Ahom warrior Lachit Borphukan and the battles of Alaboi & Saraighat

Ahom warrior Lachit Borphukan and the battles of Alaboi & Saraighat

TOPIC: History

Context- Assam Chief Minister HimantaBiswaSarma had announced a number of projects in connection with the 400th birth anniversary of LachitBorphukan.

Concept-

LachitBorphukan:

• Born on 24th November, 1622, Borphukan was known for his leadership in the Battle of Saraighat, 1671 in which an attempt by Mughal forces to capture Assam was thwarted. He died on 25th April, 1672.
• LachitBorphukan single-handedly led a vastly out numbered Ahom force to victory over a numerically superior Mughal Army.
• The LachitBorphukan gold medal is awarded to the best cadet from the National Defence Academy.
• The medal was instituted in 1999 to inspire defence personnel to emulate Borphukan’s heroism and sacrifices.

About Battle of Alaboi (1669):

• In 1669, Aurangzeb dispatched the Rajput Raja Ram Singh I to recapture territories won back by the Ahoms.
• The battle of Alaboi was fought between the Ahom armed force and Mughals trespassers on August 5, 1969 in the Alaboi Hills near Dadara in North Guwahati.

About Battle of Saraighat (1671):

• The Battle of Saraighat was a naval battle fought in 1671 between the Mughal Empire (led by the Kachwaha king, Raja Ram Singh I), and the Ahom Kingdom (led by LachitBorphukan) on the Brahmaputra river at Saraighat, Guwahati, Assam.
• Although weaker, the Ahom Army defeated the Mughal Army by brilliant uses of the terrain, clever diplomatic negotiations to buy time, guerrilla tactics, psychological warfare, military intelligence and by exploiting the sole weakness of the Mughal forces (navy).
• The Battle of Saraighat was the last battle in the last major attempt by the Mughals to extend their empire into Assam.
• Although the Mughals managed to regain Guwahati briefly later after a Borphukan deserted it, the Ahoms wrested control in the Battle of Itakhuli in 1682 and maintained it till the end of their rule.

About Ahom Kingdom:

• The Ahom dynasty (1228–1826) ruled the Ahom kingdom in present day Assam, India for nearly 598 years.
• ChaolungSukapha was a 13th century ruler who founded the Ahom kingdom that ruled Assam for six centuries. The Ahomsruled the land till the province was annexed to British India in 1826 with the signing of the Treaty of Yandaboo.
• In external medieval chronicles the kings of this dynasty were called Asam Raja, whereas the subjects of the kingdom called them Chaopha, or Swargadeo.