On November 25, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the closing ceremony of the year-long celebration of the 400th birth anniversary of 17th Century Ahom Army Commander in Chief Lachit Barphukan. The Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi was crowded with a large number of distinguished personalities from Assam as participants.
Naya Bharat embraces Lachit’s Policy of ‘Nation First’
Describing the extraordinary Ahom warrior as the greatest patriot of his era, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that Lachit’s policy of ‘nation first’ is exactly the motto on which the Naya Bharat (New India) is being administered. For Vir Lachit, his motherland was his first priority and that’s why he could pronounce DeshatkoiMomaiDangorNahay (maternal uncle cannot be superior to the country), asserted Modi.
Congratulating Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma for successful conduct of the three-day celebration in the national capital, PM Modi exuded confidence this would prove decisive in ensuring that Lachit’s saga of courage, valour and patriotism doesn’t remain limited to the boundaries of North East alone, but spread across the vast expanse of the nation. “For ages, there has been a conscious attempt from certain quarters on portraying the history of Bharat as that of defeat and surrender,” added the PM. In his speech, Prime Minister exuded confidence that attempts at celebrating the saga of unsung heroes such as Lachit are going to prove fruitful in undoing the harm that distorted history-telling has caused to the pride of the Indian citizens. In the naval battle of Saraighat, Lachit Barphukan crushed the huge Mughal forces, which came under the leadership of Ram Singh and Rashid Khan following the order of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Delhi. Even though the Ahom forces were inferior to the invading Mughals, Lachit succeeded in the battle across mighty Brahmaputra river with a perfect war strategy and proper use of the hill-river-valley terrain. After the extraordinary battle in 1671 (where the exact moment of counter attack was calculated by the royal astrologer), Mughals forces retreated from Guwahati and they could not reorganise to invade the kingdom again. Lachit died at his Kaliabor headquarters in 1672.
Foiling Mughals design to conquer South East Asia
In his speech, Assam CM Sarma exuded confidence that Lachit Barphukan would be accorded his rightful place in historical discourses in the days to come, as more and more people are introduced to the valour of the great warrior. He stated that had it not been for MahanayakLachit, the present geo-political and cultural identity of not only Assam but of the entire South East Asia would have been different from what they are today. Dr Sarma expressed hope that the 400th birth anniversary celebration of the great medieval era warrior in New Delhi would be a significant step towards drawing the attention of the current generation intellectuals and historians towards Lachit.
Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, State Legislative Assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary, State Minister Pijush Hazarika, Rajya Sabha Member Ranjan Gogoi, Parliamentarian Tapan Gogoi, State Chief Secretary Pawan Barthakur also graced the occasion. Dr Sarma expressed his gratitude towards the people of Assam for their support and cooperation to the celebration, which was launched by the then President Ram Nath Kovind during his visit to Assam on February 25, 2022. President Kovind had also laid the foundation stone for the Alaboi war memorial as a tribute to soldiers who fought against the Mughals.
Earlier, on the second day of the celebration, Union Home Minister Amit Shah commented that Lachit prevented Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s expansionist ambition towards South East Asian nations and thus the Ahom warrior was a central force to stop Islamisation of a large swathe of land spanning several nations, cultural identities and ethnicities. He also lauded Vir Lachit’s skilful negotiations with various ethnic leaders to form a united front against the invaders and clever use of diplomacy against the militarily stronger Mughal forces.
The celebration in Delhi was inaugurated by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on November 23, where she also opened two exhibitions, one on various Assamese traditional houses and another with artefacts from the Ahom and pre-Ahom era starting from the reign of Kamrup King Kumar Bhaskar Varma and also some handwritten letters of Vir Lachit. A panel discussion on ‘Ahom saga of hope, skills and courage’ was organised at the same venue which participated by Lt. General Rana PratapKalita, former State police chief Prakash Singh along with Kapil Kapoor, Kuldeep Patowary, Chandan Kumar Sarma and Samundra Gupta Kashyap, which was moderated by former State chief secretary Jishnu Barua.
Another discussion on ‘Ignored historiography of Assam’s assertion’ saw participation of Gauhati University Professor Rajib Handique, author Vikram Sampath, Mangaldoi College teacher Sangeeta Gogoi, filmmaker Rajesh Kumar Singh and actor Chandraprakash Dwivedi, which was moderated by State education advisor Nani Gopal Mahanta.
Deliberations included the heroic saga of Kamrupa king Prithu, who overpowered Muslim invader Bhakhtiyar Khilji, glorious days of Bhaskar Varma, laudable effort of Assamese historian Suryya Kumar Bhuyan, who picked up the inspiring story of Lachit Barphukan and common residents, be ready for battles to fight and safeguard the motherland.
Rejecting Falsehood
The tale of Bagh Hazarika was mentioned in the discussions, where it was profoundly declared that the reliable accounts of Ahom history do not mention any warrior by that name who was an associate of Lachit Barphukan. History teacher Ms Gogoi firmly stated that she did not have any authentic information about the presence of Bagh Hazarika. Earlier, a reputed Assamese historian Jogen Phukan also termed Bagh Hazarika or Ismail Siddiqui as an imaginary character. A section of Assamese intellectuals had claimed in various forums that Lachit emerged victorious in the Saraighat battle only because of Bagh Hazarika. Even the statue of LachitBarphukan in Guwahati accompanies a soldier who has Muslim looks.
On the first day itself, a cultural function was inaugurated by CM Sarma and Union Law and Justice Minister KirenRijiju at Sunder Nursery, in presence of Union Minister RameswarTeli and State Minister Bimal Bora. The occasion was marked by colourful performances by several artists. These include Sattriya dance by Mridusmita Das Bora and her team, a medley of folk dances of Assam presented by maestro RanjitGogoi, a drama depicting the illustrious life of Vir Lachit and an enchanting performance by popular Assamese singer Angarag Papon Mahanta.
