons) – to develop into strongholds the territories granted by the emperor.

Shortly following the consolidation of his forces, Najaf Khan and his men were called to defend the capital against the Marathas, once allies in the war against Rohillas but since antagonized by supposed betrayal on the part of the emperor over the non-payment of war damages and grant of territories and revenues to their supreme leaders (“Sardars”); the emperor on his part felt that the Marathas had cornered the entire treasure, including cash, gold, elephants and horses, plundered from the Rohilla fortresses, and though Najaf Khan’s armies were still unprepared and untrained for decisive battle, he agreed to go to war rather than capitulate to the Marathas’ exorbitant conditions – the untrained soldiers proved highly ignorant and unmanageable, and wavered in the face of a colossal enemy that outnumbered them one to five, the consequence was large-scale butchering and maiming; but more than the enemy’s merciless and menacing advance, Najaf suffered on account of miserable carelessness on the part of Mughal artillery leading to explosion of huge powder chests and death of over four hundred soldiers and also because of backstabbing by other Mughal high officials, including the Wazir (“Prime Minister”) Husam-ud-Daulah who instead of supporting Najaf’s rear guard indulged in pillage and arson of their own camps with the Maratha soldiers! Najaf Khan’s nephew Mirza Ahsan was mortally wounded by cannon fire and died shortly. After plunder and pillage, the Marathas, numerically superior but lacking foresighted generalship, retreated with chest loads of treasure besides elephants, horses and other spoils. The hopeless emperor failed to punish the turncoat officials and immediately sued for peace with the Marathas, consenting to grant all their excessive demands along with crippling war levies – Husam-ud-Daulah bribed the Marathas, who were already terrified by Najaf Khan’s fighting ability and solid generalship, to demand the disbanding of his army and his dismissal and banishment from the capital, however, portending threat to their lord-commander, the Mughalia mercenaries immediately took up defensive positions outside Najaf Khan’s house – feeling betrayed, Najaf Khan audaciously defied the combined Mughal-Maratha authority and challenged them to expel him from the city; but sensing perilous conflict for his steadfast men and considering that he had no support except for his armed contingents nor allies and territories to financially support him in case of a gory war, he decided to surrender and accepted pension from the government and further agreed to the condition that he shall lead the forces in future conflicts as and when required by the administration – but he had no intention of doing so and had his soldiers abandon Maratha battalions in the thick of the soon convened war against Shuja-ud-Daulah, Nawab of Awadh and his kinsman – after the Marathas irreparably failed against the Awadh artillery backed by English commanders, Najaf Khan was dismissed along with his soldiers, though, to the dismay of Maratha command, after being paid in entirety and with much honor. His position was vindicated by the Maratha loss and he was asked to report to Delhi by the Mughal emperor, whereas Husam-ud-Daulah and the Marathas were chastised and disgraced for their abject failures on both the battle and diplomatic fronts – Najaf Khan had his own men deployed in the court, including his follower “Bahram Jang” Nawab Majid-ud-Daulah Abdul Ahad Khan as Wazir in place of Husam-ud-Daulah who was imprisoned and released only after rendering an account of state spending under his administration and forfeiting all his property and revenues to the emperor and Najaf Khan (his followers were not so lucky and were executed by various terrible methods after being imprisoned and subjected to horrific tortures for several months).

The ruins of the gateway, as seen from within. Thankfully, the ASI has maintained the area remarkably well and there was a guard and numerous gardeners on duty.

Najaf Khan soon raised anew an army of excellent and devoted soldiers exceeding twenty thousand in number, and the next course of action where he proved himself to be foremost in valor and strategizing was subduing the Jats of Bharatpur (Haryana) through a protracted war – the latter had defeated Mughal governors at the gates of Delhi several times and even forced entire garrisons out of captured areas; their recently deceased leader Surajmal had, in supreme defiance of imperial authority, built a mud fort at Maidangarhi (near Mehrauli, Delhi's south-eastern frontier), only thirteen miles from the Mughal citadel at Red Fort (refer Pixelated Memories - Red Fort); they had even proceeded to capture, plunder and reduce to only a skeleton of its original glory the province of Agra, erstwhile capital and an important garrison town, which according to an assurance issued by the emperor was to be added to Najaf’s fiefs once he re-conquered it from the Jats. Resisting further territorial occupation by them and suppressing the inefficient smaller chieftains of Gurgaon, Rewari and Jhajjar through his vastly superior army equipped with copious supply of canons, artillery, rockets and muskets, before proceeding further to Ballabhgarh and Narnaul, Najaf Khan took to subjugation of the rebel state through terrorizing them by plundering their fields, butchering men and animals alike and levying heavy tributes – such was the terror of his forces and the unmitigated demoralization of the Jat soldiers that entire contingents of the latter abandoned camp and fled in panic when they noticed dust storms on the horizon, lest they be the his advancing columns. Mirza Najaf Quli Khan, the battle-hardened lieutenant, led a series of assaults and raids while Mirza Najaf Khan kept turning on the heat of battle on the Jats, till in the end they were pushed back to their frontiers and he established a weak regency kingdom that dared not come out against the empire while he lived (though he himself was mortally wounded by a spear thrust in the last of the major battles). The poor general however had such an everlasting dearth when it came to friendship and loyality that when he was away defeating the emperor’s enemies in Jat territories, Abdul Ahad Khan, whom he had raised from the rank of a mere courtier to the position of Wazir, began poisoning the emperor’s mind against his beneficiary, invoking the bogey of Najaf Khan’s religious practices arising from his Shia faith (for a primer, refer Pixelated Memories - Safdarjung's Tomb Complex), and also his camaraderie with his kinsman Shuja-ud-Daulah and their combined fomenting of a Shia uprising against the emperor. The Emperor ordered Najaf Khan to reduce his army’s strength so that he couldn’t pose a threat to the imperial guard, and also to surrender the spoils of the war including the fortress of Agra, but apart from this there wasn’t much that Abdul Ahad could have enforced on the invincible general, despite being authorized by the Emperor to do so, since no official or commander was a match for Najaf Khan’s ruthless strategizing in battle or his highly advanced war machinery. Abdul Ahad had to be content with fomenting occasional Sikh and Rohilla skirmishes to harass the undeterred Mirza, who simply brushed them aside with contempt as if they posed no more threat to him than a cluster of flies. Though now sick and often bedridden, the Mirza gathered his armies and mercenary forces and travelled once more to the Jat territories to conquer those territories that had resolutely remained independent and refractory during his last march – he conducted himself with admirable composure and gallantry, capturing Jat territories and most importantly, the well-fortified and nobly defended fortress of Dig, despite often being subdued by sickness and news of political vendetta against him by opposition nobles at the court – the soldiers adored him and found it difficult to believe that the boy once chased out of his native place by his enemies could rise so high to become the scourge of such powerful and affluent kingdoms. By enforcing overwhelming sieges and crippling blockades, Najaf Khan reduced the entire Jat country to subjugation, but before he could proceed any further he received news of the wretched Ahad Khan’s nefarious planning – the Wazir had vengefully turned on the Rohilla leader Zabita Khan, who was once in connivance with him against Najaf Khan, and war was declared again on the confused and terror-stricken Rohillas in AD 1776, for the purpose of which Najaf Khan was ordered to return to Delhi and take command of the army besides the office of paymaster (“Mir-Bakshi”) which he anyway executed, even though so far Zabita Khan held the coveted position nominally.

A Mughal cavalryman, the likes of whom Mirza Najaf would have trained (Oil painting by Edwin Lord Weeks, Photo courtesy - Columbia.edu)

Emboldened by the presence of Sikh mercenaries in their midst, the difficulties faced by Mughal army struck in trenches and surrounded by marshes in the rainy season and the absolutely worthless command of Ahad Khan who harshly condemned and opposed every strategy devised by Mirza Najaf Khan, the Rohillas gave strong opposition to the invading forces till in the end Najaf Khan set the ball rolling their way by assembling his forces and calling all the lieutenants from their territories and declaring war on his own initiative against the Rohiilas. Much delayed by the rains, harassed by the incessant Sikh raids and tired of constant bickering of the court officials and the Wazir, Najaf Khan decided to himself enter the battlefield and at the very outset bought off undisciplined Rohilla allies or terrorized them away be threat of annexation of their kingdoms – he wreaked havoc in the desperate enemy lines and proceeded to punish and scatter them, regardless of his own losses, till in the end, the treasonous Rohilla resistance was crushed (1777) and, Zabita Khan’s family arrested and escorted to Delhi under armed guard; in fact, under duress, Zabita Khan was forced to marry his sister and daughter to Najaf Khan and Najaf Quli Khan respectively before being ejected from Delhi and its political affairs. More about the fate of the Rohillas can be read here – Pixelated Memories - Rohilla War Memorial, Calcutta. While the Mirza was busy defending the empire against potential adversaries, his own enemies held sway in the court and continued to plot and prepare for his downfall; however following the ascension of Sikhs and their increased clout in Haryana, Najaf Khan swiftly moved in to consolidate his power by restoring the Sikh territories back to Mughal administration (thereby gaining further trust and the position of “Wakil-i-Mutlaq” (Vicegerent) from the emperor) and arresting Wazir Abdul Ahad Khan, his primary enemy, on the charges of colluding with the enemy, corruption and securing garrison command positions for his undeserving relatives throughout Haryana and Punjab instead of checking the perilous rise of the Sikh warlords. Coveting further victory, Mirza Najaf continued to bring Sikh kingdoms under Mughal governance one after the other, either through sieges and negotiations, or through a chastising policy of punishment, assassinations and plunder; in an instance of brilliant statesmanship, he had Zabita Khan pardoned and his family and estates restored in order to set a Rohilla buffer state against the Sikhs.

The decorated protrusion along the mausoleum's front face. Notice the graceful use of minimalistic ornamentation.

