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{{short description| | {{short description|Ahom commander (1622–1672)}} | ||
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}} | {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}} | ||
{{Infobox military person | {{Infobox military person | ||
| name | |honorific_prefix = | ||
| | |name = Lachit Barphukan | ||
|honorific_suffix = | |||
| | |image = File:Status of lachit borphhukon and ahom sibsagar (cropped).jpg | ||
| | |image_upright = | ||
| birth_date | |alt = | ||
| death_date | |caption = Statue of Lachit Borphukan (centre) in [[Sivasagar district|Sivasagar]], [[Assam]]. | ||
| death_place | |native_name = | ||
| | |native_name_lang = as | ||
| | |birth_name = | ||
| | |other_name = | ||
|nickname = | |||
|birth_date = {{birth date|1622|11|04|df=y}} | |||
|birth_place = [[Ahom Kingdom]] | |||
|death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1672|04|25|1622|11|24}} | |||
|death_place = [[Kaliabor]],<ref name="sarkar-lachit-death"/> [[Nagaon district|Nagaon]] | |||
|placeofburial = Lachit Borphukan’s [[Maidam]], Holongapar, [[Jorhat]], [[Assam]], India | |||
|placeofburial_label = | |||
|placeofburial_coordinates = <!--{{coord|LAT|LONG|display=inline,title}}--> | |||
|allegiance = [[Ahom Kingdom]] | |||
|branch = [[Ahom Army]] | |||
|branch_label = <!--"Branch" or "Service"--> | |||
|serviceyears = | |||
|serviceyears_label = | |||
|rank = [[Borphukan]] ([[General officer|General]])<br/>[[Commander-in-chief]] | |||
|rank_label = | |||
|servicenumber = | |||
|unit = | |||
|commands = | |||
|known_for = | |||
|battles = {{tree list}} | |||
* [[Ahom–Mughal conflicts]] | |||
** [[Battle of Alaboi]] (1669) | |||
** [[Battle of Saraighat]] (1671) | |||
{{tree list/end}} | |||
|battles_label = | |||
|awards = | |||
|memorials = Holongapar, Jorhat, Assam, India | |||
|relations = [[Momai Tamuli Borbarua]] (father)<br> Nang La-Cheng Aaideu (mother)<br/>[[Laluksola Borphukan]] (brother)<br/>[[Pakhori Gabharu]] (sister)<br/>[[Marangi Borbarua]] (brother)<br/>[[Bhardhora Borphukan]] (brother)<br/>Lao Deka (brother)<br/>Datukaria (brother)<br/>[[Ramani Gabharu]] (niece)<br/>[[Baduli Borphukan]] (uncle) | |||
|laterwork = | |||
|signature = | |||
|signature_size = | |||
|signature_alt = | |||
|website = <!--{{URL|example.com}}--> | |||
|module = {{Infobox person | |||
| embed = yes | |||
}} | }} | ||
'''Lachit Borphukan''' (24 November 1622 | }} | ||
'''Lachit Borphukan''' (24 November 1622 – 25 April 1672) was an army general, primarily known for commanding the [[Ahom Army]] and the victory in the naval [[Battle of Saraighat]] (1671) that thwarted an invasion by the vastly superior [[Army of the Mughal Empire|Mughal Forces]] under the command of [[Ramsingh I]].<ref>"In 1671 he commanded the Ahom forces that defeated the vastly superior Mughal army led by Raja Ram Singh of Ajmer in the battle of Saraighat." {{harvcol|Baruah|2020|p=146}}</ref> He died about a year later in April 1672.<ref name="sarkar-lachit-death">"Lachit Barphukan, who had literally staked his life and honour, soon died at Kaliabar, April 1672..." {{harvcol|Sarkar|1992|p=228}}</ref> | |||
There is keen contemporary interest in Lachit Borphukan today—he has emerged as a powerful symbol of Assam's historical autonomy.<ref>"Lachit Borphukon is a powerful symbol of Assam’s autonomous past for many in Assam." {{harvcol|Baruah|2020|p=146}}</ref><ref>"That event subsequently served as basis for the proud claim by modem Assamese nationalism that Assam was one of the few regions to stave off ‘alien’ rule by ‘Bangals’ or ‘Yavanas’, as the buranjis classified these would-be conquerors from the Indian heartland." {{harvcol|Sharma|2004|p=176}}</ref> | |||
== Biography == | == Biography == | ||
