Turrebaz Khan

The Revolt of 1857 raged mostly in the north. But a Rohilla soldier also led thousands against British authority in Hyderabad, a state technically allied with the British. No portrait of him survives. Even the exact details of his death are disputed.

1857, Far From the North

ModHist0151

BEFORE 1857

A Life Undocumented

Rohilla Pathan family, Begum Bazar, Hyderabad

17 JUL 1857

Attacks the Residency

Thousands strong, to free a jailed comrade

18 JAN 1859

Escapes Prison

A Rs 5,000 bounty follows the next day

24 JAN 1859

Killed Near Tupran

Six days after his escape; exact events disputed

Resistance in an allied state: Hyderabad’s Nizam stayed loyal to the British in 1857. Turrebaz Khan’s uprising shows that loyalty didn’t reach every subject of the state.

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Timeline

• Early life: Born into a Rohilla Pathan family, in Begum Bazar, Hyderabad State. Very little is documented about his life before 1857.
• 17 July 1857: Leads thousands of rebels, alongside Maulvi Alauddin, in an attack on the British Residency at Hyderabad.
• Soon after: Captured by Nizam-British forces, and sentenced to life imprisonment.
• 18 January 1859: Escapes from jail.
• 19 January 1859: The government announces a reward of Rs 5,000 for his capture, dead or alive.
• 24 January 1859: Tracked down and killed near Tupran, days after his escape.

Must Know

• Turrebaz Khan led an attack on the British Residency in Hyderabad, on 17 July 1857, alongside Maulvi Alauddin.
• The attack’s specific goal was to free Jamedar Cheeda Khan, a fellow soldier imprisoned inside the Residency.
• Hyderabad was a princely state under the Nizam, who remained allied with the British. This made Khan’s rebellion a popular, local uprising, not an act of the state itself.
• Captured and sentenced to life imprisonment, he escaped on 18 January 1859. A Rs 5,000 reward was placed on him the next day.
• He was tracked down and killed near Tupran on 24 January 1859, days after his escape.

Good to Know

• Turrebaz Khan is also known as “Turram Khan.” He came from a Rohilla Pathan family.
• Rebels reportedly broke through the walls of houses adjacent to the Residency, to launch their attack. They could not withstand the British counter-attack that followed.
• Historical accounts of his final days differ. Most describe him being shot near Tupran, with his body then displayed publicly near the Residency, as a deterrent to others.
• Very little is documented about Turrebaz Khan’s life before 1857. No sketch or portrait of him is known to survive.
• After independence, the Indian government erected a memorial at Koti, Hyderabad, honouring those who took part in the 1857 attack.

Test Yourself

Please wait…

1. On 17 July 1857, Turrebaz Khan led thousands of rebels in an attack on which British institution in Hyderabad State?

The British Residency

The Nizam’s palace

A British Army cantonment

The Hyderabad treasury

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Great to Know

• Turrebaz Khan’s uprising shows the Revolt of 1857 was not confined to North India. Even in a princely state formally allied with the British, local resistance broke out independently. See ModHist0058 — The Revolt of 1857.
• Compare his story with two other regional leaders from this same broader wave of resistance. See ModHist0150 — Nana Sahib and ModHist0149 — Baba Ram Singh and the Kuka Movement.
• Like Baba Ram Singh, Turrebaz Khan’s fate after capture is not fully settled in the historical record. Not every 1857-era rebel leader left a clean documentary trail.