Ironically, when Mirza Najaf Khan, the most influential commander of the later Mughals and a doggedly incorruptible officer, passed away in 1782 AD after a brief illness, he was buried in one of the simplest tombs that Delhi had ever seen – it isn’t known who commissioned the tomb, but it is considerately located close to the Karbala area (present-day Jorbagh) that has been venerated by the Shia population of the city as hallowed by the presence of Qadam Sharif, the shrine holding as sacred relic a footprint of Hazrat Ali, the son-in-law of Prophet Muhammad; also constructed in close vicinity a few years before Mirza Najaf’s death was the magnificent tomb of his brother-in-law Safdarjung while in 1820 AD the Mirza’s daughter Fatima too was laid to rest next to him. The Mughal army, pressurized by rebel governors and made hollow by corrupt commanders, collapsed soon after the Mirza’s unfortunate demise, especially after the Emperor restored Abdul Ahad to his position of Wazir and the latter reduced the army’s dimensions from 20,000 to 5,000 – Sikhs overran Delhi the very next year following Mirza Najaf’s death and the emperor himself became a worthless and nominal monarch whose writ did not extend much beyond his fortress’ frontiers – the royal family was tortured and executed, and the emperor blinded by the Rohilla warlord Ghulam Qadir Khan, following which the Mughal administration came under purview of Maratha dominance (AD 1788). In the face of extreme opposition from enemy nobles in the Mughal court as well as an exceedingly brainwashed Emperor, and repeated skirmishes from the Maratha infantry, Mirza Najaf Quli Khan rebelled and continued, till his demise in 1791, to hold the territories in Haryana that were established into a stronghold by Mirza Najaf Khan during the Jat subjugation; the territories were further sustained by Mirza Najaf Quli’s widow till her demise in 1792 AD following which they lapsed into the Maratha confederacy’s territories.

The splendor of the Mughal court greatly decreased from 18th century onwards as a consequence of numerous defeats administered by invading forces and court rivalries and intrigues. Oil painting by Edwin Lord Weeks. On the right side is the beautiful Jama Masjid that Shahjahan built. (Photo courtesy - Wikipedia.org)

Consisting of a squat and extremely simplistic square enclosure boasting of octagonal bastions at the corners, the mighty general’s mausoleum is more of a memorial than a grand structure – the red sandstone walls are unadorned except for a set of ornamental stone panels, each bearing minimalistic floral motifs and flowing arches, affixed to the projected embossment that runs along the front face of the tomb – the embossment itself is flanked on the corners by decorative pillars and staircases leading to the low roof where a raised projection marks the position of graves underneath. The two entrances leading within the tomb to the actual graves, along the side facing the gateway and its opposite, yawn dark and deep but remain barred by means of grilles installed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Apart from these minor details, the tomb bears no other adornment except an extremely thin strip of sandstone molding (more prominently detailed over the bastions than on the sides) along the roof and shallow alcoves, identical in form and configuration of the entrances, on the sides not possessing an entrance. The gateway to the tomb complex, a slender double-storied structure with wide kanguras (battlement-like ornamentation), is desolately ruined – only a small end portion of it survives now and it is difficult to ascertain whether the space it enclosed was square or arched in nature. A dilapidated staircase that would have led up to the enclosure (“kotla”) walls can still be seen along the gateway's side facing the tomb gardens, while parallel to it on the opposite side only the thick rubble base now remains of an identical staircase. The remains of the gateway have long ceased to display the plasterwork that once would have draped them and exhibit their bare rubble and Mughal-era Lakhori brick framework – nonetheless, they are better-off than the tomb complex’s enclosure walls which are, if not ruined, then defaced with graffiti or lined with heaps of garbage and construction debris – it is said that originally there was a gateway on each side of the square enclosure but now only the one survives. The lawns around the tomb are remarkably well-maintained – designed according to Mughal charbagh style of garden plantation where a square lawn is divided into smaller quadrants by walkways/waterways (only the former here), the lawns are planted with lush trees and rows upon rows of plants bearing colorful and fragrant flowers – to the credit of the cool, beautiful grass-carpeted lawns, the tomb complex has become the playground for local children and a public park for the aged desiring a brisk walk or school kids of the surrounding areas wishing for a short stopover before heading home at the end of the day – ASI recently identified the complex, on account of it drawing numerous visitors on a daily basis, for addition of a ticketing facility – I wonder how many of these visitors would come to visit Najaf Khan then. Of course, even now, those who visit seldom know anything about this forgotten officer whose tumultuous life could have been the theme for a dramatic Bollywood flick if only it was well known, researched or remembered.

The adornment panels affixed on the front face embossment. It has been contended that the tomb was to be built further and could never be completed, perhaps due to the collapse of Mughal administration and the spread of anarchy soon after the Najaf's death.

Location: Jorbagh (Coordinates: 28°34'51.4"N 77°12'48.9"E)

Open: Sunrise to sunset

Nearest Metro Station: Jorbagh

Nearest Bus stop: Safdarjung Airport

How to reach: Walk from the metro station/bus stop - the distance is less than a kilometer in either case.

Entrance fees: Nil

Photography/Video charges: Nil

Time required for sightseeing: 30 min

Relevant Links -

Suggested reading -

September 13, 2012

St. John's Church, Calcutta

Located in the heart of Calcutta’s heritage zone, St. John’s Church is surrounded by several famous landmarks of the city including the mighty Writer’s Building & Raj Bhavan, the peaceful Andrew’s Church & Sacred Heart Church & the enchanting Dalhousie Square. & yet it remains one of the most serene spots in the entire city, untouched by visitors who might write love letters on its walls & hidden from the prying eyes of passerbys. Old, crumbling & cut off from the rest of the city, yet beautifully maintained, it hides several treasures in its bosom. The blackened, yellow walls & shutters, surrounded by memorials & mausoleums set in a garden of flowering trees & bushes, filled with birds & cats, seem inviting. The graves – old, yet still showing signs of their erstwhile magnificence - hold ancient stories within themselves, revealed only to the most obstinate of travellers.

