Page:Gazetteer of the province of Oudh ... (IA cu31924024153987).pdf/149

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only 10 square miles belong to taluqdars. and a good mosque at Rasulabad are worthy of notice; the latter was built in 1083 H., A.D. 1664, as an inscription testifies. Several tombs of Sayyad Masalid's followers are pointed out in this pargana. The Gamhelas are among the principal proprietors in it. They are described as follows by Mr. Elliot

A fine masonry Thdkurdwara at Katra,



" The Rasulabad and Asiwan parganas are full of a caste called Gamhelas, who profess to be descended from the Mahrors, but to be illegitimate, an Ahir woman having been their ancestor. The Mahrors too agree in this

but the Gamhelas are so enormously numerous, that it is difficult to conceive that they should have all descended in so short a time from a single pair. They are found in great numbers in Rohilkhand, and are considered the best cultivating class in these parts.

story,

"

They do not wear the sacred cord or take the title of Singh, and marry among each other. The Mahrors call themselves of the Kasyap-

solely

gotra, and though all their neighbours, as well as they themselves, agree in the above account of their origin, no difficulty is made by the smaller clans, such as the Gahlots, Janwars, &c., in giving their daughters to them in marriage, and almost all of the neighbouring clans are ready to marry their sons into these Tilok Chandi Rajputs. But the greatest family in the district belonging to the second or grantee class of occupants is that which takes its name from Rasulabad. The founder of the house was Sayyad Anwar, one of the Naishapuri Sayyads, who inhabit Moh£n in the TJnao district. He held several important posts under the Mughal Government, such as the Government of Gwalior and Biana and the Faujdari of Khairabad, and his son Mujahid Ali Khan was appointed in 1670 Faujdar of Baiswara. It was about this time that Hari Singh, the Dikhit raja of Parenda, went into rebellion, and threw the country into disturbance by his raids. Pariar has always been a very sacred place in Hindu estimation, and then, as now, thousands of pilgrims came from the north From Mohan to Pariar the road lay to perform their devotions there. through a wild uncultivated country, and on the very borders of Dikhitdna, and here the raja's followers lay in wait to plunder any wealthy pilIt was to protect them that in the year 1672 Mujahid Ali Khan grims.

built the fort of

Rasulabad half-way between Mohan and

Pariar.

Within its precincts rose a mosque, the inscription on the face of which Soon after Saadat Khan was made contains the number of the year. Governor of Oudh, Mujahid died and was succeeded by his nephew MutdSaadat Khan was a native of Naishapur himself, and was hir Ali Khan. "

naturally willing to use his influence in behalf of his countrymen. He obtained from the king the grant of a large estate, containing 121 villages, which Mutahir Ali enjoyed throughout his life-time. The estate was not compact, some of its villages lying as far off as the Bijnaur pargana in Lucknow, and on his death these outlying portions were resumed, and the remainder, consisting of about 70 villages, which lay contiguous to Raslilchaudhri, qazi, abad, were made into a separate pargana. The offices of and q^nungo were all bestowed on different members of the family. These official support of the court was offices they have retained, but when the