CH 3 - History
WHATS DOES VARIOUS LITERATURES, EPICS AND
RELIGIOUS LEGENDS TOLD US (ANCIENT HISRORY OF ASSAM)?
·
The base of Assam’s history
can be found in Tantric literature, Buddhist literature, Assamese
folklore and Vedic literature.
·
The very first
mention of the state of Assam was
found in the epics and religious legends.
The various places that are being mentioned in the epic of “Mahabharata” are
now identified and found in many places of Assam.
·
The Aryans, who belongs to priestly
and warrior classes also found there way to Assam in very early times.
·
The first
known Dynasty of Assam was the Danava Dynasty and Mahiranga Danava was the first
known ruler of Assam from Danava
Dynasty.
·
Mahiranga Danava was then succeeded
by Hatakasur, Sambarasur and Ratnasur respectively.
·
After Ratnasur, there was a chief
named Ghatakasur who succeeded Ratnasur,
who was also the ruler of the Kirats.
·
Ghatakasur was defeated and slained
by Narakasur, who was told as a hero in
various stories of Puranas and Tantras.
·
Narakasur
made Pragjyotishpura (modern day Guwahati) his capital
and numerous Brahmans at Kamakhya, even there was a hill close to modern
Guwahati which is still known as the hill of Narakasur.
·
The rule of Narakasur was being
extended from Karatoya on the west to Dikrang on the East.
·
Narakasur was killed by Lord Krishna of Dwaraka.
·
The successor of Narakasur was Bhagadatta. He was also mentioned in the of
Mahabharata as he was leading a vast army against the Pandavas.
·
The Narakasur’s descendents continued
to rule for nineteen generations and the last king of Narakasur’s desdendent
was Suparua, who was later on killed by
his ministers.
·
Lord Krishna was frequently mentioned
in the Assamese Mythology. It was mentioned that Sri Krishna had fought many
wars against various king on various territories of the modern day Assam.
·
Some examples of such wars are as
follows :-
1.
Sri Krishna fought against Bhismaka,
who is the king of Kundil (now Sadiya),
on the bid to marry his daughter Rukmini.
2.
Sri Krishna
also fought against Banasura, who is the
King of Sonitpur (now Tezpur),
when Banasura’s daughter Usha was
kidnapped by Anirudha, who was the
grandson of Sri Krishna.
·
Banasura’s grandson, Bhaluka,
made his capital Bhalukpung, not so far from Balipara (Near Tezpur), at
the foothills of Aka hills.
·
According to Raghu Vansa(a literary epic written by esteemed
poet Kalidasa), a king named Raghu crossed the Lohit
(Brahmaputra) and defeated the king of Pragjyotisha.
·
According to Yogini Tantra (a 16th/17th
century tantric text written by an unknown author), a sudra named Debeswar
was ruling in Kamrup at the commencement of Saka era. Yogini Tantra also
mentions that at the end of fourth century Nagakhya or Nara Sankar have
their rule at Pratapgarh near Biswanath Chariali. Yogini Tantra also mentions
about the four Kings – Memang, Gajang, Sribang and Mrigang,
who ruled for 200 years in the region.
·
It was also believed that a Kshatriya
named Dharma Pal, who came from west also
founded a kingdom. He made his capital on the west side of Guwahati and
attracted a number of Brahmans and other high cast Hindus from north India. The
sage Kendu Kulai was said to have lived in the reign of Dharma Pal.
·
Dharma Pal was succeeded by Padma
Narayan Chandra, Narayan and other successors, ending their reign
with Ram Chandra, whose capital was at Ratanpur in Majuli.
·
Arimatta
was also another king who ruled over Kamrupa.
POLITICAL HISTORY
A) Varman
Dynasty-
·
The first ruler of Kamrupa was
Pushya Varman (350-380 AD),who was a contemporary of Samudragupta (350-375
AD). Pushya Varman took the title of Maharajadhiraj
and also taken steps to establish Kamrupa as a frontier state.
·
Pushya Varman was succeeded by –
1.
Samudra Varman
(380-405/410 AD);
2.
Bala Varman
(405-420 AD);
3.
Kalyan Varman
(420-440 AD);
4.
Ganapati Varman
(440-450 AD);
5.
Mahendra Varman
(450-485 AD); and
6.
Bhaskar Varman (594-650
AD).
·
Mahindra Varman
was the first king who waged a successful war against Gupta army and was also
the first king to perform the Ashwamedha Yagya.
·
The rule of Varman dynasty was at its
peak during the reign of last Varman ruler, Bhaskar
Varman. It is so because, during his reign, Hiuen Tsang (Chinese Buddhist Monk) visited Kamrupa and wrote a memorable account of his
visit to Kamrupa in his book Si-Yu-Ki.
·
Harshavardhan (606-648 AD) was a contemporary of Bhaskar
Varman and they had a very deep friendship with each other and even
Harshvardhan honoured Bhaskar Varman at a conference held at Kanauj. As
Harshavardhan was a contemporary of Bhaskar Varman, it is not wrong to say that
Hiuen Tsang visited
India in the reign of Harshavardhan as
well.
·
Bhaskar Varman was a bachelor king
and therefore he was also known as Kumar Bhaskar
Varman.
B) Salasthambha
Dynasty-
·
The next great dynasty after Varman
dynasty was Salasthambha Dynasty. The
Salasthambha Dynasty was began with the reign of a chieftain called Salasthambha. It was Shri Harshaveda (725-750
AD) among all the other kings of the Salasthambha Dynasty who acquitted
himself as a good king.
·
The Salasthambha Dynasty during the
reign of Harshaveda has been extended up to Gaur (North Bengal), Orissa,
Kalinga and Kushal (North Bihar). The last king of this dynasty
was Tyaga Singha (970-990 AD).
C) Pala
Dynasty-
·
After the Salasthambha Dynasty, the
next dynasty that came into existence was Pala Dynasty. The Pala Dynasty
had began with the reign of Brahmapala (990-1010
AD) and the most famous ruler of Pala Dynasty was Ratnapala (1010-1040
AD), who was the son of Brahmapala.
·
Jayapala (1120-1138
AD) was the last ruler of Pala Dynasty.
D) Mohammedan
Invasion and a few Dynasties –
·
The first
mohammedan invasion (1206-1226) of
Kamrupa took place during the reign of a king called Prithu who was
killed in a battle with Illtutmish's son Nassiruddin in 1228.
·
The second invasion of Kamrupa was
done by Ikhtiyaruddin Yuzbak or Tughril Khan in about 1257
and then Saindhya (1250-1270) the
then king of kamrupa transferred to capital from ‘Kamrupa nagar’ to Kamatapur
and therefore he also came to be known as Kamateshwar.
·
According to traditions, Lower Assam
and the adjacent part of Bengal formed a kingdom called Kamata and Durlabh
Narayan (1330-1350) was the first ruler of this Dynasty. Durlabh
Narayan was followed by Indranarayan who was probably the last ruler of
this dynasty.
·
At the end of 14th
century, Arimatta was the ruler of Gaur (the northern region of
former Kamatapur) who had his capital at Vaidyagar. The descendent of
Arimatta was Mriganka, who died childless.
·
After the last descendent of
Arimatta, the rule of Bhuyans has been
started.
·
After the Mughal’s
invasion in 15th century,
many muslims has been settled in the state of Assam and these muslims can be
said to be the first muslim settlers of this region.
· In the 15th century itself, the Khen Dynasty rose to power and took the control of Kamatapur. Nilambar, the last ruler of Khen Dynasty has been defeated and overthrown by Hussain Shah in 1498 and took the capital of Kamatapur by his stratagem.
E)Chutia Kingdom –
·
During the early part of 13th century when Ahoms established
their rule in Assam having their capital at Sivasagar, the Subansiri area which is one of the bank of Disang river were under the control of Chutias.
·
According to a popular Chutia Legend,
It was king Birpal (also known as
Gayapal/Bibar/Birbar) who established the
Chutia Kingdom, having his rule at Sadiya in 1189.
·
Birpal was succeeded by 10 kings.
·
The eighth descendent (king) of
Birpal, Dhirnarayan or Dharmaraj had a son called Sadhak Narayan and a daughter called Sati
Sadhani.
·
Dhirnarayan in his old age handed
over his kingdom to his son-in-law Nitai
or Nityapal. As Nityapal was an
incompetent ruler, the Ahom king Suhungmung (Dihingia Raja) got a chance
to annex the chutia kingdom to the Ahom kingdom.
·
After the Ahom’s invasion to the
chutia kingdom, Dhirnarayan’s daughter Sadhani and her Husband Nityapal
committed suicide.
F)Barobhuyans-
·
The Bhuyans
were the petty chiefs who had their petty principalities to the east of
Kamrup-Kamata area. The bhuyans were politically aware and they make
adjustments according to the situation. They sometimes accept the suzerainty of
more powerful kings then them and sometimes declares their own independence.
·
The Title of ‘Baro’ is a title of honour
given to the twelve chieftains of Bhuyans because even though they were
not kings, they stood united against any common enemy.
·
The bhuyans also took up arms against
the Ahoms but the Ahom king Pratap Singha crushed the rebellion of the
Barobhuyans.
·
One more thing to be noted here is
that Srimanta Sankardeva was the most illustrious person among of
the Bhuyans.
G)Koch Kingdom –
·
The Progenitor of Koch
Kingdom was Hariya Mandal (who was a Koch or Mech), a resident of Chikangram
(a village in the khutaghat paragana of the Goalpara District).
·
Bishwa Singha (1515-1540), the son of Hariya Mandal, laid
down the foundation of Koch kingdom over the Kamata Kingdom and established
their capital in Coch-Beher.
·
Bishwa Singha was died in 1540.
·
After the death of Bishwa Singha, his
son Malladev ascended the name – Naranarayan and his brother Sukladhwaja had become the commander in-chief. Sukladhwaja
was also known as ‘Chilarai’ because of
his ability to attack the enemy like a hawk.
·
Naranarayan’s rule was a glorious era
of Koch Kingdom. It is so because it was on his reign only that the Koch
kingdom defeated the Ahoms in 1562.
Moreover, his brother Sukladhwaja (Chilarai) also annexed the Kachari Kingdom,
Manipur, Tripura, Jayantia and Srihatta and
extended its boundaries.
·
But then again there was a battle
with the Nawab of Gour and this time the Naranarayan’s brother Chilarai
was attacked by a decease called smallpox and he died on the banks of
Gangas.
·
It was during the reign of
Naranarayan that the Koch Kingdom reached its zenith. It was
during his reign that the Assamese literature and culture flourished,
which was inaugurated by Srimanta Sankardeva.
·
Naranarayan was also a great patron
of learning and therefore some of the best-known Assamese writings were from
the date of his reign.
·
During the reign of Naranarayan, many
Vaishnava hymns and homilies were written by Sankardeva and Madhabdeva; Purushottam
Bidyabagish compiled a grammar; Bakul Kayastha wrote a book on
Mathematics; Ram Saraswati translated the Mahabharat and Anata
Kandil translated the Bhagavat and the other books into Assamese.
·
After a reign of nearly 50 years the Naranarayan (1540-1584)
died in 1584.
·
After the death of Naranarayan, the
Koch kingdom was not able to retain its glory as there were internal
dissensions and therefore the Afghans and Mughals took the advantage of
this and they attacked and annexed the Koch Kingdom to the Mughal
empire in 1615.
·
After the Mughals annexed the Koch
Kingdom, the then Koch ruler Balinarayan
with the help of Ahoms, able to get back the area between Bharali and Barnadi
that were prior taken by Mughals.
·
In return, Balinarayan accepted the suzerainty
of the Ahoms and assumed the name Dharmanarayan,
which was generally accepted as a tradition to work as a vassal king, which continues till the time of
British occupation in Assam.
H)Kachari Kingdom –
·
The Kachari Kingdom was
started from the early part of 13th
century and it extended its kingdom along the south bank of Brahmaputra,
from Dikhow to Kalong, or beyond and it also include the Dhansiri
valley and the tract which now forms the North Cachar Hills district.
·
The Kacharis claim that they were the
descendent of Ghatotkacha, the son of Bhima.
·
At the end of 15th century, the Kacharis have to
surrender their capital, Hidimbapur (now Dimapur) and the areas
adjoining to it to the Ahoms.
·
The Ahoms then put the Kachari king Detsung on the throne as a vassal king, but after the 5 years of subjugation,
Detsung rose to rebellion who was defeated by Ahoms in a fierce battle that
took place in 1536.
·
During the reign of the Ahom king Rudra Singha, the Kachari King Tamradhvaj declared his independence but he had no
match with the Ahom king and later on he also have to accept the suzerainty of
Ahoms in the state.
·
The third and final
invasion of the Kachari kingdom had taken place in 1803, when the Kachari king Krishna Chandra refused
to send back the Moamarias to the Ahom king.
·
The last king of Kachari kingdom was Gobinda Chandra (1813-1830).
I)Jayantia Kingdom –
·
Jayantia is a matriarchal
race and they had established their kingdom in and around the jayantia
hills. They established matrimonial relations with Ahoms and fought
alongside during the invasion of Mughals.
·
The jayantia king Dhanmanik in
17th century helped the Ahoms
in the war against Kacharis.
·
One of the jayantia king Jashomatta Rai was the contemporary of the Ahom
king Nariya Raja (1644-1648).
·
The jayantia king Jashomatta Rai
claimed back the possession of Dimoria, Gobha, Nellie and Khola
principalities which led to souring the relation between Ahom and
Jayantias.
·
Bijayanarayan
was the last ruler of the jayantia kingdom and after that this
kingdom was passed into the hands of British along with the Ahom kingdom.
J)Ahom Rule –
·
The Ahoms
came to Assam in 13th century
and the first Ahom king was Sukapha who
was also the prince of Moulung (Maulung)
of upper Burma (now Myanmar). Sukapha sets up the base for 600 years of Ahom rule in Assam.
·
In the early 13th century,
Sukapha with some of his followers settled in the Patkai mountains and in 1228 he entered the boundaries of Assam through
the Naga kingdom.
·
Sukapha formed his
capital at Charaideo in 1253.
·
In 1268,
Sukapha died and his son Suteupha (1268-1281)
succeeded and extended the boundaries of Ahom kingdom from the area adjoining Dikhow
river to Namdang river.
·
The kings who succeeded Suteupha were
Subinpha (1281-1293), Sukhangpha (1293-1332), Sukrangpha (1332-1364)
and Sutupha (1364-1376).
·
After Sutupha, there was no ruler who
could hold the kingdom with a firm grip, which resulted in the happening of Minister’s rule twice from
(1376-1380) and again from (1389-1397).
·
In 1397,
Sudangpha (1397-1407)
was crowned as a king and another name of Sudangpha was Bamuni Konwar because
he was born and brought up in the house of a Brahmin.
·
As Sudangpha born and brought up in a
brahmin family, his reign marks the first stage of Brahminical Influence
amongst the Ahoms.
·
Sudangpha built a town
at Dhola but afterwards he made his capital at Charguya near Dihing river.
·
During the reign of Sudangpha, there
was a war between Tipams and Ahoms but was later on
peacefully concluded. The place where peace was culminated is still known as Patkai
because at the time of peace process both the sides were sacrificing chicken
i.e., Pat = to cut and Kai = chicken, and that’s why the place was named
as patkai.
·
The kings who succeeded Sudangpha
were Sujanpha (1407-1422), Suphapha (1422-1439), Susenpha (1439-1488),
Suhanpha (1488-1493) and Supimpha (1493-1497).
·
After Supimpha, it was his
son’s reign, Suhungmung (1497-1539), which is counted as one of the most
memorable in the 600 years of Ahom rule.
·
It was Suhungmung who assumed
the Hindu name, Swarganarayan. He was
also known as Dihingia Raja because he shifted the Ahom capital to bokata near Dihing river. He was an
intelligent, powerful politician and he annexed the Chutia and the kachari
territories to the Ahom domain.
·
Suhungmung
created a 3rd class of ministries
known as Barpatra Gohain to the already existing two classes of ministries :
a)
Burhagohain (the
first of the two original counsellors/Prime Minister in the Ahom kingdom);
and
b)
Borgohain (the
second of the two original counsellors/Prime Minister in the Ahom kingdom).
·
It was during the reign of Suhungmung
that the first ever Census took place and the economic scenario
of the state was also comprehensively surveyed during his time.
·
During the reign of Suhungmung,
Mughals invaded Assam thrice but they could not taste victory and
in fact, these invasions of Mughals taught Ahoms the use of gunpowder which
further help them to transform from there traditional system of warfare (that
comprises of bows, arrows and swords) to a modernized one.
·
Another positive
effect of Mughal’s invasion was that, the Mughals who were taken as war
prisoners were settled in different areas of Assam and most of them started
preparing utensils of bell-metal. Later on, they came to be popularly
known as ‘Morias’.
·
It was during the reign of Suhungmung
that Srimanta Sankardeva got full impetus to preach his Vaishnava Dharma.
·
In 1539,
Suhungmung was died in the hands of a Kachari servant as a result
of a conspiracy hatched by his son Suklengmung
(1539-1552), after which Suklengmung became the king and he shifted
the capital to Gargaon from Bokota. As Suklengmung shifted the
capital to Gargaon, he also came to be known as ‘Gargainya Raja’.
·
During the reign of Suklengmung,
a plenty of battles between Koch and Ahoms were taken place and also under
his supervision, ‘Gargaon Pukhuri’ a pond, was dug and a road
named ‘Naga Ali’ was constructed.
·
Suklengmung was succeeded by his son Sukhampha (1552-1603)
who was also known as Khora or Lame Raja, owing to having his foot hurt,
while bunting the elephants, shortly after his accession.
·
Sukhampha’s reign was
also remembered because of the larger scale propagation of Vaishnavism.
·
Sukhampha was succeeded by his son Susengpha in 1603
who took the name of Pratap Singha.
·
It was during the reign of Pratap
Singha that Ahom Mughal wars reached its peak but Pratap Singha acquitted
himself with full honours and was able to extend the boundaries of his state.
·
Pratap Singha
created a new post of Barphukan to look
after the administration of the areas beyond Kaliabor.
·
The already existing three classes of
ministers – Borgohain, Burhagohain and Barpatra Gohain,
were allotted their well-defined areas to rule and those areas which did not
fall under their jurisdiction were brought under the control of Barbaruah, which was a new post created during the
rule of Pratap Singha.
·
Momai Tamuli Barbaruah was the first official to hold this high post of Barbaruah.
·
Pratap Singha
also worked to upgrade the life of citizens. He introduced Pyke system (common
rayat) under which, people were divided into groups of 1000, 100 and 20 and
over each group officials – Hazarika, Saikia and Bora were
elected.
·
The credit for the creation of some
other posts like Rohiyal Barua, Jagiyal Gohain and Kajalimukhiya
Gohain was also goes to Pratap Singha.
·
Due to the organizational
capabilities, political acumen and great wisdom, Pratap Singha
was also known as Buddhi Swarganarayan.
·
Pratap Singha
was died in 1641.
·
Pratap Singha was succeeded by Surampha (1641-1643) and Sutyinpha (1644-1648). Sutyinpha was also known as Nariya (sick) Raja because
of his ill health. Sutyinpha was suffering from curvature of the spine and
therefore another nickname Kekora (crab)
was also sometimes applied to him.
·
Sutyinpha was
succeeded by his son Sutamla (1648-1663),
who assumed the Hindu name Jayadhvaj Singha.
Jayadhvaj Singha was also known Bhagania (Fugitive)
raja because he flight away from
Gargaon at the time of Muhammadan invasion.
