Lachit Borphukan

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Recently, the Assam government made a request to include Lachit Borphukan’s valour in textbooks.

Image Courtesy: TN

Lachit Borphukan

Born: on November 24, 1622 in Charaideo, the first capital of the Ahom kings.
Led two battles against an alien Mughal army.
- Battle of Alaboi:
  - Fought on August 5, 1669 in the Alaboi Hills near Dadara in North Guwahati.
  - Aurangzeb had ordered the invasion in 1669 under his ally Rajput Raja Ram Singh I who led a combined Mughal and Rajput army.
  - Borphukan engaged in guerrilla warfare, assaulting the invaders and then falling back until Ram Singh I unleashed his entire forces on the Ahoms, defeating them in the Battle of Alaboi.
- Naval battle in Saraighat in 1671:
  - Lachit Borphukon’s valorous leadership led to the decisive defeat of the Mughals.
  - According to historical accounts, Lachit is said to have tricked the Mughals by feigning an attack in front.
  - As the fleet advanced on the river Brahmaputra, the main Ahom fleet attacked from behind, sealing a victory for the locals.

Expertise of Ahoms

An awed Ram Singh wrote back to Aurangzeb describing the prowess of the Ahom soldiers who were all experts at rowing boats, shooting arrows, digging trenches and wielding guns and cannons.
In the letter often quoted by historians, Ram Singh relates that one single individual had led all the forces and that he had not seen such warriors in any other part of India.

The Ahoms, who ruled Assam for more than 600 years to record one of the longest dynastic reigns in the subcontinent, were instrumental in thwarting more than 15 attempts of the Mughals and other rulers of the Delhi Sultanate to conquer the region.

Government’s Recognition to Lachit Borphukan

The year-long celebration of the 17th-century Ahom general’s 400th birth anniversary is going on.
A war memorial for the soldiers who fought at Alaboi is being built as part of Lachit’s 400 year anniversary.
The warrior’s prowess of the north eastern soldiers remains to this day and is represented by the Assam Regiment.
Today, Lachit’s extraordinary courage and leadership is honoured by the National Defense Academy (NDA) which awards a gold medal in his name every year since 1999 to the best cadet.
The government is also trying to turn the burial sites (maidams) of Ahom royalty scattered across Charaideo hillocks into a UNESCO world heritage site.

Source: TH

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