Bir Lachit Borphukon - The Braveheart from Asom
The mighty Mughal empire which spread its wings throughout almost the whole of India, could never lay a finger in the pure soil of Asom! In 1615, Mughals first attacked Asom. Mughals had always been guided by an urge of political supremacy and geographical expansion of their kingdom. That urge had led them to conquering almost every state in India!
The greedy Mughals were also attracted to the abundant natural resources in Asom. The very prosperous Kingdom of Kamrup in the lower valley of Brahmaputra, which also saw a plethora of elephants and flora and fauna entranced the Mughals! By hook or by crook, they wanted to capture this fascinating place. But, it was not to be so!
The battle of Xoraighat(Soraighat) in 1671 is deemed as the most furious battle of powers between the Mughals and the mighty Lachit BorPhukan. Lachit Borphukan was a legend. Hadn't been he and his love for the soil, Mughals would have laid their blood strewn feet in Asom. Hell no! He didn't allow.
Lachit Borphukan was the then commander of the Ahom army. Born to the mighty Momai Tamuly Borborua, Lachit had love for the country in his blood! Momai Tamuly Borborua was Governor of Upper Asom and the Commander in Chief of the Ahom army. Educated in Humanities, Lachit Borphukon had immense knowledge of Hindu and aboriginal scriptures and military skills. Starting his career as a "Soladhora Borua" (Scarf-bearing) of the Ahom king, and soon rising to the position of Superintendent of the Stable of Horses (Ghora Barua) and commander of the strategic Simulgarh and Superintendent of the Royal Household Guards ( Dolakaxaria Barua) for the then king Chakradhwaj Singha.
Lachit Borphukon was later appointed to lead the Ahom forces against the mughals. He was also presented a gold-hefted sword by the then king! Lachit was a very skilled warrior. He trained and raised the Ahom army to taste nothing but success!
In 1671, the mughals under the commander Ram Singh, executed plans of taking over Asom by sea means! They entered from Dhaka and sailed the Brahmaputra. They planned to advance towards Guwahati by defeating the Assamese army. Followed by humongous number of boats, 18000 Turkish cavalry, 30,000 infantry, 15,000 archers, 5000 gun men and over 1000 cannons they were well prepared to attack Asom. With such extensive preparation, little did they anticipate defeat!
Ram Singh was a very cunning commander. Like its said "Everything is fair in Love and War". He fired an arrow carrying a mail to the Ahom camp saying that their commander have accepted money to get defeated. The commander in question was none other than the very courageous Lachit Borphukon. The king, Chakradhwaj Sigha was filled with doubts. Was his man really a fraud? However it was the clever minder, Atan Buragohain, the prime minister at that time of the Ahom Empire, who had full faith in Lachit. He convinced the king that Lachit would never sell his motherland and hence betray the trust of the natives and that of the king.
As the mughals arrived through Xaraighat(Saraighat), our native soldiers started losing the urge to fight and win. They had almost given in to the Mughals. However, Lachit was not one among those. He trusted his maternal uncle to build a wall which would act as a defense against the Mughals. Lachit was pretty unwell during that time. He asked his uncle to get the wall built within one night. However after working for almost the whole night, his uncle and the workers felt asleep. Lachit was was not able to sleep when his motherland was at risk. So he went out to check if the wall was built. When he saw that his own uncle and all the workers were sleeping instead of finishing off the task at hand, he became so furious that with one hand he shoved off his uncle's head uttering the words "Dekhat ke momai dangor nahoi" (My Uncle is not bigger than my country)! Terrified at his act, all the workers got onto their toes and the wall was ready by dawn!
The news spread and the Assamese fleet had a renewed enthusiasm to fight the Mughals. They fought and they won under the capable leadership of Lachit Borphukan. Even the commander of the Mughals were full of praise for Lachit. In his defeat acknowledgement he wrote -
"Glory to the king! Glory to the counselors! Glory to the commanders! Glory to the country! One single individual leads all the forces! Even I, Ram Singh, being personally on the spot, have not been able to find any loophole and an opportunity!"