St. John's Church

That particular day I was alone, no friend accompanied me to Calcutta, walking through the old lanes & bylanes & checking my hand-made maps for directions & asking shopkeepers & pedestrians when my maps misled me, I finally walked in St. John’s Church. A signboard outside it detailed its history, old walls reminded me of several structures that I have seen during my travels, each with its own story. This one seemed special, it invoked silence around itself, despite being located in a commercial neighbourhood. Cars did not honk much here, dogs did not bark. I walked around the church’s hallowed grounds, alone, not even a soul in sight. This was good, I could photograph it as much as I wanted, from different angles, different perspectives. The grounds were recently watered, yet no gardeners were in sight. Only a small family with a lady doing laundry & kids playing nearby in a corner. They did not pay any attention to me, nor did I to them. It seemed we were the only people left in the entire world, there was no other sound from the outer world. & yet we stood obvious to each other. A whitish grave on one side of the church caught my attention. The headstone proclaimed it belonged to Michael Knatchbull, Viceroy of Bengal. A heavy stone cross stood looking over it.

Michael Knatchbull's grave

Walking further, I gazed at the line of coconut trees on one side, proudly displaying their green fruit. On the opposite side was a row of gleaming cars, perhaps people just park their cars here, the entire place was empty as I said. I glanced at the drivers, many dozing off on the grass under the bright sun, some smoked, others gossiped. As earlier I moved ahead, I did not know if photography inside would be permitted, so wanted to take as much photographs from outside as possible. I noticed a small section of the garden walled, the gate perennially open. A few white structures stood inside. As I progressed, out came a small kitten, rolling around, smelling at the flowers, gazing at me in silent contemplation, perhaps wondering who this intruder was. It came close, yet maintained its distance, allowed me to sit even closer & take as many snaps as I wanted. The drivers started laughing boisterously as I crouched to photograph the kitten. Perhaps they did not know that it was his (or her??) land, his jungle. It sat there, imploring me to click more, but as soon as I tried to pat it, it sprung & retreated, not showing itself again that day.

Along the diagonal..

I entered through the gates, perhaps this was the cat’s home, I could see several snake holes all around in the bushes. On one side of me stood two memorial tablets, one with a triangular head, and the other in a stair-pattern with three differently sized stones. I read what they had to say, prosaic & sad, they were perhaps built by near & dear ones on the passing away of a family member or may be a regimental acquaintance, after all St. John’s is one of the first churches to be built in Calcutta by the British East India Company. Job Charnock’s tomb, a diminutive, octagonal structure with a dome for a roof stood in the centre of the walled garden (refer Pixelated Memories - Charnock's Tomb). Charnock, a trader with the British East India Company, is supposedly the guy who established the city of Calcutta by combining three neighbouring cities into one & established the Company’s stronghold there (a claim that has since been rejected following an order by Calcutta High Court, refer to the post about the Tomb for details). In here are also buried Charnock’s wife & several others. I stepped outside again, that harsh sunlight again blinding me. I looked down, there was an iron plate down there, I push aside the soil & fallen leaves, there were more graves all around the memorial. I was standing over them. Forgotten, covered with compost & decay, unlike Charnock who lies in his tomb next to them. Are spirits & the dead also rich & poor, I wonder. I walk away, how long can I stay with the dead, they don’t speak. Nearby are other memorials too, this place is littered with them. There is a memorial dedicated to Lady Francis Johnson (refer Pixelated Memories - Lady Johnson's Memorial), another dedicated to the Second Rohilla War (refer Pixelated Memories - Rohilla War Memorial), & a third dedicated to the “Black Hole” tragedy of Calcutta (see Pixelated Memories - Black Hole Memorial). There is also the tomb of Admiral Watson, who helped Lord Clive of the East India Company capture Bengal after the Black Hole tragedy.

The walled garden, filled with several mausoleums & tombs

I notice many pigeons flocking to overhead electrical wires near Charnock’s Tomb, they cooed but their voices were lost before reaching me. I look at the church. Nothing, no sound, no soul in sight. I head to it. Its spire rose high, I look up but am again blinded by the sun. The large clock on the 174-feet high spire ticking slowly, even time seemed to stop here. I start observing the architecture of the church – designed with a Greek touch by military architect Lt. James Agg, the church was built with stone & brick (hence often referred in Bangla as the “Pathare Girja” or “The Stone Church”) mostly derived (or as many say, robbed) from the ruins of Gaur in 1787 on land donated by a local lord Maharaja Naba Krishna Deba. The church’s large square base, & the pillared portico look impressive. Lt. Agg was good at what he did. Lost in these & several other thoughts, & clicking pictures here & there, I move ahead. The entrance was on the other side.

The Stone Church

Before reaching the entrance I see another grave-like memorial sitting in the church’s corridor. This one was skilfully sculpted, a glorious cross stood over it. It belonged to Lady Charlotte Canning, the wife of Charles Canning, the first Viceroy of India (refer Pixelated Memories - Lady Canning Memorial). She died of malaria & lies buried in nearby suburb of Barrackpore. But this memorial was designed elaborately & constructed in the corridor of the church. I photograph it & step down the staircase.

