The Rohilla War 1774: East India Company's First Afghan Conflict

In 1774, just a year after the Regulating Act tried to rein in the East India Company, Warren Hastings launched a brutal campaign against the Rohilla Afghans in the Ganga-Yamuna Doab. The Rohilla War was a land-for-cash deal: the Nawab of Awadh, Shuja-ud-Daula, owed the Company huge sums, so he paid them by letting them conquer the Rohilla country, then bought the land back. Hastings sent Colonel Alexander Champion with sepoys against Hafiz Rahmat Khan, the veteran Rohilla leader. The battle at Miranpur Katra was a massacre. This episode explores why Hastings needed the war, how the Rohillas had settled in India under the Mughals, and how the conflict later fueled Edmund Burke's impeachment campaign against Hastings. It's a lesser-known chapter that shows how the Company's land hunger worked before the full Raj emerged. #RohillaWar1774 #WarrenHastings #HafizRahmatKhan #Shuja-ud-Daula #AlexanderChampion #EastIndiaCompany #Awadh #Rohilkhand #MiranpurKatra #EdmundBurke #RegulatingAct1773 #AfghanInIndia #Mughal #Sepoy #18thCentury #ColonialHistory #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo