| Script :
Dhrubananda Das & Subba Rao
ISBN : 81-7508-215-1
Vol. No : 684
Lachit Barphukan was a great
general. Like Shivaji, his contemporary in the Deccan, Lachit also fought
relentlessly to curb the expansion of the Mughal Empire in Assam. It is
unfortunate, however, that the saga of this great son of India, who stands
on an equal footing with bravehearts like Rana Pratap and Shivaji, is little
known outside his native Assam.In 1639 AD, the Mughal commander, Allah
Yar Khan, concluded a treaty with the Assamese general, Momai-Tamuli Barbaruah,
under which Western Assam passed into the hands of the Mughals. A few years
later, King Jayadhwaja Singha, taking advantage of Shah Jahan’s illness,
expelled the Mughals from this region.When Aurangzeb ascended the Mughal
throne, he sent his able general, Mir Jumla, to crush the Assamese; he
occupied the capital at Gargaon in 1662. Mughal occupation hurt the pride
of the Assamese, and King Jayadhwaja Singha resolved to drive out the Mughals.
But when death intervened, his successor, Chakradhwaja Singha, took the
task upon himself. In his search for the man who could lead his people
to victory, he found Assam’s man of destiny – Lachit Barphukan. How Lachit
bravely liberated Western Assam is told in Assamese chronicles (called
Buranjis) from which the material for this Amar Chitra Katha has been drawn. |