"What has not been appreciated is that the Rohillas, after establishing themselves in the province in the early eighteenth century, accomplished an almost perfect obliteration of any rights which may previously have been in force. Almost every landowner, no matter how petty, who was considered to be a potential source of difficulty and who could possibly be a focal point of anti-Rohilla activity was uprooted and either killed or forced to cross the Ganges. The old Hindu village institutions were generally subverted and the Rohilla chiefs leased the villages for a period of ten years to the highest bidder at a public auction. ... Henceforth, until the destruction of Rohilla power, the only proprietors in Rohilkhand were to be the Rohilla chiefs. Rohilla rule was terminated in 1774 when the country was overrun by British"