The National Defense Academy, NDA, is India’s premier defense services training institute where cadets are trained for various wings of the armed forces. After a rigorous three years training schedule, the best passing out cadet is awarded the Lachit Borphukan gold medal. Who was Lachit Borphukan and how did his name find its way to the NDA?
Lachit and his military genius is the stuff of legends in Assam, but sadly he remains an unknown person outside the North-East. His is a tale of valor, of perseverance, of pride and determination, and how fortune always favors the brave. Let us go on an epic journey through the rough and tumble of 17th century India where the Mughals under Aurangzeb, the Marathas under Shivaji, the Sikhs under their 9th guru Teg Bahadur, the Rajput chieftains owing allegiance to the Mughals and the Ahom kings of Assam collide in an epic battle for dominance.
Ahom kingdom
Ahom were the rulers of present day Assam from the mid 13th century all the way to early 19th century. For over 600 years, this dynasty controlled the fertile Brahmaputra valley and was able to push back all invaders. In fact, no other Indian dynasty has had such a continuous independent rule as much as the Ahom’s.
The King and his wise men
The King was, of course, at the top of the hierarchy in Ahom society. He was called ‘Swargadeo’ or ‘Lord of the Heavens’ and ruled from Garhgaon in Eastern Assam. Under the king was a council of five men, the ‘Patra Mantris’. While three of the state councillors advised the king from his capital, the other two managed the judicial and military activities of Eastern and Western Assam.
East meets West
The state was also geographically divided into east and west kingdoms, with the Borphukan controlling the western kingdom from his capital at Guwahati. The western kingdom was militarily more sensitive because this was the route that invaders, such as the Mughals, would have to take to travel to Garhgaon.
Geography of East/West Ahom kingdom, showing nearby Mughal presence. The Brahmaputra flows right through the kingdom. Click on image to see enlarged view. Picture copyright, letusdiscoverindia.com
Keep in mind that in the 17th century, present day Assam was covered in lush green forests with the Brahmaputra river flooding during the monsoon season that would last several months of the year. The junction where the Manas river met the Brahmaputra was acknowledged as the Western boundary of the Ahom kingdom.
Prelude to War
Before we get to Lachit Borphukan’s military deeds, let us dwell a bit on the Ahom-Mughal relationship and the devastating battle of 1662. The Mughals under Aurangzeb had been steadily expanding the empire’s boundaries in the North-West (towards present day Afghanistan) and deep down into South India. In the East, the Ahom’s and the rugged terrains of Assam posed a huge challenge to the Mughals. Many attempts were made by the combined Mughal armies from Dhaka and Bengal, but the Ahom resistance could not be broken.
Humiliation of 1662
It was 1662 and Mir Jumla had recently been appointed the Governor of Bengal by Aurangzeb. An astute general, Mir Jumla realized that the best way to defeat the Ahom’s was by sailing up the Brahmaputra from the west, conquer Guwahati and eventually attack the Ahom capital city of Garhgaon. Historical records show that Mir Jumla’s naval fleet consisted of more than 300 ships and his navy was run by European sailors. This impressive fleet shattered the Ahom defenses at Guwahati and in a matter of months reached Garhgaon. Jayadhwaj Singha, the then Ahom ruler, had to sign a humiliating treaty with the Mughals. The terms of the treaty included:
- The kings only daughter, Ramani Gabharu, would be sent to the Mughal court. Her name would later be changed to Rahmat Banu Begum and she would become Aurangzeb’s daughter-in-law
- Ahoms would accept Mughal supremacy and never wage war against the Mughal emperor. Also every year the Ahom king would pay money and war elephants to the Mughals
- And, lastly, Guwahati and the western portion of the Ahom kingdom would be given over to the Mughals
They were very humiliating conditions for the Ahom people to accept, but they had no other options. After the princess had been sent and an initial deposit of money and elephants made, the Ahom king called his councilors to chalk out a strategy to take revenge. They would have to be careful, while the Mughal army had withdrawn back to their camps in Dhaka, they were still close enough to return back if needed. Also the humiliation heaped on the Ahoms had demoralized them completely. They needed somebody who could energize their army and a firm belief that the Mughals and Aurangzeb were not invincible.
