Rohilkhand

▪ historical region, India

      low-lying alluvial region in northwestern Uttar Pradesh state, northern India. The Rohilkhand is part of the Upper Ganges (Ganga) Plain and has an area of about 10,000 square miles (25,000 square km). It is bounded by the frontiers of China and Nepal to the north and the Ganges River to the south and the west. The region is referred to as the Madhyadesh in the Hindu epics Mahabharata and Ramayana (Rāmāyaṇa). It was later called Hindustan by Muslim historians. The Rohilkhand was settled by the early Aryans and was successively ruled by various Hindu kings before it became part of the territory of the Muslim rulers of Delhi. With the eclipse of Mughal rule, the region was divided by Jat, Rohilla, and Maratha annexations until it passed to the British following the Indian Mutiny (1857–58).

      Part of the asymmetrical, alluvium-filled Indo-Ganges trough, the plain is broken by the Tarai-Bhabar submontane belt extending eastward from the foot of the Siwalik (Shiwalik) Range (Siwalik Range). The Ramganga, Sukhata, Deona, Sarda, Pilkhara, and Garra rivers follow a northwest-to-southeast course through Rohilkhand. The region was once densely forested, but only a few small patches of forest remain. Agriculture, especially cereal grains, dominates the regional economy. Large-scale industries (producing textiles, sugar, general engineering products, and chemicals) are located in the urban centres of Moradabad, Bareilly, Shahjahanpur, and Pilibhit. The region is one of the most densely populated in India and is well served by a network of roads.

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