·
Again, the Jayadhvaj Singha took the
advantage of internecine quarrels between the Mughals and he able to get back
the area of Goalpara and Kamrupa which were prior under Mughal’s occupation.
·
Meanwhile when Aurangzeb was
crowned as a Mughal king, he ordered his commander-in-chief, Mir Zumla, to attack one more time and this was
the 11th invasion of Kamrupa.
·
When Mir Zumla came to attack Assam
with Mughal forces, Jayadhvaj Singha didn’t face the Mughal commander-in-chief
and therefore Mughal commander was able to occupy Gargaon in 1662.
·
In 1663,
there was an accord signed between Mughals and Ahoms and
accordingly Jayadhvaj Singha had to part with his daughter – Ramani Gabharu
and a large amount of money.
·
Jayadhvaj Singha was succeeded by Supungmung or Chakradhvaj
Singha who ruled from 1663-1669.
·
Chakradhvaj Singha was an independent
minded king and he was already prepared for another war against the Mughals. Chakradhvaj
Singha along with the leadership of Lachit
Barphukan (son of Momai Tamuli
Barbaruah), also assisted Aton Buragohain, the Ahoms were able to
get back Guwahati and Pandu in August
1667.
·
After this defeat, Aurangzeb sent a
huge force with Ramsingh to attack the Ahom portion once again and a
fierce battle took place between Ahoms and Mughals in 1671 at Saraighat.
·
The Ahoms defeated Mughals in
the battle of Saraighat and from then in the west, the Manas river
became the demarcation line between the Ahom and Mughal territories and
remained so until the British occupation in 1826.
·
Unfortunate period of Ahom history
=> from 1670-1681 and the same till 1681 was explained below.
·
Chakradhvaj Singha
was succeeded by Sunyatpha or Udayaditya Singha (1669-1673) but
the Ahom prince was deposed by his brother Suklampha
or Ramadhvaj (1673-1675)
because of a conspiracy made Debera Hazarika.
·
After that, Debera Hazarika
was awarded with the title of Barbaruah
and as expected, he misused his power and spread a reign of terror among the
local population.
·
It was Debera Hazarika who poisoned
Ramadhvaj to death and was hence also responsible for the death of three
kings.
·
Attan Buragohain (prime minister)
and Laluksola Barphukan (governer of Gauhati), who
were busy against the Mughals came to know of Debera’s treacherous conspiracies
at the capital.
·
Attan Buragohain
and Laluksola Barphukan, after completing their duties at Gauhati, collected
a strong force and marched against Debera and they killed him.
·
Even though many Kings came after Ramadhvaj
Singha, it was Aton Burhagohain who kept the reins of power in his
hand.
·
Aton Burhagohain
was also requested by the nobles to become king but he refused to be the same.
·
Meanwhile, it was Laluksola
Barphukan, who in his thirst of power, murdered Aton Burhagohain and
had installed a very young boy Sulikpha or Ratnadhvaj Singha (1679-1681) as king but it is needless to say that
it was Laluksola Barphukan who was the power behind the throne. As Ratnadhvaj
Singha was very young, he was also known as Lora
Raja (the boy king).
·
Laluksola Barphukan
in order to safeguard him, passed an order that all the princes belonging to
different clans should be either maimed or killed, but he did not
achieve his full success because of the escape of Gadapani who belonged
to Tunghungia clan.
·
Laluksola Barphukan, in order to find
the whereabouts of Gadapani, does the most inhuman torture to his wife
Joymoti, but joymoti was also determined
to save her husband and she revealed nothing before Laluksola Barphukan.
·
In her martyrdom, she stands as a
bright example of patriotism, devotion to her husband, mental
strength and ability to withstand the greatest pressure.
·
The Laluksola Barphukan’s evil
didn’t last for a long time and he met his death at the hands of Gadapani.
After that, Gadapani was ascended the
throne in 1681 and he assumed the Hindu name Gadadhar
Singha (1681-1696).
Gadadhar Singha made his capital at Barkola.
·
After Gadadhar Singha ascended to the throne, the
first thing he did was a war against the Mughals on 1682,
which was famously known as Itakhulir Rann (War of Itakhuli) and he captured back
Guwahati from the Mughals.
·
As Gadadhar Singha was a Shaivite, he helped to propagate this form of
Hindu worship and therefore he also built a ‘Umananda
Devaloya’ at Guwahati.
·
Moreover, Gadadhar Singha also built a road named ‘Dhodar Ali’ near Golaghat.
·
Gadadhar
Singha also gets the lands
surveyed and the earliest known copper plates recording grants of land by
Ahom king to the Brahmins, dates from the period of Gadadhar Singha.
·
Besides this, Gadadhar Singha also
suppressed many rebellions, both internal and external (From
various tribes) and in this way, he was able to establish peace and
prosperity in the state.
·
Gadadhar
Singha was succeeded by his eldest son Lai, who took the Hindu name Rudra Singha (1696-1714) and the Ahom name – Sukhrumpha.
·
Rudra Singha,
in the memory and to give honour to his mother – Joymoti, he dug the Joysagar
tank and built Joydoul.
·
The other architectural monuments and
structures accredited to Rudra Singha are –
a)
Stone Bridge
built over the Namdang River;
b)
Kharikatia Ali;
c)
Meteka Ali;
etc.
·
Rudra Singha also
gave royal patronage to ‘Bihu’.
·
Rudra Singha also
created different positions or Khels
like –
a)
Khaund;
b)
Kotoki;
c)
Bairagi;
d)
Doloi; and
e)
Kakoti.
·
Rudra Singha also
created different high post like –
a)
Satriya;
b)
Baruah;
c)
Gayon Baruah;
d)
Senchowa Baruah;
e)
Kukurachowa Baruah;
f)
Bezbaruah; etc.
·
Rudra Singha
also subjugated the Kacharis and Jayantias, who were earlier remain content as
vassal kings and accept the overlordship of Ahoms and in this way he stretched
the boundaries of Ahoms from the Manas River in the west to Kartowa
River in the east.
·
Rudra Singha also
tried his level best to raise the standard of living of the people and
therefore his rule is emblazoned as a glorious chapter in the annals of Ahom
history.
·
Rudra Singha was
died in 1714.
·
Rudra Singha was
succeeded by his eldest son Shiva Singha (1714-1744)
whose Ahom name was Sutanpha.
·
Shiva Singha
was a Shakti worshipper and was initiated in the tenets of the shakti cult by Krishnaram Bhattacharya.
·
Krishnaram Bhattacharya, as
promised by Shiva Singha, later on became the head priest of the Kamakhya
temple which is situated in the top of the Nilachal hill.