Shivaji’s escapades & Ahom rejuvenation
It was not just the Ahom ruler who was waiting to shake off the Mughal grip on his kingdom. Deep in the Deccan a Maratha warrior had embarked on the same journey. Shivaji Bhonsale, later to be immortalized in Indian history as Chhatrapati Shivaji, was the rising star of the Deccan. Shivaji had just defeated Aurangzeb’s maternal uncle Shaista Khan in Pune. An enraged Aurangzeb sent the great Rajput king Jai Singh to defeat Shivaji. Shivaji and Jai Singh dueled over a year and finally a peace deal was signed. As per the treaty, Shivaji would not battle the Mughals any more and, in addition, give away some of his forts back to the Mughals.
Aurangzeb knew only too well that allowing Shivaji to remain in the Deccan would continue to be a problem for him. So he summoned Shivaji to Agra with an intention of sending him to Kandahar. Although Shivaji reached Agra, he refused to accept this order to march away to Kandahar. Aurangzeb responded by imprisoning Shivaji for this act of defiance. What follows next is the stuff of legend (and something we will cover in another post) – Shivaji along with his son Sambhaji disguise as priests and escape out of Agra fort! Shivaji realizes that the only way to deal with the Mughals is through the sword and goes on all out attack against Mughal interests in the Deccan.
News about Shivaji and his escapade reach the Ahoms and they watch with growing interest. Here, in the heart of Mughal territory, was a king who not only escaped from under Aurangzeb’s nose, but openly stood up and fought the mighty Mughal army. Surely if Shivaji could do this, the Ahom’s could do the same.
Ahom Preparation
Once the Mughals left Ahom territory after their agreement with Jayadhwaj Singha, preparations started for next war. The kings council met to understand why they lost against Mir Jumla. Jayadhwaj Singha sent letters to neighboring kings to form an anti-Mughal alliance. Unfortunately by the time this activity could pick up speed, Jayadhwaj Singha passed away.
Jayadhwaj was succeeded by Chakradhwaj Singha. The new king was determined to permanently throw away the Mughals from the Ahom territory. The five wise men of the kingdom met and decided on the next course of action. While the king wanted military action to be started immediately, his prime minister – the Burhagohain – advised caution. Jumping into a war was not wise, he advised. Before start of war, they had to make sure that the kingdom was self-sufficient in food grains, military equipment was ready and the men sufficiently trained for fighting a multi-year intense war against the well armed and well trained Mughals.
Military Hierarchy
In the Ahom society, every able bodied man had some form of active military experience. This was achieved by a very peculiar way of bringing together economic & military activities.
Every able bodied adult male in the Ahom kingdom was called a ‘Paik’. Paik’s formed a group of four. A group of four Paik would get a grant of land from the king. While three of them were involved in agriculture, one of them would participate in public works, especially in the military. After a fixed time, this Paik member would return back to agriculture and another member from his group will be deputed to public work. This way, the entire society had people actively involved in both agriculture activities as well as available on a short notice for military engagements. Compared to the other societies, such as the Mughals, were men involved in warfare were expected to be involved only with fighting, the Ahom society was more flexible and this gave them an extra edge.
Between the Paik (at the lowest level) and the Borphukan (at the highest level), there were many levels of officers. Much like today’s military hierarchy, each officer was ranked based on how many people he managed.
Assam’s man of destiny
Chakradwaj Singha took personal interest and responsibility in building up the armed forces. He would frequently monitor their drills and encourage them. And since no army can fight on an empty stomach, paddy cultivation was expanded at a large scale under state supervision. So was the manufacture of swords and other weapon. The troops were ready, they could be well armed and fed for a long period of war, but who would lead them?
