From legendary conquerors like Alexander the Great to visionary leaders like Ashoka, amidst these narratives, there are also unsung heroes – brave warriors who courageously fought battles, not for personal glory, but to usher in a brighter future for their nations. These are the heroes who are often less heard about, often overlooked, and often forgotten over the chapters of time. One such unsung warrior was Lachit, whose might was feared even by the Mughals.
BACKGROUND OF THE EVENTS
Pratap Sinha, one of the best of his time, was a visionary king from the Ahom Dynasty. He understood the importance of creating respective offices for the tasks assigned to the officials in his assembly. These offices included Burhagohain, Bargohain, and Borpatrogohain. Apart from these, the list also included Borphukan and Borbarua. Together, they were called the ''Panch Patra Mantris''. The Mantris looked after the administrative blocks of the Kingdom. It was a very close knit of commanders, generals, warriors who took needed steps to counter any attack from the rivals.
START OF THE POWER TUSSLE
The Ahom Kingdom came under repeated attacks from the start of the 13th century by the Mughals. As the Brahmaputra region was the most fertile area, it became a significant point of conflict between the two empires. East Asian trade could be directly controlled by the Mughals from Assam. The continuous assaults to gain power over the region posed a great challenge to the stability and sovereignty of the Ahom Kingdom. The mughals attacked Assam 17 times and the Ahoms bravely defended all 17 of them.
Battle of Samdhara was the first organized Mughal attack on Ahoms which took place in 1616, lead by the forces of Pratap Sinha and Piksai Hazarika on one side and Sheik Qasim khan and Syed Aba Bakr on the other. With heavy force of 30,000 men and 700 war elephants Ahom emerged victorious
In 1663, the Ahoms suffered a second major attack from the Mughals under Aurangzeb. The attack was led by Mir Jumla who was ordered to annex Assam once again. The war resulted in the victory of the Mughal forces, and the Ahoms suffered a humiliating defeat, forced to sign ''Treaty of Ghilajarighat'' which led to the payment of 3 lakhs as war indemnity as well as western half of their kingdom right from Guhawti to Manas river was given to Mughals.
RISE OF LACHIT BORPHUKAN AMIDST THE TENSIONS
After a crushing defeat the Ahom king had to make amends, he appointed Lachit Borphukan as the commander of the leading army, Lachit who was well versed in the battlefield led the decisive march which continued for almost 2 months. He was successful in arresting the Mughal governor and captured mughal soldiers along with Syed Firoz Khan. King Chakradwaj was so amazed by the victory that he gave him the very famous sword - ''HENGDAN''.
THE BATTLE OF SARAIGHAT
This was the last attempt to annex and take control of the Brahmaputra region and extend the geographical might of the mughals. With the constant defeat at the hands of Ahoms, Aurangzeb realized the need to create a strong army and even stronger defence. This consisted of 30,000 infantry, 4000 troopers, 18,000 cavalries, 5000 gunners and around 50 naval ships. Borphukan led the Ahom army and relied on the guerrilla war tactic as he understood the difficulty of defeating Mughals on the plains with huge military personnel. Cleverly, Lalit built small mud embankments on Brahmaputra river as he knew naval was the weakest contingent of Mughals and the area around Andharubali which was an important junction between north and south of Brahmaputra would serve as a strategic location
The Mughal army, led by Raja Ram Singh, made its passage through Guwahati. However, as soon as the Mughals were about to land at Andharubali, the Ahoms attacked them with all their might. Soon after, the entire region became a battlefield. Despite grappling with ill health, Lachit commanded the naval army from the front. Due to a well-planned strategy, the Mughals had to retreat as the losses were significant leading to the victory of Ahoms. The battle of Saraighat was a landmark event in Indian history as it was the last chance for the Mughals to bring Ahom kingdom of 600 years to its knees.
Lachit's bravery and courage was so strong that it made Aurangzeb question the authority and mastery of his own empire. ''What is he, Aurangzeb asked, A Human? A ghost? or these Hindus have gods that walk around in human shapes with mystical swords in their hands''.
The impact of Lachit's valor was so intense that even today he is celebrated as the hero of Assam. However, the historical representation in the mainland is still due. Even today, not many people outside Assam know about the contribution that Ahoms, in general, and Borphukan, in particular had made to defend their territory from the Islamic invasions. Due to the continuous historical distortion the acknowledgement of such brave heroes go unnoticed.
As a mark of respect, the National Defence Academy celebrates 24th November as the anniversary and awards the best cadet candidate a medal after Lachit Borphukan.
