War Heroes In Medieval South Asia

[ganimi kawa]

During the course of a recent discussion on this forum a need was felt to share the stories of many many warheroes india has produced over the course of history whose exploits have been mostly forgotten by us.Many believe that our history's just a procession of defeat after defeat and this view is then taken up by many foreigners!

It is our duty to learn about these great men and pass this heritage to the next generation. I request you to please post stories of such heroes from your part of the country for others to read and take inspiration from!

Jai Hind!

 

[ganimi kawa]

Here is the story of great ahom general Lachit Borphukan, who dealt one of the most severe blow ever to the mughal empire.

Background---

The Ahom Kingdom (1228–1826, called Kingdom of Assam in medieval times) was a medieval kingdom in the Brahmaputra valley in Assam that maintained its sovereignty for nearly 600 years and successfully resisted Mughal expansion in North-East India. It was able to establish its suzerainty over the Brahmaputra valley and had a profound effect on the political and social life in the region.

Ahom Kingdom c1826.

The insignia of the Ahom Dynasty.




Mughal ahom conflict--

Mughal interest in the Brahmaputra valley began in 1602 when the Nawab of Dhaka attacked Parikshit Narayan of Koch Hajo at Dhubri, the western most corner of Assam. The first Mughal-Ahom conflict took place in 1615 when the Mughals attacked the Ahoms, then under Pratap Singha. Thus began a long and bloody series of wars interspersed with brief periods of peace. The fortune fluctuated from one side to other but as a whole the ahoms were successful in giving the mughals a bloody nose and able to restrict their entry into north east of india.

 

[ganimi kawa]

Prelude--

Of the seventeen campaigns mughals had in Assam there was only one in which the invader achieved some success. This was Mir Jumla's invasion. Mir Jumla was the Mughal Viceroy at Dhaka. In 1662 as the head of the large Mughal army he advanced up the Brahmaputra into Assam. There was dissension among the Ahoms and they could not put up any worthwhile resistance. The Ahom capital at Gargaon fell to the invader and king Jayadhwaja Singha fled to the hills.

Like Napoleon at Moscow, Mir Jumla at Gargoan found that he had won only a pyrric victory. The French grand army got, decimated in the severe winter of the Russian steeps. Similarly Mughal army got decimated by monsoon, malaria and decentry. During its retreat, Mir Jumla died of illness. However before retreating Mir Jumla had imposed a humiliating treaty on the Ahoms. Two Ahom Royal princesses were taken for the Mughal imperial harem. Ahoms had to pay 3 lakhs as war indemnity and an annual tribute of 20 elephants. They also had to cede the western half of their kingdom from Guwahati to Manas river.

King Jayadhwaj Singha died soon after the defeat he had suffered at the hands of Mir Jumla. At his deathbed, he exhorted his nephew and successor king Chakradhwaj Singha to remove the spear of humiliation from the bosom of the nation. The new king was determined to retrieve national honour and started making elaborate preparations for recovering territory lost to the Mughals. Stock of food and war material were built up and an expeditionary army organised and trained.The Ahom king was keen to avenge the defeat he had suffered at the hands of Mughals and.......

Lachit Borphukan was the man of the hour.......

 

[ganimi kawa]

Lachit---

Statue of Lachit Borphukan at National Defence Academy(NDA), Khadakwasla


He was the son of Mumai Tamuli Borbarua who starting from the humble beginning had risen to the Governor of lower Assam as also Commander-in-Chief of the Ahom army. Thus he had the benefit of the education the children of nobility of his times used to have. His father arranged for his education in Humanities, Scriptures and Military skills and as he grew up he was given positions of responsibilities. He was appointed Scarf Bearer to the Prime Minister functioning like his private secretary. He was successively appointed Superintendent of the Royal Horse, Commander of the strategic Simulgarh Fort and Superintendent of the Royal Household guards.

Ultimately, he was made Borphukan (thus the name). Borphukan was a post of one of the five councillors in the Ahom kingdom. The position included both executive and judicial powers, with jurisdiction of the Ahom kingdom west of Kaliabor river. The headquarter of Borphukan was based in Kaliabor.