Enter Lachit Borphukan, Assam’s man of destiny. Lachit was the son of the Ahom general who fought against Jehangir and Shah Jehan. During the war with Mir Jumla, Lachit had demonstrated his fighting skills and leadership. There was also the matter of personal revenge – Jayadhwaj Singha was married to Lachit’s sister, and it was Lachit’s niece Ramani Gabharu who would be sent off to be married to Aurangzeb’s son as per the conditions of the treaty of 1662. With Lachit at the helm, the Ahoms felt they could defeat the Mughals. Lachit, for the Ahoms, was what Shivaji was for the Marathas.
Shivaji, in the meantime, was busy troubling Aurangzeb’s men in the Deccan and the Ahom council thought this would be the best time to initiate hostilities against the Mughals. On August 20 1667, the Ahom army sailed down the Brahmaputra in two divisions. Their goal – throw the Mughals out of Guwahati and regain lost pride.
Guwahati falls and Ram Singh arrives
Reclaiming Guwahati from the Mughals was crucial for the Ahom war plans. Guwahati, due to its strategic location, was the best suited place for prolonged warfare. Here the Brahmaputra narrowed down to a kilometre wide. Guwahati was also surrounded on all sides by mountains and treacherous forests. These mountains and forests would make the Mughal cavalry (soldiers on horses) ineffective. The Assamese soldiers were very fearful about land warfare with the Mughals, they knew they were no match for fighting with the highly trained Mughal soldiers on land. Naval warfare was a totally different game and here the Ahom soldiers could hold their own against Aurangzeb’s forces. If Guwahati could be controlled, then the Ahom’s could tie down the Mughals on the river and slowly pick them off by guerilla warfare from the hills.
Storming Guwahati
Lachit unleashed the full force of the Ahom army on the unsuspecting Mughal forces at Guwahati. By the time the Mughals understood what hit them, Lachit’s forces won a series of victories. Getting control of Itakhuli hill was crucial as this offered an all round view around Guwahati. A fierce battle started and by midnight of November 2 1667, Lachit had occupied Ithakuli. The whole of Guwahati now fell to the Ahom soldiers. In a short period of two months, the first phase of the Ahom war plan had yielded outstanding results.
As soon as Guwahati fell, Lachit moved his forces to a defensive postures. The Ahom commanders met at the Kamakhya temple and offered their prayers – O mother, eat up the foreigners, and protect all our people.
Lachit sent out a general order to his troops – they were to fight till their last breath and if anyone withdrew, he would personally execute that soldier. Defensive bastions were setup around the surrounding hills and troops were stationed all through the day in rotation and canons were fixed. An advance party of troops were sent further down the Brahmaputra from Guwahati to watch out for any new Mughal forces coming up stream. It was now a wait and watch game for the Mughals were sure to respond fire with fire.
Mughal response
The Mughals were not going to let Guwahati slip out of their hand without a fight. Reinforcements were arranged at Dakha and a furious Aurangzeb ordered Ram Singh of Amber to proceed to Assam and destroy the Ahom menace once and for all. Aurangzeb’s choice of Ram Singh had a dark reasoning behind it and it had to do with the Mughal losses against Shivaji in the Deccan.
The Shivaji Connection
Ram Singh was a member of the illustrious Rajput royalty of Amber. His predecessor, Man Singh, was Akbar’s most loyal general and helped Akbar expand the Mughal empire through countless battles. It was Ram Singh’s father, Jai Singh, who had been sent by Aurangzeb to fight against Shivaji. The treaty that Jai Singh and Shivaji signed created temporary peace in the Deccan. Jai Singh was an admirer of Shivaji, and so was his son Ram Singh. When Aurangzeb invited Shivaji to Agra, it was Ram Singh who accompanied Shivaji all the way. Later when Aurangzeb humiliated and arrested Shivaji, Ram Singh did his best to ensure Shivaji’s release. In fact the Mughal emperor strongly believed that Ram Singh had secretly helped Shivaji escape from Agra.
Fighting in Assam amidst the dense jungles, mountains and flooded rivers was always going to be a challenge for the Mughals. In fact no Mughal general wanted to be deputed to this part of the country. Aurangzeb was waiting to punish Ram Singh and when the Ahom army took over Guwahati he immediately sent the king of Amber to Guwahati. Ram Singh would either come back victorious, and earn the trust of the emperor, or he would die in the hills and jungles of Assam. Aurangzeb had sent Ram Singh on punishment transfer to Assam!
