It also gave its name to a former princely state of British India, once ruled by a Muslim Nawab from the Afghan Rohilla tribe. It was incorporated into the state of Uttar Pradesh in 1949.
History of Rampur
The Rohilla War of 1774-5 began when the Rohillas reneged on a debt they owed the Nawab of Oudh for military assistance against the Marathas in 1772. The Rohillas were defeated and driven from their former capital of Bareilly by the Nawab of Oudh with the assistance of the East India Company's troops. The Rohilla State of Rampur was established by Nawab Faizullah Khan on 7 October 1774 in the presence of British Commander Colonel Champion, and remained a pliant state under British protection thereafter.
Climate of Rampur
Summer 43 °C to 30 °C, Winter 25 °C to 5 °C
Important descendants of the Nawabs include Murad Mian the first child of Murtaza Ali Khan Bahadur of Rampur. Begum Noor Bano, the widow of the former Nawab, Zulfiquar Ali Khan of Rampur. Begum Noor Bano has become a politician and won the election from Rampur parliamentary constituency in 1999. She lost the elections in 2004 and 2009. Murtaza Ali Khan and Zulfiquar Ali Khan (aka Mikki Mia), who continued to use the title of Nawab as a token even after independence and abolition of royalty but never ruled Rampur, are now dead. Murtaza Ali contested an election from Rampur opposite his mother Rafat Jamani Begum in 1972 and won. Although the two brothers were always political rivals they never faced each other in elections. Subsequently, the family was also involved in smuggling scandals involving some smuggling from Pakistan, where one of the sons of Murtaza Ali is married. Raza Inter College, Hamid Inter College and Murtaza Inter College are three higher secondary schools named after three nawabs.
Former film actress from seventies and eighteens, Jaya Prada was elected Member of Parliament from Rampur in 2004 and 2009. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi of Bhartiya Janata Party was elected to Lok Sabha in 1998 from Rampur. Prof. Ravindra Khattree, renowned academic statistician, spent some of his early years at Rampur and studied ar Murtaza Inter College and Raza Inter College. Film actor of past years, Raza Murad, hails from Rampur.
Mohammad Azam Khan was elected Member of Legislative Assembly 6 times from Rampur. He held Cabinet Minister positions for the UP Government in the years 1989, 1993 and 2003. Mohammad Azam Khan is a member of the regional party Samajwadi Party and has been a strong political rival of the erstwhile Nawab family of Rampur which owes its allegiance to the Congress party.
Culture of Rampur
The Nawabs of Rampur have had distinct impact on the culture of the region especially as they were connoisseurs of arts, literature and culture. The Rampur Raza Library housed in a former palace, has a sizable collection of Oriental manuscripts. The court musicians of Nawabs, subsequently gave rise to various gharanas or schools of Hindustani classical music. Ustad Allauddin Khan (1881 – 1972) was a shagird (disciple) of the legendary Veena player, Wazir Khan, court musician of the Nawab, and went on to establish the a modern Maihar gharana with disciples like Pandit Ravi Shankar, Nikhil Banerjee, Vasant Rai, Pannalal Ghosh, Bahadur Khan, and Sharan Rani.
The Rampur-Sahaswan gharana of Hindustani classical music also has its origins to court musicians. Ustad Mehboob Khan, was a khayal singer and Veena player of the Rampur court, his son Ustad Inayat Hussain Khan (1849–1919). who trained and lived in the city founded the gharana.
Distance Between Rampur The distance from - between Rampur to Nainital is approx 115 kms.
Cuisine of Rampur
Rampuri cuisine, a part of the Mughal cuisine tradition, developed by the chefs of the Nawabs, is also known for its distinct flavours and dishes with recipes passed on from the royal kitchen, like Rampuri fish, Rampuri Korma, Rampuri mutton kebabs, doodhiya biryani and adrak ka halwa.
Rampur was traditionally famous for the knives known as Rampuri Chaaku, in mid 1990s, which even made its way to crime trillers of Bollywood in the 60s and 70s. Before Government of Uttar Pradesh banned making knives longer than 4.5 inches of blade length, leading to the drop in their popularity. The Rampur Greyhound is native to the region was favoured the Nawabs while hunting.