Charlotte Canning's memorial

The entrance seems far, I find pleasure in the wonderful gardens, fragrant flowers spread cheers around, yet the place seems desolate, the air heavy. At the entrance is a big visitor’s book kept on a stand, its torn pages fluttering with the breeze as if some invisible being was turning them over to find some reference. Scrawled comments & signatures graced its pages. Many were illegible. As I entered the entrance, I saw a room on either side – the right one barred by a large, carved wooden board (more on it later), the other open. A man sat stooped in his chair, pen in hand, writing furiously in the latter room. I knock, no response. I knock again. He welcomes me in, offers me a chair, and asks the purpose of my visit. He too found it a matter of extreme importance that someone was visiting this long lost place.

Inside St. John's Church (Notice the secondary arch on the right side & the golden-ish painting on the left of the altar)

I tell him who I am, what I do. Satisfied, he grants me permission to photograph inside the Church. Cheerfully I leave, the prayer chamber is huge, painted white, its walls covered with epitaphs (mainly of army officers and civil servants besides other prominent citizens) & sculptures. I look around, not sure what to photograph & what to leave. Blue-paned windows usher in sun’s rays to lighten the chairs & benches. An organ starts playing as I step on the aisle. Confused, I look here & there, not sure where the sound is coming from. It seemed as if the entire hall was vibrating. My heart thumping, I regain my composure. Two pretty foreigners sit in the front rows, reading quietly from their hymn books. I walk ahead, we talk. I notice the monstrous pipe-organ besides the altar. I ask the ladies if going in is allowed. They did not know. I started photographing the altar, it was beautiful - a blue-painted arched wall covered with a row of golden paintings. More flowers & candles on the altar, a golden cross graced the table.

The Altar view

The altar was flanked by a shallow arch on its right side. Angels with folded hands guarded the arch & splendid stained glass windows depicting scenes from Christ’s life adorned it. The left side had a painting similar to Da Vinci’s “Last Supper”. But the characters seemed different, the props were different. The only character unmistakeable was that of Mary Magdalene sitting next to Jesus. I later read that this rendition of the “Last Supper” was created by England-based German artist Johann Zoffany. It is said that the artist scandalized the elite of that time by representing various known British personalities as Jesus & his disciples in this image.

Colorful..

I photograph as much as I can, then notice the organ player smiling at me. He steps down. An old, crippled man, he uses a stick as a walking aid. I acknowledge his presence with a smile & continue with photographing the church interiors. The two ladies come & talk to him, they move to a window & point out directions, and then they leave.

John, the church's organ-player

The old man comes to me, asks my name & where I was from. I compliment him for the wonderful music he played. His name too was John, he says like the Church, I say like the saint. He tells me how he got crippled & asks me if I have taken as many photographs as I wanted for my writings. He then leads me to Warren Hastings room. It was the room right to the entrance, the door of which was barred with the wooden board. He switches on the lights (instructing me to switch them off when I am done). Warren Hastings was one of the Governor-Generals of British-ruled India. His room has been restored exactly to what it used to look like when he used it, & is decked with framed photographs hanging on the walls, old Bibles, wooden cupboards & furniture. A chair is placed in a sealed glass case, the inscription reads that it is the actual chair used by Hastings himself, since then preserved in its original condition. After I am done, I go back to the prayer hall, it seems much grander, yet lonelier without John & the foreigners. A wooden arching staircase on the right connects the first floor, I climb up but the door is locked. I step down again & look around one last time. The mighty organ was silent now, so was everything around again. Nothing, no sound, no soul in sight.

Hasting's room

I walk out again, silently contemplating the fates of numerous people buried here, hoping I come here again. Hoping then this beautiful place shows more signs of life, when people too tread its grounds along with the kittens.

Goodbye, dear friend!!

Location: BBD Bagh area. Walking distance from Raj Bhavan, the residence of Governor of Bengal.
Nearest Metro Station: Esplanade Metro Station
How to reach: One can simply walk from either Esplanade Bus Terminus or Raj Bhavan. Or take a taxi.
Open: All days, 10 am – 5 pm
Sunday service: 8–9 am
Entrance Fee: Rs 10 (for visitors on foot, you have to pay more for parking)
Photography/Video Charges: Nil
Time required for sight seeing: 1.5 hrs
Relevant Links -

Suggested Reading -

Rohilla War Memorial, Calcutta

This post is part of series about St. John’s Church located in BBD Bagh area, Calcutta. The integrated post about the church and the structures within can be accessed from here – Pixelated Memories - St. John's Church

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About the Rohillas –

“… but the wretched Rohillas had no country; the country they had left had long been possessed by others, and where were these miserable people to seek for a place of shelter – from the persecution of whom? Of Englishmen – natives of a country renowned for its justice and humanity. They will carry their melancholy tale into the numerous tribes and nations among whom they are scattered, and you may depend upon it the impression which it will make, will, sooner or later, have its effect.”