Spiritual Support
Accompanying Ram Singh on this perilous journey was the 9th Sikh guru, Guru Teg Bahadur. The Guru joining Ram Singh was helpful for both. Ram Singh, knowing fully well the trap that Aurangzeb had put him into, needed the company of a spiritual person as he ventured into Ahom land. The Guru was fond of Ram Singh and wanted to travel away from Delhi and spread the words of Guru Nanak. This arrangement though aroused more suspicions in Aurangzeb as he was not fond of the Sikh Guru. But for now, he allowed the Guru to accompany Ram Singh.
| Did you know… |
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| The animosity that Aurangzeb held towards Guru Teg Bahadur would only increase with time. In 1675, the Guru would be executed in Delhi under the orders of Aurangzeb. |
Early skirmishes
Vigilance, they say, is the price of freedom. The Ahom spies had been tracking every movement of Ram Singh since he left Delhi and his impending arrival was informed to Lachit. It was decided that the advance troops of the Ahom army would oppose Ram Singh’s forces beyond the confluence of the Manas river.
A few short battles were fought, but the Ahom soldiers were no match for the Mughals. Ram Singh had bought with him a thousand dogs who would detect the Ahom soldiers even under the smoke of cannon fire and kill them. Knowing fully well that his soldiers stood no chance against the Mughals, Lachit ordered a tactical withdrawal of the Ahom forces.
The Ahom forces were to pull back up the river such that they would always be in the line of sight of the Mughals and at the same time just out of reach of the Mughal cannons. By doing this, Lachit wanted to lure the Mughals to the narrowest point of the river at Guwahati and give an impression to Ram Singh that the Ahom army were discouraged by the Mughal might. On his part, Ram Singh was delighted to see the Ahom fleet moving away and followed them slowly up the river. After six days of lazy sailing the Mughal fleet reached Guwahati.
Poppy seed diplomacy
A series of diplomatic letters between Lachit and Ram Singh ensued. Ram Singh demanded the Ahom evacuate Guwahati and in return he promised to convince the mughal emperor Aurangzeb not to sack the Ahom capital. Lachit who still needed a few more weeks of time to finish his preparations wanted to use these diplomatic letters as a means of buying time for his men. In his response, Lachit politely refused to leave Guwahati but in return offered Ram Singh food provisions for his troops, just in case the Mughals were running out of food. This intense diplomatic warfare continued for a while.
At one point, Ram Singh dispatched a bag of poppy seeds to Lachit with the message: “The Borphukan should evacuate Guwahati. Our army is as numerous as the poppy seeds in this bag.” In reply, Lachit sent back a bamboo tube filled with sand and this message: “The poppy seeds when pounded down will become a thin paste. Our army is as numerous and indissoluble as the sands in the tube.” Lachit was not going to have Ram Singh run over the Ahom land!
Battle of nerves
In spite of all these diplomatic war of words, minor skirmishes kept happening with no decisive battles. Ahom strategy was to slowly wear out the Mughals and force them to retreat. Lachit had no illusion about the strength of his force, he knew that militarily the Mughals were superior. What he wanted was time and hope that the monsoons will bring with it diseases in the Mughal camp. Ram Singh’s Mughal army, on the other hand, was faced with a unique situation. Here was the greatest armed force in the world stuck in a guerilla battle with an enemy that surrounded it but would never attack fully. The battle of nerves continued till the infamous battle of Alaboi in 1669.
Battle of Alaboi
Tired with Lachit’s delaying tactics, Ram Singh sent off a letter directly to the Ahom king. In an attempt to tickle the pride of the king, Ram Singh challenged him to a duel. The letter hit its mark and an enraged Chakradwaj Singha ordered Lachit to immediately launch an all out attack on the Mughal army.