This was the man king Chakradhwaja singh had called upon to redeem the honour of Assam!

 

[ganimi kawa]

War Begins---


Commandos In action at guwahati

Statue depicting ahom soldiers disabling the mughal cannons

Preparations were complete by 1667 and the king entrusted the command of the expeditionary army to Lachit Borphukan. This force started from Gargaon in August 1667 and advanced down the Brahmaputra to Guwahati. Lachit soon captured an important post of the Mughals on the North bank and Mughal reserves got drawn there. He beat back Mughal counter attacks. Simultaneously he organized night raid by his commandos on the South bank of the river against the Mughal fort at Guwahati. The commandos poured water into the mouth of Mughal canons and the Ahom army after a heavy cannonade pressed a determined attack. Lachit captured the fort and the Mughal Governor was taken a prisoner along with a large number of Mughal soldiers.

The Mughals abandoned Guwahati and Lachit advanced up to Manas river liberating the Ahom territory ceded to Mir Jumla. A stone victory pillar with inscription in Sanskrit now in Guwahati museum praises Lachit Borphukan for his victory against the Mughals at Guwahati in 1667. link


Country first!

Lachit was not the one to just rest on his laurels. He realized that the Mughal Emperor was bound to send a large army to avenge the defeat of his forces and suffered at Guwahati. He, therefore, set about organizing the defenses of Guwahati in a very meticulous manner for the anticipated invasion of Mughal forces. The terrain around Guwahati of low hills on either bank of the river, helped Lachit in organizing impregnable defenses. He organised prepared defenses at gaps of 9 ft. on the plains and 13.5 ft on the hills. The river line within the defensive perimeter on both banks was fortified and stockades were put up on sand banks in the river to deny the use of the waterway. All round defence and defence in depth were insured. For nearly 2 years he was developing his defenses while the Mughals organised a large force and advanced to Guwahati. It is said that Lachit was very ruthless with his subordinates in ensuring preparation of defences. He beheaded his own uncle who was found negligent in this regard, "My uncle is not greater than my country".....

 

[ganimi kawa]

The empire strikes back---


Mughal emperor Aurangzeb was informed of the losses on December 19, 1667 and he commissioned Raja Ram Singh of Amber, son of the famous Mirza Raja Jai Singh, to take back Guwahati.

Ram Singh

Aurangzeb


The muster of Aurangzeb

Ram Singh left Delhi on December 27, 1667, and finally reached Rangamati in February in 1669. He was accompanied,by the Mughal general Rashid Khan, ex-faujdar of Guwahati. The Ahoms, anticipating a Mughal strike, is said to have followed his movements from Delhi itself.

Along the way Aurangzeb augmented Ram Singh's forces of 4,000 troopers (from his char-hazaari mansab), 1,500 ahadis and 500 barqandezes by an additional 30,000 infantrymen, 21 Rajput chiefs (Thakurs) with their contingents, 18,000 cavalry, 2,000 archers and shieldmen and 40 ships.

Armies from Koch Bihar joined the Mughal forces since they were vassals.Portuguese and other European sailors were employed, to man the fleet. These forces moved up the Brahmaputra from Dhaka to Guwahati.

Lachit's spies kept him informed of the progress of Ram Singh's advance. When Lachit surveyed the massive Mughal force later, he was moved to tears and he uttered: "It is a tragedy that my country is facing this dire catastrophe during my Phukanship. How will my king be saved? How will my people be saved? And how will my posterity be saved?"


Ahom war strategy

With the impregnable defences that he had prepared at Guwahati, he was confident to beat back the Mughal attack. He realized that he stood no chance in open ground on the plains against the immensely superior Mughal cavalry of Turkish and Arab horse. His small ponies were no match for them. The Mughals had to be denied any opportunity to exploit their overwhelming superiority in cavalry.

The Mughals made contact with Lachit's defences in March 1669 and laid siege to Guwahati. The empire had struck back!.....