Lachit | Lachit was youngest born to [[Momai Tamuli Borbarua]], a commoner who rose to the rank of [[Borbarua]] under [[Pratap Singha]] and Nang Lacheng Aaideu ({{reign|1545|1641}}).<ref name=":1" /><ref>"The supreme command of the expedition was entrusted to Lachit Deka, youngest son of Momai Tamuli Barbarua, the reputed statesman and general of Pratap Simha's time, who had earned renown in fighting the Mughals under Jahangir and Shahjahan." {{harvcol|Sarkar|1992|p=205}}</ref> His sister was Pakhari Gabhoru, a queen to the Ahom kings [[Jayadhwaj Singha]], [[Chakradhwaj Singha]] and [[Suhung|Samaguria Raja]], and his niece was [[Ramani Gabharu]], the Ahom princess who was given to the Mughals as part of the [[Treaty of Ghilajharighat]]. A few [[Buranji]]s give some details on Lachit's life and education.<ref>"''PAB'', 104 (date); ''SMAB'': 91; ''BKK'', ii, 26-0; ''AB'', 196-7; ''KB'' 91; ''TB'', 4; ''Lachit'', 17-24, based on MS. ''AB''. Nos. 7, 8, 12, gives details of Lachit's family background, education;" {{harvcol|Sarkar|1992|p=206f}}</ref>{{Efn|''PAB'': Purani Asam Buranji, ed., Hem Chandra Goswami; ''SMAB'': Assam Buranji obtained from the family of Sukumar Mahanta; ''BKK'': Tai-Ahom Buranji from Khunlung and Khunlai; ''AB'': Ahom Buranji, tr., G. C. Barua; ''TB'': Tungkhungia Buranji, ed., S.K. Bhuyan; ''Lachit'': Lachit Barphukan and His Times by S. K. Bhuyan}} He learnt the art of statecraft from his father and grew up instilled with a sense of loyalty to the king.<ref>{{harvcol|Gohain|2012|p=8}}</ref> | ||
He is said to have participated in battle against Mir Jumla's forces at Dikhaumukh and rose up the ranks of Ahom officialdom—''Ghora Barua'', ''Dulia Barua'', ''Simalugiria Phukan'' and ''Dolakasharia Barua''.<ref>"Lachit himself had given sufficient evidence of his prowess and power of leadership in lighting Mir Jumla's men at Dikhaumukh and in different posts held. e.g. Ghora Barua (Superintendent of the Royal Horses), Dulia Barua (Superintendent of Dola or palanquin-bearers of kings and incharge of royal palanquins), Simaluguria Phukan (Commandant of the levy usually posted at Simaluguri near the capital) and Dolakasharia Barua (Superintendent of the armed guards accompanying the king while moving on the royal sedan, and police constable, in effect Inspector General of Police of today)." {{harvcol|Sarkar|1992|p=205}}</ref> Following the Chakradhwaj's preparations to retake Guwahati and on the eve of the march, Lachit was appointed the Borphukan (Ahom viceroy in the west) and the commander of the Ahom forces.<ref>"Thus he was selected after considerable search and due tests and appointed commander-in-chief of the army and Barphukan in charge of the civil administration of Lower Assam." {{harvcol|Sarkar|1992|p=205}}</ref><ref>"Lachit himself reached the rank of Barphukan, with charge of the Ahom territories in Lower Assam, near modern Guwahati." {{harvcol|Sharma|2004|p=176}}</ref> As Borphukan, he worked to develop Lower Assam by organising new villages, instituting crafts classes for women and taking a census of the population. During this time, he received a letter mistakenly from [[Kachar]] addressing him as the King of Lower Assam (''Narayan Raja''), to which he took offence.<ref>{{harvcol|Gohain|2012|pp=4–5}}</ref> | |||
=== | ===Guwahati campaign=== | ||
Lachit set up his base-camp at Kaliabar and then advanced on Guwahati in August 1667 in two divisions;<ref>"On August 22, 1667, a large army, warned by the consequences of failure, sailed down the Brahmaputra from the capital. Fixing his base at Kaliabar, Lachit advanced towards Guwahati in two divisions." {{harvcol|Sarkar|1992|pp=205–206}}</ref> and after a series of battles, finally retook Guwahati with the fall of Itakhuli in November 1667.<ref>"The fall of Itakhuli was followed by the flight of the defenders of Guwahati. Sayyid Firuz Khan faujdar and Sayyid Salar Khan Mir Bakhshi ("Sana' of Assamese sources) also fled with a few followers towards the Manah river, the old Ahom-Mughal boundary. The victors entered the capital about the middle of November, 1667." {{harvcol|Sarkar|1992|p=207}}; "The victory at Guwahati, won by Lachit, and implying the recovery of Kamrup up to the Manas, was a momentous chapter in Ahom-Mughal relations. It was the first round in turning the tide against the Mughals. In four years the Ahoms regained the prestige lost in 1663." {{harvcol|Sarkar|1992|p=208}}</ref> | |||