The Ahom soldiers and their commander was not scared of war, but they knew that attacking the Mughals on foot was suicidal. But Chakradwaj Singha’s orders were binding and they had no option but to get out of their hill fortresses down to the plains and fight openly against superior Mughal soldiers. 40,000 Ahom soldiers went out in battle against a Mughal force less than half in size. Ram Singh’s Rajput horsemen massacred the Ahom army and within a few hours 10,000 Ahom soldiers lay dead. Known today as the battle of Alaboi this was a complete disaster for Lachit and his leadership of the troops.
Much that the Ahom army suffered a devastating loss, they still had control over the hill forts and about 90,000 active men who were fighting to protect their homeland and pride. The battle was lost, but the war still being fought.
Chink in the armor
Ram Singh worked through his spies to find a suitable opening in the Ahom defense. He came to know that a small opening existed in the defenses at the sandbank between Lachit’s headquarters at Itakhuli hills and Kamakhya temple at Nilachal hills. If the Mughals could carry sufficient cavalry via boats and force their way through this opening they could enter Guwahati. The naval battle would suddenly turn into a land war, something that the Mughals knew they could win.
The Ahom naval defense triangle. Ram Singh’s plan was to exploit the opening on the sandbank and get his cavalry through the opening into the plains and force a fight. Click on image to see enlarged view. Picture copyright, letusdiscoverindia.com
| Did you know… |
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| The Ahom naval defense was between Itakhuli hills and Nilachal hills on the south bank of the river and Ashwakranta temple on the north bank. A simple triangle could be drawn joining these three points and strategically this triangular area was what the Borphukan needed to defend. A large sandbank had formed on the river at a place called Andharubali betwen Itakhuli and Nilachal. Anybody could bring their boat close to the sandbank and easily push into the plains of Guwhati. |
Change of guard
Just as the battle for Assam was reaching its decisive phase, Chakradhwaj Singha passed away. The kingdom passed on to his brother Udayaditya Singha. Ram Singh saw an opportunity to reach directly to the new king and send messages requesting Lachit to evacuate Guwahati and in return promised full protection to the new king. As expected these diplomatic exchanges did not yield any result.
It was not just Ram Singh whose patience was running out. Emperor Aurangzeb sent a terse note to Ram Singh: I have sent you to fight with Assam, not to make friends with the people there. And to make sure the message was clear to Ram Singh, he imprisoned Ram Singh’s young son Krishna Singh. Krishna Singh was asked to entertain the emperor by fighting with tigers. Luckily Krishna Singh, armed with shield and sword, was able to slay the tigers. But the message to Ram Singh was clear – conquer Assam or have your family wiped out.
The battle of Saraighat
Ram Singh received news that Lachit had fallen ill. Combined with the knowledge of the defense weakness, he decided to strike. The die was cast, and a terrible battle was to unfold at Saraighat, at the banks of the Brahmaputra.
The Mughal naval fleet made its way down the river towards the Ahom positions, firing canons along the way. Knowing the basic weakness in their defense position, Lachit’s men had been feverishly repairing the breach at the sandbank. By the time the Mughal cavalry could cross over, the breach had been closed. Finding no other place to land on the south bank, Ram Singh’s soldiers were forced off to the north bank of the river and landed close to Ashwakranta.
But with the Borphukan ill, the Ahom forces started retreating. Lachit could only watch from his bed as the Mughal forces got down at Ashwakranta and started engaging with the Ahom soldiers stationed there. He knew what this meant – a total annihilation of his troops.
Not a moment was to be lost! Forgetting his personal misery and ill health, the Borphukan came down the steps of his room supported by two of his men and boarded his boat. Accompanied by a dozen other boats, he rushed towards the enemy.
The tide turns
Seeing their commander return to the battlefield, the Ahom fleet on both banks of the river steered their barges towards that of their general. Raship Khan, the Mughal general, was enjoying hookah on his boat dreaming about an eventual Mughal victory when a bullet fired from the Ahom side hit his neck killing him instantly.
A terrible battle ensued. The triangular area on the river between Itakhuli hills and Nilachal hills (at the foot of Kamakhya temple) on the south bank and Ashwakranta temple on the north bank became littered with boats. Men were struggling to escape from the water. The Borphukan’s soldiers setup a bridge across the by placing their boats next to one another. Men moved across this bridge from the north bank to the south bank and vice versa adding more troops to areas that needed them.
