The bravery of Lachit Borphukan against the Mughals

The king who defeated Aurangzeb so badly

Lachit Borphukan

Biography of Lachit Borphukan

Lachit Borphukan

Have you ever noticed why Aurangzeb could not capture the area of Assam the reason for that I have written in this blog and we have studied that Ahom kingdom was a local which was not that powerful and moved from one place to another if was not like that Ahom was a huge Kingdom which have been ruled for more than 600 years and today I have brought the tale of such a brave Assamese commander who defeated Aurangzeb named Lachit Borphukon .



                                                                                         Lachit Borphukan was a commander

Aurangzeb

in the Ahom kingdom, located in present-day Assam, India, known for his leadership in the 1671 Battle of Saraighat that thwarted a drawn-out attempt by Mughal forces under the command of Ramsingh I to take back Ahom kingdom or kingdom of Assam. He died about a year later due to the battle injuries. Lachit Borphukan was the son of Momai Tamuli Borbarua, the first Borbarua (or "Governor") of upper-Assam and Commander-in-Chief of the Ahom army) under Prataap Singha. He was born in Betioni to a family of Ahom people community. Lachit Borphukan was educated in the Humanities, Ban phi Phuraloung Philosophy, Indigenous Scriptures and military skills. He was given the responsibility of serving as the Soladhara Barua (scarf-bearer) of the Ahom Swargadeo, a position equivalent to a Private Secretaryship, which was regarded as the first step for a career as an ambitious diplomat or politician. Other offices held by Lachit before his appointment as Borphukan included Superintendent of the Stable of Royal Horses (Ghora Barua), Commander of the strategic Simulgarh Fort and Superintendent of the Royal Household Guards (Dolakaxaria Barua) for King Chakradhwaj Singha.

Heng Dang

King Chakradhwaj Singha selected Lachit Borphukan to lead the forces of the Kingdom of Ahom to liberate Guwahati from Mughal-occupation.The King was impressed by Lachit and gifted Lachit a gold-hafted sword (Hengdang) and the customary paraphernalia of distinction. Lachit raised the army and preparations were completed by summer of 1667. Lachit recovered Guwahatifrom the Mughals and successfully defended it against the Mughal forces during the Battle of Saraighat.

Lachit Borphukan died about a year after the victory at Saraighat due to the battle injuries . His remains lie in rest at the Lachit Maidaam constructed in 1672 by Swargadeo Udayaditya Singha at Hoolungapara 16 km from Jorhat.

There is no portrait of Lachit Barphukan, but an old chronicle does provide a physical description:

His face is broad, and resembles the moon in its full phase. No one is capable of staring at his face.

Battle of Saraighat

Battle of Saraighat

Lachit attacked the camps of the Mughals at late nights though the Mughals had much bigger forces than Lachit they thought that he has much bigger force than them so he is attacking them so confidently so the Mughals left weapons there only began to run away from their camps which lead to profit for Lachit by taking their cannons, guns etc. After being defeated by Lachit and his forces, the Mughals army sailed up the Brahmaputra river from Dhaka towards Assam advancing to Guwahati. The Mughal Army under Ram Singh I consisted of 30,000 infantry, 15,000 archers, 18,000 Turkish cavalry, 5,000 gunners and over 1000 cannons besides a large flotilla of boats.

Lachit Borphukon and his army built walls on the ways which lead to Ahom kingdom so that he can block armies from coming in. Once, he was building walls with his army which was going to be build that night, he gave the work to his maternal uncle as he was going to see other works. When he came he saw that no one was building walls when he asked his maternal uncle the reason he said that we were tired so we took some rest. He then beheaded his uncle and said that "My uncle is not bigger for me than my country." The army recieved his message and came back to work once again. The wall was then builted that night only. Ram Singh, the Mughal commander in chief failed to make any advance against the Assamese army during the first phase of the war. An arrow carrying a letter by Ram Singh telling that Lachit have been paid rupees one lakh and he should evacuate Guwahati was fired into the Ahom camp, which eventually reached the Ahom king, Chakradhwaj Singha. Although the king started to doubt Lachit's sincerity and patriotism, his prime minister Atan Buragohain convinced the King this was just a trick against Lachit.

During the last stage of the Battle of Saraighat, when the Mughals attacked by the river in Saraighat, the Assamese soldiers began to lose their will to fight and began to retreat. Some elements retreated. Though Lachit was seriously injured he boarded a boat and with seven boats advanced against the Mughal fleet. He said: "If you (the soldiers) want to flee, flee. The king has given me a task here and I will do it well. Let the Mughals take me away. You report to the king that his general fought well following his orders". His soldiers rallied and a desperate battle ensured on the river Brahmaputra.

Lachit Barphukan was victorious. The Mughals were forced to reteat  from Guwahati. The Mughal Commander-in-Chief, acknowledging his defeat by the Ahom soldiers and their Commander-in-chief Lachit Barphukan, 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! 

Aurangzeb thought and asked to his advisors that : "Is Lachit the god of the Hindu's who carries his magical Hengdang and begans to kill our army. 

The brave Assamese commander-Lachit Borphukan