===Death=== | |||
[[File:Lachit Barphukan's maidam.JPG|thumb|Lachit Barphukan's maidam at Hoolungapara, [[Jorhat district|Jorhat]].]] | |||
A few Buranjis briefly describe Lachit's victory over the Mughal naval fleet, led by Ram Singh, in the [[Battle of Saraighat]].<ref>"In their accounts of the Ahom Bangal encounters, some of these chronicles made brief allusions to a victory narrowly won over the Mughal commander, Ram Singh, in a naval conflict by his Ahom counterpart, Lachit Barphukan." {{harvcol|Sharma|2004|p=176}}</ref> He died soon after in Kaliabor and was buried at [[Teok]] in Jorhat in a [[maidam]],<ref>"Lachit did not live to savour his victory, dying shortly after his defeat of the Mughal forces at Saraighat." {{harvcol|Sharma|2004|p=176}}</ref><ref name="sarkar-lachit-death"/> which are burial grounds for Ahom royals and nobles.<ref>"Moidams are Ahom burial grounds for royals and nobles." {{harvcol|Baruah|2020|p=230f}}</ref> | |||
== | == Contemporary narratives == | ||
In the pre-colonial times [[Buranji]]s were not available for popular consumption and their circulation was restricted to the nobility.<ref>"The social function of pre-colonial Buranjis as an attractive reading subject was exceedingly limited, and even doubtful. Others than the pre-colonial elites and nobility, no one else had either the scope or the privilege to read these works." {{harvcol|Saikia|2008|p=489}}</ref> Beginning in the early twentieth century, a few localities in Upper Assam began commemorating November 24 as ''Lachit Dibox'' (trans. ''Lachit Day'').<ref name=":0">{{harvcol|Baruah|2020|p=147}}</ref><ref>"In a parallel development, Lachit was commemorated in similar manner through annual melas on a date declared as Lachit Diwas...The Lachit Diwas celebrations, in contrast, were much more localized, failing to spread much further than their epicentre at Charing Gaon, even within Upper Assam." {{harvcol|Sharma|2004|pp=179–180}}</ref> The contemporaneous burgeoning of public interest in history ensured that the legend of Barphukan had "attained an iconic status" by the first quarter of the century and [[Surya Kumar Bhuyan]] published an article comparing him with Shivaji;<ref>"Bhuyan wrote a biography of Lachit Barphukan, which was preceded by a paper presented in the first session of the Indian history Congress, held in 1935 at Pune. His choice of the subject and its critical relevance to the place of the conference cannot be ruled out. Bhuyan later stated that his paper had been appreciated by contemporary Maratha scholars who were also pursuing the career of Shivaji. See Bhuyan, Lachit Barphukan." {{harvcol|Saikia|2008|p=501f}}</ref> but Lachit was only one of the many historical icons who were appropriated by Assamese elites towards different politico-cultural ends, and his popularity was later surpassed by [[Joymoti Konwari]] and others.<ref name=":1" /> | |||
In 1947, Bhuyan published Lachit's biography "Lachit Barphukan and His Times" against the backdrop of Ahom conflicts with the Mughal Empire; not only did the work grant a veneer of "academic respectability" to the legend but also "mythologized" his exploits in the Assamese psyche.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" /> However, in state-building in postcolonial Assam, cultural heroes like Lachit were largely displaced by anti-colonial activists; Jayeeta Sharma notes the legend of Lachit to have "retired into the domain of knowledge, away from activism."<ref name=":1" />{{efn|The Government of Assam's only attempt at institutionalizing Barphukan's memory was probably in the naming of the [[Saraighat Bridge]] in 1962.