Khan Bahadur Khan: The Self-Declared Nawab of Rohilkhand

For almost a year, Rohilkhand had its own Nawab again. Khan Bahadur Khan declared independence at Bareilly in 1857 — and was hanged there, in the same city, less than three years later.

Timeline

• 1823: Khan Bahadur Khan is born, grandson of Hafiz Rahmat Khan, former Regent of the Kingdom of Rohilkhand.
• 31 May 1857: He declares independence at Bareilly, the capital of Rohilkhand. He proclaims himself Nawab of Rohilkhand.
• 1857: He forms a government. Shobharam becomes his Prime Minister, and Bakht Khan becomes his Commander-in-Chief.
• 5 May 1858: British forces recapture Bareilly. He flees into the forests of Nepal.
• 24 February 1860: He is hanged at Bareilly’s Kotwali Police Station, after Nepal’s pro-British ruler hands him over to the British.

Must Know

• Khan Bahadur Khan (also called Bahadur Khan Rohilla) was born in 1823. He was hanged on 24 February 1860, at Bareilly.
• He was the grandson of Hafiz Rahmat Khan, a former Regent of the Kingdom of Rohilkhand (1749-1774).
• He declared independence at Bareilly, the capital of Rohilkhand, on 31 May 1857, during the Revolt of 1857.
• He declared himself Nawab of Rohilkhand, forming his own government there.
• He appointed Bakht Khan, later a key commander of the Delhi rebellion, as his own Commander-in-Chief.

Good to Know

• His administration named Shobharam, known for his honesty, as Prime Minister.
• He was about 34 years old when he led the revolt in 1857.
• British forces recaptured Bareilly on 5 May 1858, under Sir Colin Campbell’s Rohilkhand campaign.
• He fled into the forests of Nepal the same day Bareilly fell.
• Nepal’s pro-British ruler, Jung Bahadur, handed him over to British authorities.

Test Yourself

Please wait…

1. On 31 May 1857, Khan Bahadur Khan declared independence and proclaimed himself Nawab of which region, at its capital Bareilly?

Awadh

Rohilkhand

Bundelkhand

Malwa

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Great to Know

• His government lasted almost a full year, from May 1857 to May 1858. That makes it one of the longer-lived regional administrations of the entire revolt.
• His appointment of Bakht Khan connects Rohilkhand’s uprising directly to Delhi’s. Bakht Khan later commanded rebel forces there, around the last Mughal emperor.
• He was hanged at the Kotwali Police Station in Bareilly, the same city he had ruled less than two years earlier.
• A memorial to him stands at the District Jail in Bareilly today.
• His story, like others from 1857, shows how the revolt produced genuine regional governments beyond the famous ones in Delhi, Kanpur, Lucknow, and Jhansi.
• See ModHist0208 — Maulvi Ahmadullah Shah, who allied with Khan Bahadur Khan at Shahjahanpur, against Sir Colin Campbell’s advance.