Unfortunately he died the very next day! Can we let such a brave man be lost in the dust of history? No. Lachit Borphukan is still a figure of bravery in Asom. To commemorate his bravery, 24th of November is declared and observed as "Lachit Divas" in Asom. May the tribe rise!
The greedy Mughals were also attracted to the abundant natural resources in Asom. The very prosperous Kingdom of Kamrup in the lower valley of Brahmaputra, which also saw a plethora of elephants and flora and fauna entranced the Mughals! By hook or by crook, they wanted to capture this fascinating place. But, it was not to be so!
The battle of Xoraighat(Soraighat) in 1671 is deemed as the most furious battle of powers between the Mughals and the mighty Lachit BorPhukan. Lachit Borphukan was a legend. Hadn't been he and his love for the soil, Mughals would have laid their blood strewn feet in Asom. Hell no! He didn't allow.
Lachit Borphukan was the then commander of the Ahom army. Born to the mighty Momai Tamuly Borborua, Lachit had love for the country in his blood! Momai Tamuly Borborua was Governor of Upper Asom and the Commander in Chief of the Ahom army. Educated in Humanities, Lachit Borphukon had immense knowledge of Hindu and aboriginal scriptures and military skills. Starting his career as a "Soladhora Borua" (Scarf-bearing) of the Ahom king, and soon rising to the position of Superintendent of the Stable of Horses (Ghora Barua) and commander of the strategic Simulgarh and Superintendent of the Royal Household Guards ( Dolakaxaria Barua) for the then king Chakradhwaj Singha.
Lachit Borphukon was later appointed to lead the Ahom forces against the mughals. He was also presented a gold-hefted sword by the then king! Lachit was a very skilled warrior. He trained and raised the Ahom army to taste nothing but success!
In 1671, the mughals under the commander Ram Singh, executed plans of taking over Asom by sea means! They entered from Dhaka and sailed the Brahmaputra. They planned to advance towards Guwahati by defeating the Assamese army. Followed by humongous number of boats, 18000 Turkish cavalry, 30,000 infantry, 15,000 archers, 5000 gun men and over 1000 cannons they were well prepared to attack Asom. With such extensive preparation, little did they anticipate defeat!
Ram Singh was a very cunning commander. Like its said "Everything is fair in Love and War". He fired an arrow carrying a mail to the Ahom camp saying that their commander have accepted money to get defeated. The commander in question was none other than the very courageous Lachit Borphukon. The king, Chakradhwaj Sigha was filled with doubts. Was his man really a fraud? However it was the clever minder, Atan Buragohain, the prime minister at that time of the Ahom Empire, who had full faith in Lachit. He convinced the king that Lachit would never sell his motherland and hence betray the trust of the natives and that of the king.
As the mughals arrived through Xaraighat(Saraighat), our native soldiers started losing the urge to fight and win. They had almost given in to the Mughals. However, Lachit was not one among those. He trusted his maternal uncle to build a wall which would act as a defense against the Mughals. Lachit was pretty unwell during that time. He asked his uncle to get the wall built within one night. However after working for almost the whole night, his uncle and the workers felt asleep. Lachit was was not able to sleep when his motherland was at risk. So he went out to check if the wall was built. When he saw that his own uncle and all the workers were sleeping instead of finishing off the task at hand, he became so furious that with one hand he shoved off his uncle's head uttering the words "Dekhat ke momai dangor nahoi" (My Uncle is not bigger than my country)! Terrified at his act, all the workers got onto their toes and the wall was ready by dawn!
The news spread and the Assamese fleet had a renewed enthusiasm to fight the Mughals. They fought and they won under the capable leadership of Lachit Borphukan. Even the commander of the Mughals were full of praise for Lachit. In his defeat acknowledgement he wrote -
"Glory to the king! Glory to the counselors! Glory to the commanders! Glory to the country! One single individual leads all the forces! Even I, Ram Singh, being personally on the spot, have not been able to find any loophole and an opportunity!"
Unfortunately he died the very next day! Can we let such a brave man be lost in the dust of history? No. Lachit Borphukan is still a figure of bravery in Asom. To commemorate his bravery, 24th of November is declared and observed as "Lachit Divas" in Asom. May the tribe rise!
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