}} Nonetheless, the legend survived in the backwaters of Assamese nationalism, with the [[United Liberation Front of Asom]] (ULFA) — a secessionist organization seeking the creation of an independent and sovereign Assam — extensively using Lachit's imagery for propaganda.<ref name=":0" />{{efn|In 1968, ULFA established the ''Lachit Sena'' (Lachit Army) to drive away all foreigners but to no effect. A couple of decades hence, [[Suresh Phukan]] wrote ''Moidamor Pora Moi Lachite Koiso'' (trans. This is Lachit speaking from my burial tomb) which exerted significant influence on ULFA cadres and sympathizers; it had Barphukan, in the narrator's robe, admonishing Assam's political class for betraying the interests of the native people and commending the separatist cause.<ref name=":0" />}} | |||
Lachit | |||
=== | Lachit's memory would be significantly appropriated by the state only under the governorship of [[Srinivas Kumar Sinha]];{{efn|Sinha started the annual "Lachit Barphukan Memorial Lecture" at [[Gauhati University]] in 1998 and lobbied the Ministry of Defense to confer the best passing out cadet from the [[National Defence Academy]] with an eponymous medal; probationary IAS cadres from the state were required to enact Lachit defeating the Mughals.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newslivetv.com/regional/lachit-borphukan-gold-medal-award-nda-ideal-platform-for-grooming-of-cadets-gogoi.html |title=Lachit Borphukan gold medal award: NDA ideal platform for grooming of cadets: Gogoi - Regional | News Post |publisher=Newslivetv.com |date=2013-02-18 |access-date=2013-04-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121203225116/http://www.newslivetv.com/regional/lachit-borphukan-gold-medal-award-nda-ideal-platform-for-grooming-of-cadets-gogoi.html |archive-date=3 December 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>}} Sharma, writing as of 2004, found that it was no more the ULFA but the Government of Assam that tried the most to bring him into prominence.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" /> Coterminous to the rise of [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] in the state, Lachit has been inducted within the framework of a Hindu Nationalist grammar, as a Hindu military hero who defended against Muslim aggression which is contested by historians who claim that Lachit followed [[Ahom religion|Tai religion]] and wasn't a Hindu.<ref>"Besides, [Udayaditya Bharali, a historian and former principal of Guwahati’s Cotton College] said, Borphukan himself was not Hindu. “Lachit was from the Tai religion,” he said. “History can’t be written forcefully as one wishes. Hinduism only became the predominant religion during the reign of Sib Singh [1714-1744]. Many soldiers under Lachit were from the tribal faith.”" {{harvcol|Zaman|2022}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{harvtxt|Sharma|2004}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Zaman |first=Rokibuz |title=Why Assamese historians and writers are protesting against the BJP’s celebration of Lachit Borphukan |url=https://scroll.in/article/1038074/why-assamese-historians-and-writers-are-protesting-against-the-bjps-celebration-of-lachit-borphukan |access-date=2022-11-27 |website=Scroll.in |language=en-US}}</ref> | ||
== Notes == | |||
{{Notelist}} | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{Reflist}} | {{Reflist|2}} | ||
==Bibliography== | ==Bibliography== | ||
{{refbegin}} | {{refbegin}} | ||
*{{ | * {{Cite book |last=Baruah |first=Sanjib |title=In the Name of the Nation: India and Its Northeast |publisher=Stanford University Press |year=2020 |language=en}} | ||
* {{cite journal|last=Bhuyan |first=S K |title=Lachit Barphukan: A great Assamese Contemporary of Shivaji Maharaja, and the successful antagonist of the Mogul General Raja Ram Singha of Amber |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |year=1935 |volume=1 Part II |pages=2–3 |jstor=44202311}} | |||
* {{cite book |last=Gohain |first=Birendra Kumar |title=Lachit Barphukan: The National Hero of Assam |publisher=Asama Prakāśana Parishada |location=Guwahati |date=October 2012 |pages=1–8}} | |||
