However, in the early part of the 18th century, the Rohilla Pashtuns established their independence in the country called by them Rohilkhand; and about 1748 the Rohilla chief Ali Mohammed Khan made his first annexations in Bijnor, the rest of which soon fell under the Rohilla domination.
This clan served as soldiers and sardars in the army of Shiva Ji and other Maratha Sardars and had taken part in the Maratha missions of Rohilkhand to crush the Rohilla Pathans before and after the 3rd war of Panipat This clan was the part of Maratha mission 1771 AD and later settled around the Ganges in Uttar Pradesh hence the surname seems of Maratha origin.
Plundered of most of his treasures, placed on a lame elephant and expelled by Shuja-ud-Daula after he had been routed at the Battle of Buxar, 23 October 1764; he fled to Rohilkhand, Allahabad, Gohad and Jodhpur, eventually settling at Kotwal, near Delhi ca.
Zabita Khan caused even greater tribulations when he intentionally attacked and provoked the weakened Marathas, who then overran and set ablaze a large portion of Rohilkhand and captured Najafgarh.
Although they live in close proximity to other Muslim groups, such as the Shaikh, Gaddi, Ansari, Rajput Muslim and Qassab in Doab, and the Muslim Teli, Muslim Banjara, Baghban and Rohilla in Rohilkhand, there is very little interaction, and virtually no intermarriage.
They have three sub-divisions, the Chikwa who are found in the Rohilkhand and Awadh regions of Uttar Pradesh, and are connected with the slaughtering animals such as sheep and goats, and the Qureshi Qassab who slaughter cows and buffaloes.
This clan served as mercenaries in the army of Shiva Ji and other Maratha Sardars and had taken part in the Maratha missions of Rohilkhand to crush the Rohilla Pathans before and after the 3rd war of Panipat This clan was the part of Maratha mission 1771 AD and later settled around the Ganges in Uttar Pradesh hence the surname seems of Maratha origin.