- Charles James Fox

The mighty Mughal Empire that had been ruling over the vast Indian subcontinent with unparalleled strength & eminence since AD 1526 had begun its downward spiral in early 18th century. The men who came to the throne after the death of the strong but compassionate emperor Bahadur Shah I (ruled AD 1707-12) were all weak & unable to control the huge empire, leading to its subsequent decline & disintegration. Following the chaos that erupted, regional warlords became powerful. New powers, new enemies came up around the empire’s strongholds, carving out chunks out of the empire & converting them into their citadels, testing the Mughal’s strengths, exploiting their weaknesses, taking advantage of their mistakes & slowly gaining an upper hand in the conflict for territories, treasure & supremacy. The major groups amongst these new formations were the Sikhs (Punjab), the Hindu Marathas (Maharashtra & Central India), the Nawab of Awadh (western Uttar Pradesh) & the Rohillas (eastern Uttar Pradesh). (Nawabs were initially officials responsible for maintenance of law & order & collection of taxes for the Mughal administration, but lately many of them, most notably the Nawabs of Awadh & Bengal, declared their independence from the Mughals) A new power, the British East India “trading” Company was also making inroads within the Mughal domain & even though their initial attempts at controlling Indian territories & portraying themselves as a superior military power were rebuffed by Emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir (ruled AD 1658-1707) through a series of military expeditions & sieges in what is known as “Child’s War” (AD 1686-90), they were able to safeguard their interests & build an Indian army for themselves soon after Aurangzeb’s demise. Friendships were established & treaties signed amongst some of these powers, others were deemed fit to be enemies & to be engaged in war. But then friendship & enmity have always stood on a shaky ground in India, one who is your loyal companion today might turn out to be your bitterest opponent tomorrow, baying for your blood with a ferocity that outrivals even a mad hound; the enemy who wanted you dead yesterday might actually come to your support when even your friends betray you (I don’t think modern Indian politics is an exception to this rule).

Among the groups that stood out, the Rohillas were different. Originally from the mountainous regions of Afghanistan (hence the name “Rohilla” meaning “mountaineer” from the Pashtu root word “Roh” meaning “mountain”), they were mostly descendants of the Yousufzai tribe of Pashtuns (aka Pathans), but also included several smaller tribes & sub-tribes. The chief amongst these were the Yousufzai & the Barech tribes from Kandhar which contributed most of the Rohilla leadership. Rohilla chief Daud Khan Barech came to India under the service of Madar Khan, a powerful Zamindar (“Local chief”), but soon took over the control of the villages. He was awarded the province of Katehar by Emperor Aurangzeb with the aim of subduing the incendiary Rajput population & became the first “Rohilla Nawab”. 20,000 Rohilla soldiers were employed to assist the Mughal army & later, impressed by their battle-worthiness, Aurangzeb inducted 25,000 more Rohillas into the regular army. Contending for territories amongst themselves, Indian Zamindars too began employing Rohilla mercenaries for small-scale battles & for settling personal scores. Soon thereafter, many members of the tribe had migrated from Afghanistan to settle in & around the Katehar region & carved out a distinct cultural, linguistic & territorial identity for themselves. Their enclave was christened “Rohilkhand” (“Land of the Rohillas”, the districts of Bareilly, Rampur & the surrounding regions in modern-day Uttar Pradesh). Many Afghans themselves became Zamindars & small Nawabs & brought in their kinsmen from Afghanistan to help in the administration of their territories. The Rohillas soon became independent of the Mughal rule in their territory & virtually lorded over the whole of it after subduing the local population which was predominantly Hindu. They followed Pashtun traditions, which incorporated collective history, storytelling & poetry to propagate warnings & their shared knowledge, a system of not-forgiving-&-never-forgetting until revenge has been extracted from an enemy/oppressor & a belief in omens & holy men bordering on superstition. They were soldiers, cavalrymen & mercenaries at the time of war & conflict, but when not under duress they went back to simpler professions – merchants, dealers & horse sellers who plied their business from Delhi to Afghanistan. Their leadership was made up of tribal chieftains (“Sardars”) & warlords. After the death of Ali Mohammad Khan, Daud Khan’s son & successor, the baton of leadership passed on to a group of chieftains, the most notable among them being Faizullah Khan (Ali Mohammad's son), Hafiz Rahmat Khan Barech & Najib-ud-Daulah.

The flag of the Rohilla state of Rampur (Photo courtesy - Wikipedia.org)