* {{Cite journal |last=Saikia |first=Arupjyoti |date=December 2008 |title=History, buranjis and nation: Suryya Kumar Bhuyan's histories in twentieth-century Assam |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/001946460804500401 |journal=The Indian Economic & Social History Review |language=en |volume=45 |issue=4 |pages=473–507 |doi=10.1177/001946460804500401 |issn=0019-4646|url-access=subscription }} | |||
* {{Citation |last=Sarkar |first=J. N. |contribution=Chapter VIII Assam-Mughal Relations |editor-last=Barpujari |editor-first=H. K. |title=The Comprehensive History of Assam |volume=2 |pages=148–256 |publisher=Assam Publication Board |place=Guwahati |year=1992}} | |||
* {{Cite book |last=Sharma |first=Jayeeta |title=The Politics of Cultural Mobilization in India |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2004 |isbn=9780195668018 |editor-last=Zavos |editor-first=John |location=Delhi |language=en |chapter=Heroes for our Times: Assam’s Lachit, India’s Missile Man |editor-last2=Wyatt |editor-first2=Andrew |editor-last3=Hewitt |editor-first3=Vernon}} | |||
}} | * {{Cite web |last=Zaman |first=Rokibuz |title=Why Assamese historians and writers are protesting against the BJP’s celebration of Lachit Borphukan |url=https://scroll.in/article/1038074/why-assamese-historians-and-writers-are-protesting-against-the-bjps-celebration-of-lachit-borphukan |access-date=2022-11-27 |website=Scroll.in |language=en-US |year=2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123193935/https://scroll.in/article/1038074/why-assamese-historians-and-writers-are-protesting-against-the-bjps-celebration-of-lachit-borphukan |archive-date=2023-01-23}} | ||
{{refend}} | {{refend}} | ||
== External links == | ==External links== | ||
* {{Commons-inline}} | * {{Commons-inline}} | ||
{{Mughal Empire}} | {{Mughal Empire}} | ||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Borphukan, Lachit}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Borphukan, Lachit}} | ||
[[Category:1671 deaths]] | [[Category:1671 deaths]] | ||
| Line 83: | Line 99: | ||
[[Category:17th-century births]] | [[Category:17th-century births]] | ||
[[Category:17th-century Indian people]] | [[Category:17th-century Indian people]] | ||
Latest revision as of 10:26, 18 March 2026
Lachit Barphukan | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Born | 4 November 1622 Ahom Kingdom |
| Died | 25 April 1672 (aged 49) Kaliabor,[1] Nagaon |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | Ahom Kingdom |
| Ahom Army | |
| Rank | Borphukan (General) Commander-in-chief |
| Battles/wars |
|
| Memorials | Holongapar, Jorhat, Assam, India |
| Relations | Momai Tamuli Borbarua (father) Nang La-Cheng Aaideu (mother) Laluksola Borphukan (brother) Pakhori Gabharu (sister) Marangi Borbarua (brother) Bhardhora Borphukan (brother) Lao Deka (brother) Datukaria (brother) Ramani Gabharu (niece) Baduli Borphukan (uncle) |
| 2= | |
Lachit Borphukan (24 November 1622 – 25 April 1672) was an army general, primarily known for commanding the Ahom Army and the victory in the naval Battle of Saraighat (1671) that thwarted an invasion by the vastly superior Mughal Forces under the command of Ramsingh I.[2] He died about a year later in April 1672.[1]
There is keen contemporary interest in Lachit Borphukan today—he has emerged as a powerful symbol of Assam's historical autonomy.[3][4]
Biography[edit | edit source]
Lachit was youngest born to Momai Tamuli Borbarua, a commoner who rose to the rank of Borbarua under Pratap Singha and Nang Lacheng Aaideu (r. 1545–1641).[5][6] His sister was Pakhari Gabhoru, a queen to the Ahom kings Jayadhwaj Singha, Chakradhwaj Singha and Samaguria Raja, and his niece was Ramani Gabharu, the Ahom princess who was given to the Mughals as part of the Treaty of Ghilajharighat. A few Buranjis give some details on Lachit's life and education.[7][lower-alpha 1] He learnt the art of statecraft from his father and grew up instilled with a sense of loyalty to the king.[8]