·
Since Krishnaram Bhattacharya
was a priest of a temple built on a hill (parbat), he and his descendants were
called Parbatiya Gossains.
·
Shiva Singha was
a weak person who relied heavily on astrology. Therefore, when an
astrologer told him that he was in a danger of being dethroned, he installed
his Queen (wife), Phuleswari, as Bor Raja or Chief King,
who assumed the name Pramateswari (one of
the Name of Maa Durga).
·
Later on, it was seen that installing
his Queen as a chief king was Shiva Singha’s biggest mistake and Shiva
Singha himself engineered, The beginning of the end of the Ahom dynasty.
·
Phuleswari
was an orthodox shakti worshiper and therefore she forcefully make the Moamoria
Mahantas to take the Durga prasad and anointing their foreheads with
sacrificial blood.
·
These particular activities of
phuleswari with the Moamorias resulted in the famous Moamoria rebellion.
·
The Gaurisagar Tank was dug at the instruction of the Bor Raja Phuleswari in
Sivasagar.
·
After Phuleswari was died in 1731,
Shiv Singha married her sister Drupadi or Deopadi and made
her the next Bor Raja with the Hindu name Ambika.
·
It was Ambika who constructed
the Shiva Doul (temple) at Sivasagar, which is one of the tallest
Shiva Doul in Assam.
·
The Sivasagar Tank was dug at
the instruction of the Bor Raja Ambika in Sivasagar.
·
After Ambika was died
in 1738, Shiv Singha married the daughter of Salal
Gossain whose name was changed from ‘Anadori’ to ‘Sarbeswari’.
·
It was during the reign of Shiva
Singha that ‘Dhai Ali’ was
constructed in Sivasagar.
·
Shiva Singha’s reign is generally
remembered because of the developments in literary and cultural matters but
this positive aspect was ultimately overshadowed due the sharp rise in fanatic
Shaivism which ultimately paved the way for the downfall of the Ahom rule.
·
Shiva Singha was succeeded by his
brother Pramatta Singha or Sunenpha (1744-1751),
as per the instructions of their father Rudra Singha.
·
Pramatta Singha’s
reign was mainly remembered because of the temples and other buildings
constructed in his order. Some of them are-
a)
Singhaduar (main
gate) at Gargaon;
b)
Sukleswar
and Rudreswar temples at Guwahati.
·
The Ranghar
which was originally constructed under the instruction of Rudra Singha
with Bamboo and wood, was later on given the present shape by Pramatta
Singha.
·
Pramatta Singha was
succeeded by Rajeswar Singha or Surampha (Rudra
Singha’s fourth son) (1751-1769).
·
Rajeswar Singha stopped the atrocities of the Dafalas and Miris
on the people of the Plains and he also extended his full support to the
Manipuri king to fight against Burmese.
·
In order to help the Manipuri king, Rajeswar
Singha sent Haranath Phukan with Ahom forces to aid him. As the Ahom forces had
travel through dense forests that’s why this battle was came to be known as ‘Lata Kata Rann’.
·
The Manipuri king in return, in the
sense of gratitude, gave his daughter Kuranganayani
to marry Rajeswar Singha.
·
Like all the other kings Rajeswar
Singha constructed – a) Kareng Ghar at Gargaon; b) Basistha Ashram, Navagraha
Mandir, Monikarneshwar Mandir, Chitrachal Mandir, Har-Gouri
Devalaya at Guwahati and c) Talatal
Ghar at Sivasagar.
·
Rajeswar Singha
was died in 1769.
·
Towards the end of the reign of Rajeswar
Singha, the Borbaruah Kirtichandra,
also known as Gendhela, gets most of the
power. During this time, he passed an order that all the Buranjis
(History books) written by Numali Borgohain should be burned off. It was
so because Numali Borgohain adopted a negative stance against Gendhela’s family
in Buranjis.
·
Kirtichandra’s order to burn buranjis written by Numali
Borgohain, also results in in the lost of most useful information as
well.
·
Rajeswar Singha
was succeeded by Lakshmi Singha or Sunyeopha (1769-1780)
who was basically installed into the throne by Kirtichandra barbaruah.
As the Parbatiya Gossain refused to initiate Lakshmi
Singha, there was a doubt
regarding his legitimacy.
·
After the Parbatiya Gossain refused
to initiate Lakshmi Singha, Lakshmi Singha was then initiated by Na Gossain
from Bengal.
·
Lakshmi Singha was the antithesis of
what a king should be, hence, the seat of power was actually occupied by
Kirtichandra Barbaruah.
H)Moamoria Rebellion –
· Moamoria
rebellion was a dark chapter of the Assam history.
· The
final impetus for the Moamoria rebellion was provided by the atrocities
committed by Kirtichandra Barbaruah.
· Two
examples are given as an illustration of high handedness of barbaruah-
a)
Firstly, When Moamoria Gossain
was with the king, Kirtichandra Barbaruah did not pay respect to
him.
b)
Secondly, when one of the disciple
of Moamoria Gossain and the leader of Moran, Nahar gifted
an elephant directly to the king without meeting Kirtichandra,
Kirtichandra out of anger caused serious physical harm to both Nahar
and the disciple of Moamoria Gossain.
· In
1769, Moamorias raised standard
revolt against the Ahom rule and they occupied Rangpur
as a measure of independence. They also captured Laksmi Singha and
murdered Kirtichandra Barbaruah.
· As
the Moamorias captured Laksmi Singha, the throne was now without a heir,
and therefore the moamorias placed their nominee Ramkanta on the throne.
· The
Moamorias and their nominee Ramkanta, both were inexperience
in matters of the state and the internal dissensions cost them
the throne.
· Consequently
after one year, Laksmi Singha was again became the kings and in an act of Revenge, Laksmi
Singha ordered terrible punishment for the Moamorias.
· One
thing cannot be denied that the Ahoms were slowly moving towards the end of
there rule and the Ahom atrocities over the Moamorias only served to
fan the fire of revolt.
· Laksmi
Singha was succeeded by his son Suhitpahgpha
or Gaurinath Singha (1780-1794), who also followed the same policy
like his father, to alienate the Moamorias further, thus turning them
into sworn enemies of Ahoms.
· Due to the policy followed by Gaurinath
Singha over Moamorias, it resulted in Moamoria revolt for the
second time in 1782.
· In
the 1782 revolt of Moamorias, even though prime
minister Purnananda Burhagohain tried his level best to stop the
rebellions, he only achieved the partial success.
· In
1786, the Moamorias captured Gargaon,
forcing Gaurinath Singha to flee to Guwahati.