 

[ganimi kawa]

The Battle at Guwahati---


Early phase

There were five distinct phases of the battle fought at Guwahati. In the first phase the Mughals made repeated attacks against Ahom defences on both banks of the, river but failed to achieve a breakthrough. In the second phase they tried to send raiding parties by boats to get inside the Ahom defences. Lachit's river line defences foiled this attempt. A heavy monsoon set in during the third phase.

The Mughals got bogged down in mud and got isolated from each other due to flowing streams. The Ahoms were at an advantage. They were more used to the terrain and accustomed to the climate. They carried out extensive guerilla warfare, causing heavy losses to the Mughals. Ram Singh was very contemptuous of these operations and called it a "thieves affair". He challenged Lachit Barphukan to a duel. He also offered a bribe of 3 lakhs to Lachit to abandon Guwahati defences. When this did not work, he tried a ruse.


Ram Singh's stratagem

A letter addressed to Lachit, attached to an arrow, was host into the Ahom camp. It mentioned that Lachit had been paid one lakh to evacuate Guwahati and urged him to do so soon. The letter found its way to the Ahom King at Gargaon who became suspicious of the loyalty of Lachit Barphukan. Fortunately, the Prime Minister managed to convince the King that it was a trick being played by the Mughal Commander and he should not doubt Lachit's loyalty. However, the King insisted that Lachit came out of his defences and engage the Mughals in battle on open ground. Despite his objections to such a suicidal move, Lachit was forced to follow the order of the King. He came out of his defences on to the Allaboi plains to attack the Mughal army in the open. This was the fourth phase of the battle.

The reversal at Allaboi

After some initial success in which the Ahoms captured the local Mughal Commander, Mir Nawab, the Ahoms drew the full weight of Mughal cavalry personally led by Ram Singh. The Mughal cavalry decimated the Ahom army on the plains and the later suffered 10,000 killed. Lachit had taken the precaution of digging a line of defences at the rear of his advancing, columns to which they could fall back if forced to do so. Thus he managed to extricate the remainder of his forces and moved back into his prepared defences.

Aurangzeb was pleased with these Mughal successes and increased Ram Singh's mansab from 4000 to 5000. Ram Singh was also instructed to invest Guwahati soon.

Things were definitely looking grim for the ahoms! ....

 

[Kyusuibu Honbu]

Its a shame no one knows about the Ahoms,even i came to know about them through the internet.

Based on timeline:

326 BC: Porus who gave Alexander the most difficult of all his conquest hence blunting the courage of his soilders and causing mutiny and unrest,if it wasn't for him Alexander might even marched into modern India and fought with the Nandas causing more bloodshed.

305 BC: Chandragupta Maurya defeats Seleucus Nicator of the Seleucid Empire.hence keeping the Greeks out of our territory.

266 BC: Ashoka conquers and unifies most of South Asia, along with Afghanistan and eastern Iran.


1294-1398-Ala-ud-din Khilji and his general Zafar Khan defends India from the Mongol invasions.


1659 Shivaji's ill-equipped and small Maratha army defeat mighty Adilshahi troops at the Battle of Pratapgarh in a major upset in Indian history. Shivaji personally kills Adilshahi commander Afzal Khan (general).

1674 Forces led by Shivaji defeat Aurangzeb's troops, and establishes Maratha Empire.

1799-1820 Maharaja Ranjit Singh-kept the Afghans at bay all his rule.

1837 Hari Singh Nalwa of Sikh empire died by securing the Kyber pass from the Afghans,hence prevent any further foreign invasions.

the bolded one is if its only medieval India.(550-1526)

 

[ganimi kawa]

I would love to know more about Hari Singh Nalwa. I will finish the ahom chapter today. Requesting others to take this further!

 

[Nahraf]

If Mughals have annexed Ahom Kingdom then they may have also moved up to modern Arunachal Pradesh and making integral part of South Asia. Bakhtiyar Khilji invaded Tibet in 1206 CE and was defeated due to logistics. If he would have captured Tibet then political borders would have been quite different today.