He is said to have participated in battle against Mir Jumla's forces at Dikhaumukh and rose up the ranks of Ahom officialdom—Ghora Barua, Dulia Barua, Simalugiria Phukan and Dolakasharia Barua.[9] Following the Chakradhwaj's preparations to retake Guwahati and on the eve of the march, Lachit was appointed the Borphukan (Ahom viceroy in the west) and the commander of the Ahom forces.[10][11] As Borphukan, he worked to develop Lower Assam by organising new villages, instituting crafts classes for women and taking a census of the population. During this time, he received a letter mistakenly from Kachar addressing him as the King of Lower Assam (Narayan Raja), to which he took offence.[12]
Guwahati campaign[edit | edit source]
Lachit set up his base-camp at Kaliabar and then advanced on Guwahati in August 1667 in two divisions;[13] and after a series of battles, finally retook Guwahati with the fall of Itakhuli in November 1667.[14]
Death[edit | edit source]
A few Buranjis briefly describe Lachit's victory over the Mughal naval fleet, led by Ram Singh, in the Battle of Saraighat.[15] He died soon after in Kaliabor and was buried at Teok in Jorhat in a maidam,[16][1] which are burial grounds for Ahom royals and nobles.[17]
Contemporary narratives[edit | edit source]
In the pre-colonial times Buranjis were not available for popular consumption and their circulation was restricted to the nobility.[18] Beginning in the early twentieth century, a few localities in Upper Assam began commemorating November 24 as Lachit Dibox (trans. Lachit Day).[19][20] The contemporaneous burgeoning of public interest in history ensured that the legend of Barphukan had "attained an iconic status" by the first quarter of the century and Surya Kumar Bhuyan published an article comparing him with Shivaji;[21] but Lachit was only one of the many historical icons who were appropriated by Assamese elites towards different politico-cultural ends, and his popularity was later surpassed by Joymoti Konwari and others.[5]
In 1947, Bhuyan published Lachit's biography "Lachit Barphukan and His Times" against the backdrop of Ahom conflicts with the Mughal Empire; not only did the work grant a veneer of "academic respectability" to the legend but also "mythologized" his exploits in the Assamese psyche.[5][19] However, in state-building in postcolonial Assam, cultural heroes like Lachit were largely displaced by anti-colonial activists; Jayeeta Sharma notes the legend of Lachit to have "retired into the domain of knowledge, away from activism."[5][lower-alpha 2] Nonetheless, the legend survived in the backwaters of Assamese nationalism, with the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) — a secessionist organization seeking the creation of an independent and sovereign Assam — extensively using Lachit's imagery for propaganda.[19][lower-alpha 3]
Lachit's memory would be significantly appropriated by the state only under the governorship of Srinivas Kumar Sinha;[lower-alpha 4] Sharma, writing as of 2004, found that it was no more the ULFA but the Government of Assam that tried the most to bring him into prominence.[5][19] Coterminous to the rise of Bharatiya Janata Party in the state, Lachit has been inducted within the framework of a Hindu Nationalist grammar, as a Hindu military hero who defended against Muslim aggression which is contested by historians who claim that Lachit followed Tai religion and wasn't a Hindu.[23][19][5][24]
Notes[edit | edit source]
- ↑ PAB: Purani Asam Buranji, ed., Hem Chandra Goswami; SMAB: Assam Buranji obtained from the family of Sukumar Mahanta; BKK: Tai-Ahom Buranji from Khunlung and Khunlai; AB: Ahom Buranji, tr., G. C. Barua; TB: Tungkhungia Buranji, ed., S.K. Bhuyan; Lachit: Lachit Barphukan and His Times by S. K. Bhuyan
- ↑ The Government of Assam's only attempt at institutionalizing Barphukan's memory was probably in the naming of the Saraighat Bridge in 1962.