As the Rohilla strength increased, they took to rowdy & ungentlemanly behavior & turned against their erstwhile masters. Like the Jats who reigned supreme in parts of Haryana-Rajasthan & took to loot, plunder & robbery as a means to harass the Mughal nobles & caravans, the Rohillas too took to plunder & raids. Amongst the groups responsible for vandalizing Delhi’s Red Fort (refer Pixelated Memories - Diwan-i-Khas, Red Fort, New Delhi) for its treasures, the Jats & the Rohillas were the foremost. The Rohillas soon embarked on a short-sighted expansionist policy & began eyeing neighbouring territories. They brought Farrukhabad under their control, but soon came into conflict with Mirza Safdarjung, the Nawab of Awadh, after the latter plundered & ravaged Farrukhabad. Rohillas embarked on a battle against Safdarjung, but the Nawab applied for help from the Marathas to dominate them. The Rohillas were administered a crushing defeat by the Maratha-Nawab combine in AD 1752 & their powers curtailed. The entire Rohilkhand region was captured by the Marathas & it was only in 1757 that Najib-ud-Daulah could re-conquer it. The Marathas leaped from strength to strength, increasing their wealth & reach manifolds. Half a century after Aurangzeb’s death, the might of the Maratha confederacy had increased to such an extent that they had embarked on a slow but steady engulfment of Mughal territories, threatening the Rohillas, their erstwhile ally the Nawab of Awadh & other Muslim kingdoms that had sprouted up in North India. The Marathas had become so powerful that the Mughal emperor became a puppet in their hands & had to apply for Maratha help every time a calamity appeared on his frontiers. The Marathas even went ahead to capture parts of Punjab & Afghanistan that were then under the control of the Shah of Afghanistan Ahmed Shah Abdali. Alarmed & still pissed at the Marathas for their last defeat, the Rohilla chief Najib-ud-Daulah invited Abdali to invade India & chastise them & also brought in other sardars including Hafiz Barech & Dundi Khan as well as Shuja-ud-Daulah (Safdarjung’s son & the then Nawab of Awadh) into the alliance. Abdali’s armies met the united Maratha front at the war field of Panipat in AD 1761 (since this was the last of 3 major battles fought in Panipat, we shall refer to it as the III Battle of Panipat), the Rohillas & the Nawab made sure that the Maratha supply lines were cut & their leadership isolated from the soldiers. The battle turned in the favour of Abdali, the Marathas were defeated & pushed back to their original territories in Central & Southern India. Between 40,000-70,000 Maratha soldiers were massacred, many non-soldier Marathas were executed after the battle, thousands of women were subjected to rape, many committed suicide afterwards, over 22,000 Maratha women & children were enslaved & carried to Afghanistan. Delhi & its neigbourhoods were plundered before the battle by the Maratha army (who claimed to be defending India from a foreign power & drew their expenditure from the Mughal treasury & the taxes from the areas surrounding Delhi) & afterwards by the Afghans (who wished reimbursement for their war efforts & expenditure involved in crushing a “Kaafir” (Hindu) army). Abdali left behind Mughal emperor Shah Alam II as the nominal head of the country, but the power had shifted to the Rohillas as Najib-ud-Daulah was declared regent of the Mughal Empire. The Marathas had to cede part of their territories to Najib-ud-Daulah who had many Maratha leaders tortured & executed. Most of the Maratha leadership was eliminated after the war & though they remained a major military power after the war, they were never able to recover from the rout & achieve their position of pre-eminence again. Relegated to the background, the Marathas appointed Peshwa Madhavrao I as their new leader.

Najib-ud-Daulah became the de facto ruler of Delhi & along with several other chieftains saw that the Rohillas were awarded many more territories over time & their military might too multiplied manifolds. All this while the Marathas kept to the background & focused on re-building their army & command, they stayed quiet till they could become strong enough to take their enemies head on. The British East India Company too had been biding its time, taking stock of the country’s affairs with its own vested interests in mind, it had by now come to control territories in India & had established military outposts & fortresses around its trading centers. The Company was already strong enough at the time of the III Battle of Panipat to be seen as a contender for the throne of Delhi – their strength & the ability to change the political outcome of various battles was bared when Abdali issued a firman (“royal decree”) to all the major powers of India before his departure from Delhi asking them to recognize Shah Alam II as his representative in the country & had one firman sent to Robert Clive of the Company too. The Company finally came into its first conflict with the native Indian rulers in AD 1764 over the issue of collection of taxes from the Company’s territories in Bengal. A battle was fought at Buxar (in Bihar) in the same year with the Company army on one side & the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II, Nawab Shuja-ud-Daulah & Nawab Mir Qasim (ruler of Bengal) on the other. The Mughals were supported by the Rohillas & battalions supplied by Abdali in the war. However, lack of coordination & constant conflict between Shah Alam II & Shuja-ud-Daulah ensured that the combined forces tasted defeat in the battle & the Company’s military supremacy was established over the country (This time, the Afghan forces could not support their co-religious Mughal army since they were involved in conflicts with other Afghan principalities). Shah Alam II had to give several concessions to the Company, including the rights to collect revenue from Bengal & Bihar. Shuja-ud-Daulah remained the nominal head, tasked with maintenance of law & order in Bengal. He had to pay annual tributes to the Company in return for a guarantee of his safety in times of need. The Rohillas disappeared into the background, nonchalantly increasing their numbers & continuing with trade in their own territory, but their downward spiral had begun with this minor defeat. Their power was soon checked by the Sikhs who began attacking them from Punjab & Delhi & defeated them in 1767.

Commemorating fallen soldiers - The Rohilla War Memorial within the hallowed grounds of St. John's Church

In 1771 AD, 10 years after the military debacle that cost them their supremacy, a much-recovered Maratha army embarked on a punitive campaign to seek out & destroy all those small principalities & communities that had either sided with Abdali in the III Battle of Panipat or later recovered their sovereignty from the subdued Marathas. The Marathas saw the Rohillas as one of their foremost enemies & annexed their kingdom. The Rohillas had fallen into bad times by now & their army was in a disarray following defeats administered by the British & the Sikhs, the soldiers had not been paid for many months & amongst the chiefs only Hafiz Rahmat Khan stood tall. Najib-ud-Daulah’s son & successor Zabita (Zabasta??) Khan was defeated by the Marathas & forced to seek asylum with Shuja-ud-Daulah. Sardar Hafiz Rahmat Khan found himself in a tough corner – the recharged Maratha armies were pummeling his defenses while he could not ask his ally, the Nawab of Awadh, for military help as it would have involved huge remuneration in return. Hafiz knew that the Rohilla coffers were empty & whatsoever little they had had already been plundered by the Marathas. How could the Rohillas pay the Nawab if they did not even have enough to pay their own soldiers?? In the end, against his wishes & following the collective demand of his community, Hafiz Barech signed a treaty with the Nawab where he would pay the latter Rupees 4 million (in 1771!!) after the war. Shuja-ud-Daulah, assisted by the East India Company’s armies (since the Company offered him protection against enemies as long as he paid for the Company army’s maintenance), dealt with & defeated the Maratha forces. The war was over, but the Rohillas were out of the frying pan & into the fire – when they were unable to pay for the war expenses, Shuja-ud-Daulah turned against them & attacked the Rohilla confederacy. It is usually contended that the chief reasons for Shuja-ud-Daulah’s enmity with the Rohillas were their religious differences (Shuja-ud-Daulah was Persian Shia, the Rohillas were Sunni Sufis from Afghanistan), the lure of occupying Rohilla territories (the area of Doab that formed the majority of Rohilla principality is one of the most fertile in the country) & the slight Shuja-ud-Daulah suffered on the hands of Ahmed Shah & the Rohilla chieftains during the III Battle of Panipat (the Barech Rohillas were a sub-clan of the Durrani tribe to which Abdali belonged, their religion too was same & they despised Shuja-ud-Daulah for a number of reasons).

