adoption of North Indian Muslim culture, with Urdu becoming the native language of the Rohilla. In fact the term of Rohilla was slowly replaced with the term "Pathan", which was a new self-identification. However a sense of distinct identity remained strong, with the Rohillas residing in distinct quarters of cities, such as, Kakar Tola, Pani Tola and Gali Nawaban in Bareilly, which was home to the descendants of Hafiz Rahmat Khan. There was intermarriages with neighbouring Muslim communities such as the Shaikh, Muslim Rajput and Kamboh. Thus at the dawn of independence, the Rohilla were losing their distinct community status. Present circumstances The independence of Pakistan and India in 1947 had a profound effect on the Rohilla community. The vast majority of them emigrated to Pakistan in 1947. Those that were left in India, were affected by the abolishment of the zamindari system in 1949, as well as the ascension of the State of Rampur to India and many of them migrated to join their kinsmen in Karachi, Pakistan. The Rohilla now form two distinct communities with the majority in Pakistan and a small minority residing in India. In India The Rohilla now form one of the larger Muslim communities of Uttar Pradesh and are found throughout Uttar Pradesh, with settlements in Rampur, Bareilly, Shahjahanpur in Rohilkhand being the densest. The Pathan (Rohilla) community of UP has sixteen sub-groups, the Ghilzai, Afridi, Barakzai, Barech, Daudzai, Marwat, Durrani, Bettani, Naghar, Ghorghushti, Sur Pashtun, Kakar, Khalil, Mohmand, Mohammadzai, Orakzai, Yousafzai and Wazir, all of which are descended from well known Pashtun tribes. Some Rohilla Pathans reside in Maharashtra's Washim and Nanded district, Tehsil Kinwat Tribal Area. There is also a small population in Bendi and Kopra, two villages in Kinwat Taluka. In older parts of the Muslim areas of the towns in UP, the Pathans have maintained their own residential neighbourhoods. The Pathan are not an endogamous group, and arranged marriages do occur with other Sunni Muslim communities of similar social status, such as the Mughal tribe, Muslim Rajput and Shaikh although there is still a preference of marriage within the community. The Rohilla have historically been landowners and soldiers, therefore, some parts of the community are associated with agriculture in Rohilkhand, while many Rohilla officers who worked in the British Indian Army in the 1940s migrated to Pakistan and joined the Pakistani Army; famous among them are General Rahimuddin Khan and