- ↑ In 1968, ULFA established the Lachit Sena (Lachit Army) to drive away all foreigners but to no effect. A couple of decades hence, Suresh Phukan wrote Moidamor Pora Moi Lachite Koiso (trans. This is Lachit speaking from my burial tomb) which exerted significant influence on ULFA cadres and sympathizers; it had Barphukan, in the narrator's robe, admonishing Assam's political class for betraying the interests of the native people and commending the separatist cause.[19]
- ↑ Sinha started the annual "Lachit Barphukan Memorial Lecture" at Gauhati University in 1998 and lobbied the Ministry of Defense to confer the best passing out cadet from the National Defence Academy with an eponymous medal; probationary IAS cadres from the state were required to enact Lachit defeating the Mughals.[19][22]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Lachit Barphukan, who had literally staked his life and honour, soon died at Kaliabar, April 1672..." (Sarkar 1992:228)
- ↑ "In 1671 he commanded the Ahom forces that defeated the vastly superior Mughal army led by Raja Ram Singh of Ajmer in the battle of Saraighat." (Baruah 2020:146)
- ↑ "Lachit Borphukon is a powerful symbol of Assam’s autonomous past for many in Assam." (Baruah 2020:146)
- ↑ "That event subsequently served as basis for the proud claim by modem Assamese nationalism that Assam was one of the few regions to stave off ‘alien’ rule by ‘Bangals’ or ‘Yavanas’, as the buranjis classified these would-be conquerors from the Indian heartland." (Sharma 2004:176)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Sharma (2004)
- ↑ "The supreme command of the expedition was entrusted to Lachit Deka, youngest son of Momai Tamuli Barbarua, the reputed statesman and general of Pratap Simha's time, who had earned renown in fighting the Mughals under Jahangir and Shahjahan." (Sarkar 1992:205)
- ↑ "PAB, 104 (date); SMAB: 91; BKK, ii, 26-0; AB, 196-7; KB 91; TB, 4; Lachit, 17-24, based on MS. AB. Nos. 7, 8, 12, gives details of Lachit's family background, education;" (Sarkar 1992:206f)
- ↑ (Gohain 2012:8)
- ↑ "Lachit himself had given sufficient evidence of his prowess and power of leadership in lighting Mir Jumla's men at Dikhaumukh and in different posts held. e.g. Ghora Barua (Superintendent of the Royal Horses), Dulia Barua (Superintendent of Dola or palanquin-bearers of kings and incharge of royal palanquins), Simaluguria Phukan (Commandant of the levy usually posted at Simaluguri near the capital) and Dolakasharia Barua (Superintendent of the armed guards accompanying the king while moving on the royal sedan, and police constable, in effect Inspector General of Police of today)." (Sarkar 1992:205)
- ↑ "Thus he was selected after considerable search and due tests and appointed commander-in-chief of the army and Barphukan in charge of the civil administration of Lower Assam." (Sarkar 1992:205)
- ↑ "Lachit himself reached the rank of Barphukan, with charge of the Ahom territories in Lower Assam, near modern Guwahati." (Sharma 2004:176)
- ↑ (Gohain 2012:4–5)
- ↑ "On August 22, 1667, a large army, warned by the consequences of failure, sailed down the Brahmaputra from the capital. Fixing his base at Kaliabar, Lachit advanced towards Guwahati in two divisions." (Sarkar 1992:205–206)
- ↑ "The fall of Itakhuli was followed by the flight of the defenders of Guwahati. Sayyid Firuz Khan faujdar and Sayyid Salar Khan Mir Bakhshi ("Sana' of Assamese sources) also fled with a few followers towards the Manah river, the old Ahom-Mughal boundary. The victors entered the capital about the middle of November, 1667." (Sarkar 1992:207); "The victory at Guwahati, won by Lachit, and implying the recovery of Kamrup up to the Manas, was a momentous chapter in Ahom-Mughal relations. It was the first round in turning the tide against the Mughals. In four years the Ahoms regained the prestige lost in 1663." (Sarkar 1992:208)