· Gaurinath
Singha out of insecurity and Lawlessness had no other option
but to ask help from the British, thus
paving the way for their advent in Assam.
· Due
to the request of Gaurinath Singha, Lord Cornwallis sent Captain Wells to
quell the rebellion in 1792, as a result
of which the Moamorias were defeated and Gaurinath Singha was again
re-installed as a king and Captain Wells went back to West Bengal
in 1795.
· Even
after defeating the Moamorias, their revolt was however, far from over and
therefore, out of insecurity, Gaurinath Singha shifted the Ahom capital
from Rangpur to Jorhat.
· Among
all the Ahom kings, Gaurinath Singha was said to be the most incompetent,
blood-thirsty disreputable and cowardly Ahom king ever.
· He
neglected his entire kingly duty and left the same to his intriguining
and corrupt favourites.
· After
the death of Gaurinath Singha, Suklingpha or Kamaleswar Singha (1765-1810)
was enthroned by Purnananda Burhagohain as a king.
· Kamaleswar
Singha, after being enthroned as a king received a setback,
when two of his brothers, Birdutta and hardutta declared independence in
Kamrupa.
· This
particular revolt was also known as Dandua Droh because the army of Hardutta
was known as Dandua.
· Purnananda
Burhagohain suppressed the rebellions with the help of king
of Beltola and Dimoria, but this was just the beginning of the
spate of revolt because in the same time, the Dafalas to the east, the Singphows,
Khamtis and Morans in and around Sadiya declared
independence.
· All
these rebellions were being suppressed by the Purnananda
Burhagohain, who graced the post of Burhagohain for 32 years long.
· Purnananda
Burhagohain tried his level best to revive the former glory
of Ahoms and thereby he was able to achieve some semblance of order.
· Kamaleswar
Singha was succeeded by Sudinpha or
Chandrakanta Singha (1810-1818) but his reign was infamous because
it was during his reign that the Burmese
(Maan) got a chance to invade Assam.
· The
reason behind the invasion of Burmese lies in the betrayal
of Badan Chandra Barphukan.
· Purnananda
Burhagohain’s rise in power was not liked by Badan
Chandra Barphukan and therefore a conspiracy to murder him was plotted by
the childhood friend of Kamaleswar Singha, Satram.
· When
Purnananda Burhagohain came to know that Badan Chandra Barphukan
was also involved in the conspiracy, Purnananda Burhagohain sent Maheswar
Parbatiya Phukan to capture him.
· Coincidently,
Badan Chandra Barphukan’s daughter was Purnananda Burhagohain’s
daughter-in-law. When her daughter came to know that Purnananda Burhagohain
has sent Maheswar Parbatiya Phukan to capture him, she without any delay
warned her father, Badan Chandra Barphukan about all these and in this Badan
Chandra Barphukan was able to escape to Burma and seeked help from the
Burmese king.
· Badan
Chandra Barphukan’s move to seek help from Burmese
king was considered as a very dangerous move because after that Assam had
suffered many invasions by the Burmese on the coming times.
· The
Burmese king accepted the request of Badan Chandra Barphukan and in
1815, Badan Chandra Barphukan with 8000 strong Burmese force attacked
Assam.
· In
the said war with Burmese, Purnananda Burhagohain was killed (some say
he committed suicide) and in the same war Badan Chandra Barphukan also
had to pay with his life.
· Purnananda
Burhagohain’s son, Ruchinath
Burhagohain, in order to take revenge of his father, occupied Jorhat
and maimed Chandrakanta Singha and put Purandar
Singha (1818-1819) into the throne.
· In
the same time, the friends of the murdered Barphukan (Badan Chandra Barphukan)
fled to Burma and informed all the course of actions that had happened in
Assam.
· The
Burmese king in return, dispatched a fresh force under a general named Ala Mingi (or Kio Mingi)
which resulted in the second Burmese invasion in 1819.
· The
Burmese forces attacked Assam and installed Chandrakanta Singha into the throne
but he was just an eyewash, the real power lies with the Burmese only (behind
the throne).
· In
1820, when the Burmese
commander-in-chief, Mingimaha Tilwa left for Burma, Chandrakanta Singha tried his best to
regain his lost power and prestige which resulted in the third Burmese
invasion in 1821.
· Even
though Chandrakanta Singha fought with the Burmese to best of his ability, he
could not break down the Burmese stronghold, which then lasted from 1819
to 1824.
· During
the Burmese rule from 1819-1824, there was a reign of terror on the local
population, indiscriminate killings became the order of the day, people
were getting robbed of their land and property, etc.
· The
foundation of the prevalent social order was shaken so much that, even now that
period is remembered with much hatred as Maanar Din (Days of Maan).
· They
(Burmese) didn’t stopped here and they invaded the British occupied territory.
But the British didn’t taken it lightly and the first British and
Burmese war took place in 1824.
· The
Burmese had no match with the British and they upstaged the Burmese force on
account of their superior warfare technique.
· Two
years later, a treaty was signed on 24 February,
1826 at Yandaboo
– a treaty which came to be known as ‘Yandaboo
Treaty’.
· According
to this particular treaty, the Burmese had to surrender their claim
from Assam and the neighbouring states of Cachar, Jaintiya
and Manipur. In this way, the glorious 600 years of Ahom rule
finally comes to an end and this treaty marked the beginning of British regime in Assam.
I)Rule of the British –
·
As the Assamese had suffered a lot on
account of the Burmese invasion, Moamoria rebellion and downfall of the Ahom
kingdom, In the beginning of the British rule, people embraced the British with
open arms as they were considered as a savior.
·
The Britishers, on the other hand,
finds it as a wonderful opportunity to add Assam to the massive British empire
that comprises practically all of India.
·
The Pyke system was alive but
the post were filled up with the non-Assamese people, that didn’t liked
by the people of Assam, specially the intellectuals. As a result of which plans
were afoot to overthrow the British and re-establish the Ahom rule.
·
The first notable revolt
against the British was led by Dhananjay Borgohain and
Gomdhar Konwar in 1828 but it did not meet with much success.
·
After the revolt, Gomdhar Konwar
was sentenced to seven years prison and Dhananjay Borgohain, who was
given order to be hanged, fled to Matak kingdom.
·
There, Dhananjay Borgohain with his
sons Harakanta and Haranath, son-in-law Jeuram Dualia Baruah,
Piyoli Barphukan, Rupchand and many others, made a plan to attack
Rangpur.
·
But before they execute their plan,
in order to prove loyalty towards the British, the Sadiya Khowa Gohain
informed the same to the Britishers.
·
Piyoli Barphukan
and Jeuram Dualia Baruah were hanged to death in 1830 and the
rest were banished from the country.
