of Indian Pathans named after their origin from twelve villages known as Barah Basti in Bulandshahr, where "Barah" means "twelve" in Hindustani, similar to the naming of the Indian Muslim Barah Sayyids of Muzaffarnagar. Like other Pathan colonists in Northern India, they are quite Indian in language, manners and appearance. In the War of 1857, Abdul Latif Khan of Khanpur, the head of the Barah Basti Pathans raised the standard of revolt against the East India Company, writing a petition to the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar promising to come to the Dehli court, and to bring some elephants with him, representing that he had been unwell. Nawab Walidad Khan of Malagarh occupied Aligarh and Khurja and attracted to his standard the fanatic Muslims of Barah Basti community from which many of the sowars of the Irregular Cavalry were recruited, along with the Sayyids of Shikarpur, and his 'near relation' Ismail Khan, who was the kotwal of Meerut and had served in the Skinner's Horse. Lalkhani The Lalkhanis are Muslim Rajput converts from the Bargujar tribe, who assimilated to Lalkhani identity after their conversion. The Lalkhanis held estates in the districts of Bulandshahr. Nahar Ali Khan, who received the Taluqa of Pitampur from the Emperor Shah Alam II in 1774, offered resistance against the East India Company with his nephew Dunde Khan. Mir Muhammad Baquar Ali Khan was the Raja Of Pindrawal while Nawab Saeed-ul-Mulk Chhatari, the last Prime Minister of the Nizam of Hyderabad, was one of the most prominent politicians of the All-India Muslim League. Culture Qasbas In Urdu, the word kasaba refers to a settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city; in short, a town. In India, a qasbah is a small town distinguished by the presence of Muslim families of rank. Cuisine Cultural affinity meant that Indo-Persian influence played a large role in the making of Indo-Muslim cuisine in Northern India. Bread is a most preferred staple among Muslim Indians. Characteristic ingredients of this cuisine include onions and garlic(shunned by some in Hinduism), Indian spices such as cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, mace, back pepper and cinnamon, and use of yoghurt, cream and butter. Special dishes include biryani, qorma, kofta, seekh kabab, nihari, haleem, Nargisi koftay, roghani naan, naan, sheer-khurma (dessert), chai (sweet, milky tea), and paan. Geographic distribution Although the majority of Urdu-speakers reside in Pakistan (including 30 million native speakers, and up to