Context
Recently, the Assam government made a request to include Lachit Borphukan’s valour in textbooks.
About Lachit Borphukan
- Lachit Borphukan was Born on November 24, 1622 in Charaideo, the first capital of the Ahom kings.
- He 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.
Government’s Recognition
- 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.