Warren Hastings, the British Governor of Bengal, permitted Colonel Champion to lead the Company’s armies & join Shuja-ud-Daulah in the clash against the outnumbered Rohillas on April 23, 1774. (Hastings was to be later tried in Britain for interfering in India’s internal affairs & cultural genocide of the Rohilla community). The battle came to an end when the Rohilla armies fled after their commander Hafiz Rahmat Khan was killed as a cannonball struck him in the chest. His two sons who were commanding the central flank of the Rohilla formation were also killed. Despite their gallantry & steadfastness, 2,000 Rohillas were killed that day as the battle, later to be known as the First Rohilla War, turned against them. The resistance against Awadh had failed, the Rohillas were badly crushed & most of them either killed or chased out of their territories. The whole of Rohilkhand was annexed by Awadh & its little remaining wealth too was plundered away. Terror aimed at ethnic cleansing by the Shia Shuja-ud-Daulah was unleashed against the Rohillas after the battle – thousands of villages were burned & thousands of men & women slaughtered. The weakened Rohillas were then attacked by Sikh raiders & forced to leave their villages. The fleeing Rohilla population settled in small numbers wherever they could find asylum. The British established a small “protected” Rohilla state at Rampur & let Faizullah Khan continue as its Nawab. Rampur prospered to some extent & the Rohillas began regrouping under their new chief. They still remembered Hafiz Rahmat Khan’s plight & death in battlefield through their poems & shared stories & had not forgiven either Shuja-ud-Daulah or the British (Revenge being an important factor in Pashtunwali tradition). Many of the Rohillas adopted guerilla tactics to harass the Nawab & the British; the Mughals & the Marathas too faced the brunt of Rohilla raids & skirmishes. In AD 1788, Rohilla armies led by Ghulam Qadir Rohilla, Zabita Khan’s son, besieged & captured Delhi – finding the treasury empty & the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II himself reduced to a state of abject poverty, Ghulam Qadir had the emperor’s family executed, his eyes gouged out & went ahead to dig up the floor of the Diwan-i-Khas palace (refer Pixelated Memories - Diwan-i-Khas, Red Fort, New Delhi) in a bid to find hidden treasures. But the Marathas led by Mahadji Scindia had promised support to the crumbling Mughal Empire & they soon retook the control of Delhi after defeating & executing Ghulam Qadir.

Faizullah Khan passed away in AD 1793 & his ill-tempered son Muhammad Ali Khan came to the throne. Fed up with Muhammad’s policies & overbearing attitude, his own brother Ghulam Muhammad Bahadur, deposed & exiled Muhammad Ali Khan. But Ghulam Bahadur was even worse than his brother & the East India Company was forced to intervene again. General Abercromby led the British forces in the Second Rohilla War. 25,000 Rohilla soldiers were defeated & executed; some British soldiers too lost their lives.

While the Rohilla strongholds were destroyed, their land & property confiscated & their population terrorized & forced to find refuge in neighbouring territories, the British celebrated their victory & went ahead to raise a memorial to commemorate their fallen heroes.

The plaque installed on the memorial (Photo courtesy - Wikipedia.org)

The 15meter high memorial consists of a small hemispherical roof surmounted on twelve Doric pillars. A plaque fixed on the side of the memorial’s base 101 years after the war names the military officers killed in action. The memorial is part of St. John’s Church, Calcutta & is one of the first monuments one sees when traversing the grounds of the church complex (moving left from the ground entrance). Sadly not many people stop by today to look at this piece of history. In fact most of the educated Indians would not even know of the Rohillas or the Rohilla Wars at large – the only remaining link is the memorial, the names etched on which have survived more than 200 years after the war, even though they have receded from the collective memory of the population. Do the British remember their soldiers who laid down their lives for their country’s profit in a far away land?? Shouldn’t the memorial pose as an example & a warning to all those who are even today waging wars in countries separated from their own by miles of land & sea?? Sadly, humans rarely, if ever, learn from their own or someone else’s mistakes.

Location: Inside St. John's Church complex, BBD Bagh area (Walking distance from Raj Bhavan, the residence of Governor of Bengal)
Nearest Metro Station: Esplanade Station
How to reach: One can simply walk/take a taxi from Esplanade.
Open: All days, 10am – 5pm
Entrance Fee: Rs 10 for entering the Church complex (Parking charges extra)
Photography/Video Charges: Nil
Time required for sightseeing: 10 min
Relevant Links -