·
In 1833, Purandar Singha was
again re-installed as a king by the Britishers but he was just a puppet in
their hands and could do nothing without the permission of Britishers. This let
the elite section of the society to be frustrated and they turned against the
king.
·
Meanwhile, the Britishers who had
been waiting for such an opportunity, had removed the king on the basis of an
incompetent ruler. Thus, Assam passed into the hands of the British.
·
Besides Assam, the Britishers also
annexed Khamti, Singhphow, Matak, Kachari, Naga,
Garo, Luchai, and other hilly kingdoms to the British empire.
·
As there were no improvement of
people during the British as well, the people decided to take the matter in
their own hands.
·
This resulted in the famous revolt
of 1857, where Assam also found an echo
under the leadership of Maniram Dewan and Piyoli Barua,
who were hanged in 1858.
·
Other leaders like Madhu Maullick,
Kamala Baruah, Dutiram Baruah, Marangi Khowa Gohain, etc.,
were banished from the state. The two other leaders – Formud Ali and Bahadur
Gaon Burha were sent to the Andamans i.e., Kalapani.
·
The Britishers do justice in a way
that doesn’t make any difference between innocent and guilty. Sir Holroyd,
in connection to the innocent pleading for fair play, said that ‘We will
hang you first, try you afterwards’.
·
Even though, the first armed revolt
was not of much success but the spark for independence was truly lit.
·
Assam was put
under a commissioner in 1859. At the same time, the farmers of Phulguri,
Mangaldoi (Pathorughat) and North Kamrup, organized a public
meeting or mels to enlighten people about the reality of British rule.
·
The Agrarian revolt in Phulguri,
Patharughat, Rangia and various places of North Kamrup had taken
place to protest against the excessive taxes imposed by the Britishers.
·
The Britishers, on the other hand,
tries to remove the barriers of linguistic freedom by introducing Bengali
as medium of instruction in 1837 in Assam, but the same was failed and
considered as an unsuccessful attempt by the Britishers.
·
In the meantime, the Assamese
language regained its place as the medium of instruction in 1873
because of the front ranking personalities like – Anandaram Dhekial Phukan,
Hemchandra Barua, Gunabhiram Baruah, etc.,
·
During the days of British, Calcutta
was the hub of higher learning and those Assamese students who pursued their
higher studies in Calcutta, forms different cultural organization and tries to
regenerate the Assamese culture and literature.
·
Those who have done with higher
studies in Calcutta, tries to bring about the element of cohesiveness so that
the fight for liberty could percolate to every strata of the society.
·
In 1884,
Jagannath Barooah
has formed the Sarbajanik Sabha at
Jorhat for the first time, that’s serves
as a hub for the cultural and social gathering.
·
In 1903,
The Assam Association was formed by Manik
Chandra Baruah and later on some
notable freedom fighters like Nabin Chandra Bordoloi, Tarun Ram Phukan,
Gopinath Bordoloi, Rohini Kumar Hati Baruah, Vidyadhar Sarma, Chandranath Sarma
etc. made the association a platform for their further political career.
·
Later on, the Assam Association was
came to be known as the Assam branch of Indian
National Congress in 1919.
·
In 1916,
the Asam Chatra Sanmilan and in 1917 the
Assam Sahitya Sabha (formerly known as Sadou
Asom Sahitya Sanmilani) were formed.
·
In 1919-20, assam also
involved and participated in non-cooperation
movement launched by Gandhi ji where
leaders like Nabin Chandra Bordoloi, Tarun Ram Phukan, Chandranath Sarma, etc.,
had to undergo imprisonment.
·
Assam also participated in the National Congress held at Calcutta, where Debi Charan Baruah, Gopinath
Bordoloi, Kamini Kumar Chandra, Bipin Chandra Pal, Satyanath Baruah and Joy
Gobinda Som represented Assam.
·
1921
was a historical year for Assam because of the three main reasons
–
a)
Gandhiji’s visit to Assam;
b)
Strikes by Assam-Bengal train service
and steamer companies which were the cause of widespread unrest; and
c)
After a period of 63 years i.e., in
1921, Assam passed into the hands of a Governor, thus paving the way for
a dual administration, which lasted till 1936.
·
In 1926, the 41st session of Indian National Congress took place at Pandu
at Guwahati, presided by Srinivas Iyengar, which served as medium for
promoting the voice of freedom in each and every corner of Assam.
·
People of Assam learned how to make
handspun cloths and thereby rejected the foreign made goods.
·
Assam was also involved and
participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement launched by Gandhiji
in 1930 and the leaders like Hemchandra
Baruah, Bishnu Ram Medhi, Omeo Kumar Das were courted imprisonment. A large
number of women also participated in this freedom struggle.
·
In 1935,
self governance was
introduced in Assam, and in the elections held
in 1937, although congress has the
maximum number of seats, they won’t get the majority and therefore the leader
of Muslim League Sir Sayed Muhammad Saadulla became
the CM of Assam and
formed the first council of ministers, after taking approval from the other
parties.
·
Later on in 1938, the congress party came into power and Gopinath Bordoloi became
the CM of Assam.
·
The tenure of Gopinath Bordoloi
didn’t last for long because during the time of second world war, Gopinath
Bordoloi resigned as the CM of Assam and Sadulla’s ministry (Sir Sayed Muhammad Saadulla being the CM of Assam)
again back into power in 1939.
·
In 1942,
the historic Quit India Movement had taken place, which was also known as People’s Revolution. This movement is said to be
very historic because it was the last movement before India gained
independence.
·
Jyotiprasad Agarwala, Gopinath
Bordoloi, Siddhinath sarmah, Mohammed Tayebullah, Fakaruddin Ali ahmed, Bishnu
Ram Medhi, etc., were the leaders of this movement from Assam, who were also imprisoned.
·
This movement also acquired a violent
character in many places, Post offices, Police Stations, etc., were put into
fire, rail communication was disrupted and many more things happened during the
advent of this movement.
·
There were also people who laid down
their lives for the sake of freedom of India like,- Bhogeshwari Phukanani,
Kanaklata, Laxmiram Hazarika, Thogiram Sut, Baloram Sut,
Mukunda Kakati, Routa Kachari, Madan Barman, etc.
·
Almost 30,500 people were arrested during this movement.
·
In 1945,
after the end of second world war, the labour party headed by Clement Attle came into power in Britain and in 1946,
the Cabinet Mission sat in discussion with the political leaders of
India and decided on the transfer of power.
·
The ‘transfer’ which took place on 15th August, 1947 earned India its independence.
J)Assam After Independence –
·
The first
Governor of Independent Assam
was Sir Akbar Hydari and the first Chief
Minister of independent Assam
was Gopinath Bordoloi.
