Darogah

Darogah The term seems to be of Mongol origin and very widely used by the Mughal rulers in designating a provincial governor, head of a department, head of city management, chief of police and so on. The Mongols themselves seem to have imported the word from the Far East where they found a provincial governor to be called darogah. The governor of Moscow after its conquest by the Mongols was designated as a darogah. In the Mughal bureaucracy 'Darogah' was a chief executive of the royal household with military power as well. But over the period the term lost its princely position and glamour. Later, it was used for designating lower ranking central officers and local officials as well. During the nawabi period a darogah was a chief of the royal stores, of the department of public law and order, and even of a Thana. Then a darogah was also called a Thanadar. Now the term 'darogah' is not used in the legal literature, though general people still tend to call a Thana-office-in-charge a darogah. [Sirajul Islam]