- ↑ "In their accounts of the Ahom Bangal encounters, some of these chronicles made brief allusions to a victory narrowly won over the Mughal commander, Ram Singh, in a naval conflict by his Ahom counterpart, Lachit Barphukan." (Sharma 2004:176)
- ↑ "Lachit did not live to savour his victory, dying shortly after his defeat of the Mughal forces at Saraighat." (Sharma 2004:176)
- ↑ "Moidams are Ahom burial grounds for royals and nobles." (Baruah 2020:230f)
- ↑ "The social function of pre-colonial Buranjis as an attractive reading subject was exceedingly limited, and even doubtful. Others than the pre-colonial elites and nobility, no one else had either the scope or the privilege to read these works." (Saikia 2008:489)
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 19.5 19.6 (Baruah 2020:147)
- ↑ "In a parallel development, Lachit was commemorated in similar manner through annual melas on a date declared as Lachit Diwas...The Lachit Diwas celebrations, in contrast, were much more localized, failing to spread much further than their epicentre at Charing Gaon, even within Upper Assam." (Sharma 2004:179–180)
- ↑ "Bhuyan wrote a biography of Lachit Barphukan, which was preceded by a paper presented in the first session of the Indian history Congress, held in 1935 at Pune. His choice of the subject and its critical relevance to the place of the conference cannot be ruled out. Bhuyan later stated that his paper had been appreciated by contemporary Maratha scholars who were also pursuing the career of Shivaji. See Bhuyan, Lachit Barphukan." (Saikia 2008:501f)
- ↑ "Lachit Borphukan gold medal award: NDA ideal platform for grooming of cadets: Gogoi - Regional | News Post". Newslivetv.com. 18 February 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
- ↑ "Besides, [Udayaditya Bharali, a historian and former principal of Guwahati’s Cotton College] said, Borphukan himself was not Hindu. “Lachit was from the Tai religion,” he said. “History can’t be written forcefully as one wishes. Hinduism only became the predominant religion during the reign of Sib Singh [1714-1744]. Many soldiers under Lachit were from the tribal faith.”" (Zaman 2022)
- ↑ Zaman, Rokibuz. "Why Assamese historians and writers are protesting against the BJP's celebration of Lachit Borphukan". Scroll.in. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
Bibliography[edit | edit source]
- Baruah, Sanjib (2020). In the Name of the Nation: India and Its Northeast. Stanford University Press.
- Bhuyan, S K (1935). "Lachit Barphukan: A great Assamese Contemporary of Shivaji Maharaja, and the successful antagonist of the Mogul General Raja Ram Singha of Amber". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 1 Part II: 2–3. JSTOR 44202311.
- Gohain, Birendra Kumar (October 2012). Lachit Barphukan: The National Hero of Assam. Guwahati: Asama Prakāśana Parishada. pp. 1–8.
- Saikia, Arupjyoti (December 2008). "History, buranjis and nation: Suryya Kumar Bhuyan's histories in twentieth-century Assam". The Indian Economic & Social History Review. 45 (4): 473–507. doi:10.1177/001946460804500401. ISSN 0019-4646.
- Sarkar, J. N. (1992), "Chapter VIII Assam-Mughal Relations", in Barpujari, H. K. (ed.), The Comprehensive History of Assam, vol. 2, Guwahati: Assam Publication Board, pp. 148–256
- Sharma, Jayeeta (2004). "Heroes for our Times: Assam's Lachit, India's Missile Man". In Zavos, John; Wyatt, Andrew; Hewitt, Vernon (eds.). The Politics of Cultural Mobilization in India. Delhi: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195668018.
- Zaman, Rokibuz (2022). "Why Assamese historians and writers are protesting against the BJP's celebration of Lachit Borphukan". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2022.