Within a few hours, the once invincible Mughal army was routed. The Mughal fleet was chased down the Brahmaputra for several miles. The Borphukan prohibited pursuing them any further, saying “don’t enrich yourselves on retreating enemy”. Lachit Borphukan had just marched his way into immortality!
Ram Singh returns home
As for Ram Singh, he knew that the battle of Saraighat marked the end of his campaign. His promise to Aurangzeb to come back home only after conquering Assam had been dashed. In spite of this, Ram Singh had high praise for the Ahom general and the soldiers.
Every Assamese soldier is expert in rowing boats, in shooting arrows, in digging trenches and in wielding guns and cannon. I have not seen such specimens of versatility in any other part of India.”
Ram Singh referring to the Ahom soldiers
Conclusion
The battle of Saraighat was more than a morale boosting victory for the Ahom forces in their battle for supremacy against the Mughals. The impact of the Ahom victory was such that the Mughals would never attempt to conquer their kingdom again.
The Borphukan is not a hero of the ordinary caliber. The fortifications are complex and intricate, and I could not obtain any loophole to attack
Ram Singh on Lachit Borphukan
Lachit Borphukhan demonstrated leadership when it mattered the most. In spite of being severely ill and facing a force far more formidable than his own, he never let the possibility of failure come up in front of his troops. Leading from the front, he stood as a rock between Ram Singh and the loss of his motherland.
The Borphukhan embodied all the traits that young officers of the Indian armed forces are trained in.
- Nurse your soldiers with one dream – you are going to win, no matter what
- Instill doubts and fear in your enemy. During the many diplomatic exchanges, Ram Singha was always told his defeat was a foregone conclusion.
- Sternness and tact in dealing with your troops, never allow them to lose focus
- And lastly, never abandon your responsibilities even at the cost of losing your life
No wonder the best cadet of the National Defense Academy is awarded the Lachit Borphukan award!
Great players aren’t always great; they’re just great when they have to be”
John Facenda
Further Reading
The most authoritative source of the Battle of Saraighat and Lachit Borphukan is the book ‘Lachit Barphukan and his times“. Published in 1947 and authored by S K Bhuyan, it looks into the Buranji – the traditional Assamese chronicles of the times – and lays down the period before and right after the war. The Central Archaeological Library has a copy for download here.
History of Assam, by E A Gait, is also an interesting read on Assamese history in general. This covers Assam history in general, Chapter VI covers the Mughal period.
The Mughal version of the conflict is written in the Alamgirnamah. These descriptions match in near totality with the descriptions of the Assamese Buranji. The History of India as told by its own historians (Elliott and Downson) has references to Alamgirnamah and the war in Assam.
A captivating video on Lachit Borphukan and his tryst with destiny is on Youtube, do watch it.
Food for thought
Lachit Borphukan and the battle of Saraighat is a topic that should be included in our history text books. Unfortunately, this chapter of Indian history is tucked away in a corner and receives very little attention. Share your thoughts via the comments section on whether you think the same. Please contact me if there are other such gems from Indian history that you believe we should discuss about.
Wonderfully narrated!
Thanks Tarun!
Superb article with lots of information. Very well narrated and it took me just a tad less than 16 minutes..
You mention about ‘Paiks’ of Assam, infact there were “paikas” , the traditional military organization of Odisha who revolted against British way back in 1817(and as usual no significant information/knowledge on that).
Many such brilliant stories are buried deep and I agree with you that these need to be dug out..
Thanks Abhijit, glad you enjoyed the read.
The Paika Bidroha of 1817 in Odisha is something I came across as well, another one of those hidden gems in our valiant past. I hope to do more research about such stories and bring them out as blog posts soon!
Wow! this was a very interesting read. Such stories should be made mandatory reading material for all.
I totally agree Shyam, our curriculum should have at least a supplementary reading book to cover such inspiring stories.
very interesting historical chronicle of events.each character is special ….