 

[ganimi kawa]

Final diplomatic initiative ---


Ram Singh's initiative

After the Mughal advances in late 1669, Ram Singh began diplomatic efforts. The proposal was for the Assamese to evacuate Guwahati and a return to the 1639 status quo (Treaty of Asurar Ali) in return for a Mughal payment of 300,000 rupees. The Ahoms did not respond favorably. Ram Singh next attempted to bribe and create divisions among the Ahom field commanders (Phukans).

In the mean time, the Ahom king Chakradhwaj Singha died and was succeeded by his brother Udayaditya Singha. The long war had resulted in popular discontent in the Ahom kingdom. Ram Singh again put forward his proposal on the 1639 status quo settlement and this time the Ahoms appeared receptive. The Ahom king, though displeased, left the decision to his commanders in Guwahati.


Avoiding the trap

In the meeting which included Lachit Borphukan, the only dissenter to the proposal was general Atan Burhagohain,who displayed his statesmanship.

Atan Burhagohain argued that there was no guarantee that the Emperor at Delhi will abide by Ram Singh's assurance. Also, a settlement then would mean that the drain on the country's resources would have been in vain. Further, what was the guarantee that once the Mughals take Guwahati, they would not reach for Garhgaon or even Namrup ?

Atan Burhagohain was able to persuade the other commanders and the Ahoms rejected this proposal. The diplomatic efforts of Ram Singh failed once again.

The stage was set for the final showdown!....

 

[ganimi kawa]

Battle at Saraighat---


Incoming!!!

The Mughals knew they could not penetrate Ahom defences and ultimately decided to launch a massive naval assault on the river. The Mughal ambassador, Paditrai, had reported a breach in the embankment at Andharubali a few days earlier, and Ram Singh wanted to exploit this opening. They had large boats, a few of them mounting up to sixteen canons. The Ahom soldiers were demoralized after the Allaboi disaster. Their Commander-in-Chief was seriously ill.

The battle of Saraighat map

An encounter both on land and water ensued near Ashwakranta. The Ahom land forces, under Laluk Borgohain Phukan, worsted the Mughals, but the Mughal boats compelled the Ahom boats to retreat to Barhila, north of Saraighat. The land forces, fearing an encirclement, too retreated. The battle reached a crucial phase, when the Mughals were beginning to get close to Andharubali. The Borphukan, as well as the Nara Raja (naval commander) sent messages to inspire the soldiers. It looked as if there was a break in command and some boats began falling back to Kajali and Samdhara.

Rout was imminent. It was the begining of the end of Ahom independance.And Lachit Borphukan was forced to observe this from his sickbed!.....

 

[ganimi kawa]

Cometh the hour......


The Borphukan sent orders to all the land and naval forces to attack. He also ordered seven war-boats for himself and had Nadai of Kharangi carry him to a boat.

He shouted "The King has put all the people in my hands to fight the mughal. Shall I go back to my wife and children?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" and pushed a few men into the water. With the other six war-boats the Borphukan headed toward the naval battle.

This had an electrifying effect on his soldiers. They rallied behind him and a desperate battle ensured on the Brahmaputra. 'The Ahoms in their small boats cut circles round the bigger but less maneuverable Mughal boats. The river got littered with clashing boats and drowning soldiers.The Mughal admiral Munnawar Khan,was killed by a gunshot from the back, throwing the Mughals out of gear. They suffered the loss of three top-ranking amirs, and another 4000 dead.


In this furious engagement, Lachit Barphukan managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. The Mughals were decisively defeated and they retreated from Guwahati. Ahom territory up to Manas was once again liberated. Thus ended the fifth phase of the battle of Saraighat in a glorious Ahom victory, despite all odds and giving Lachit very deservedly legendary fame in Assam!

 

[indiatech]

Statue of Borphukon at the National Defence Academy, Pune.

Thanks to forner governor Gen. S.K Sinha for understanding the history of Assam.

"country first"

 

[riCoh]

thanx mate...great info.