November 24 is celebrated as Lachit Divas (Lachit Day) in Assam to commemorate the heroism of Lachit Borphukan and the victory of the Assamese army at the Battle of Saraighat.
In the 17th century, the Mughal Empire was dominant across large swathes of the Indian subcontinent. Stretching from the Deccan plateau in South India to Afghanistan and Kashmir in the north, the empire also had designs on Assam which was part of the Ahom Kingdom.
Lachit Borphukan was an army general (Borphukan) who fought relentlessly to curb the expansion of the Mughal Empire in Assam and had reversed Mughal territorial gains in the region.
Lachit was the commander at the Battle of Saraighat which was fought in 1671 between the Mughals and the Ahom Kingdom on the Brahmaputra river at Saraighat, now in Guwahati.
Outnumbered and with his troops demoralised after recent losses, Lachit gave a military masterclass by using the terrain, guerrilla tactics and inspirational leadership to score a famous victory and defeat the Mughal forces.
Lachit Borphukan died from natural causes in April 1672 about a year after the Battle Saraighat. His remains lie in the Lachit Maidaam near Jorhat.
Despite the heroic victory at Saraighat, Lachit’s brother succeeded him as Borphukan and abandoned Guwahati to Mughal control in 1679, though the Ahoms did take it back once and for all in 1682 and Lachit’s victory proved to thwart the Mughal’s last major attempt to extend their empire into Assam.
We salute the great Ahom General Lachit Borphukan on his birth anniversary who defeated Mughal Army and saved the North East from the Mughal invasion.
Let his story of valour and courage spread to every corner of our country!