·
It was Gopinath Bordoloi who
laid the foundation of Gauhati University in 1948,
Guwahati High Court in 1948 and Guwahati
station of All India Radio in 1948.
·
Gopinath Bordoloi was
died in 1950 and the next CM of Assam
after Gopinath Bordoloi was Bishnu Ram Medhi (1950-57)
·
It was during the tenure of Bishnu Ram Medhi that the first Five-Year plan was
started, Panchayat system of governance was introduced and agricultural
sector got more importance.
·
The next CM (Third) after Bishnu
Ram Medhi was Bimala
Prasad Chaliha from 1957-1970. It was during his tenure that
in 1958, the 66th session
of Congress was held at Jalukbari, Guwahati, the Saraighat Bridge was
constructed over the Brahmaputra river in 1965 and an Oil refinery was
established at Noonmati, Guwahati in 1962.
·
In 1959-60, language revolt took
place in Assam as a result of which Assamese
became the official language of the state. The Bengali language also enjoys the same status in
the Cachar district of Barak Valley (Assam).
·
The next CM after Bimala Prasad
Chaliha was Mohendra Mohan Choudhury who
became CM in 1970. It was during his
tenure that the foundation stone for Bongaigaon Petro-Chemicals, Paper Mill
at Jogighopa and Jute factory at Silghat in Nagaon were laid.
·
In 1972,
Sarat Chandra Singha became the CM of
Assam as the Congress Party secured the Absolute majority. It was during his
tenure that the capital of Assam was finally shifted from Shillong to Guwahati.
·
In 1978, the Janta Dal
came into power and Golap Borbora became the CM of Assam.
·
After Golap Borbora, Keshab Gogoi
became the CM for a short stint and after that the president’s rule
was introduced for the first time in 1979.
K)Assam Agitation (Aka - Assam Andolan) Onwards –
·
In 1979,
under the leadership of All Assam Student’s Union (AASU), a mass
agitation against the illegal foreign national staying in Assam started. The
Assam Agitation also got support from other organizations as well like Gana
Sangram Parishad, Karmachari Parishad and even from various women
organisations.
·
Hundreds of the people died as
martyrs and many were put under the bars in this agitation.
·
At last, in order to end this
agitation, an accord (also known as Assam Accord)
was signed between the AASU and the Central Government headed by
then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, on 15th August, 1985.
·
Before the Assam Accord was signed,
an election was held in 1983, where the congress (I) party headed by Hiteswar
Saikia got elected to form the government.
·
After the Assam Accord was signed in 1985, the Hiteswar Saikia led government was
dismissed and on the election held in December of the same year, the regional
party – Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) constituted by the leaders of ‘Assam Agitation’ got the majority and for the
first time in the history of Assam, regional party formed the government and Prafulla Kumar Mahanta became the CM of Assam.
·
But 1990,
even though Prafulla Kumar Mahanta led government, still have one
month left to complete its term, the central government implemented the President’s rule in
the state.
·
Again in 1991,
the congress party won the election and a new government led by Hiteswar Saikia
was formed.
·
After the death of Hiteswar Saikia on 22nd April, 1996, Dr Bhumidhar
Barman took charge as an acting CM for a few days.
·
Again, in the election held in the
same year (1996), the AGP got majority and a government led by Prafulla Kumar Mahanta took charge on 15th May, 1996.
·
After that, when the elections held
again (in a gap of 5 years), in 2001, 2006 and 2011,
the congress (I) party headed by Tarun Gogoi got elected thrice to form the government.
·
In 2016,
the Sarbananda Sonowal led BJP
(National Democratic Alliance (NDA)) party got the majority of seats (86) in the legislature, therefore Sarbananda Sonowal became
the CM of Assam.
·
Again in 2021,
the BJP-led NDA won the majority of seats (75)
in Assam and therefore, Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma of BJP became
the new Chief Minister of Assam.
· The BJP-led NDA government has been functioning till date.
L)Assam Legislative Assembly –
·
The first
sitting of Assam Legislative Assembly was held on April 7, 1937 at Shillong,
which was erstwhile capital of the composite
Assam.
·
Under the provisions of India Council Act, 1861, Assam didn’t have its own
democratic institution and in 1905 was
merged with East Bengal and hence, that democratic institution was came to be
known as ‘Legislative Council of Eastern Bengal and
Assam’, which started functioning from December
18, 1906.
·
In 1909,
the Legislative Council of Eastern Bengal and Assam had
a strength of 40 members and out of which
5 seats were allotted to Assam.
·
In 1912,
Assam was reconstituted into a Chief Commissioner’s
Provinces and in 1913, after Assam
was granted a Legislative Council under the Government of
India Act 1909, the Assam Legislative
Assembly came into being with a
strength of 34 members, out of which 13 were nominated by the chief commissioner and
21 were elected by the people.
·
On 6th
January, 1913, the Assam Legislative Council met for the
first time in Shillong at 11 am, which
was presided over by Sir Archdale Easle,
the Chief Commissioner of Assam.
·
Under the Government of India Act,
1919, the strength of Assam Legislative Council was raised to 53 members, out of which 41 were elected members and the remaining 12 were nominated, from 1st
April, 1921.
·
Government of India Act 1935
was adopted by the British Parliament on 2nd August, 1935 and was implemented in 1937.
As per this act, the provisions for a Legislative
Assembly in each province was made
and as a result of which Legislature in Assam became Bicameral (One Legislative Assembly
and one Legislative Council).
·
The Assam Legislative Assembly
had a strength of 108 members and all of
them were elected members and the
strength of the Legislative Council (Upper
House) was not less than 21 and not more than 22
members.
·
After the partition of India, the Sylhet district of Assam was
transferred to the then East Pakistan by a referendum and therefore the
strength of Assam’s legislative assembly was reduced to 71. But after
independence, the strength of members in the Assam’s Legislative Assembly was
again raised to 108.
·
In 1947, the Assam Legislative Council was
abolished and the Assam’s Bicameral
Legislative Assembly became Unicameral.
·
After that, in the coming few years,
the composite Assam was broken down and various new smaller states were formed.
·
In 1963,
Nagaland was separated from Assam and
became a separate state.
·
In 1971,
with the passing of North-Eastern (Reorganisation Areas)
Act by the Parliament, Meghalaya became a full fledge state. Subsequently,
Mizoram and Arunachal
Pradesh also followed suit.
·
After the creation of Meghalaya
as a separate state, Shillong continued
to be the joint capital of Assam
and Meghalaya. But in 1972, the Government of Assam finally decided to
shift the capital of Assam from Shillong to Dispur,
Guwahati.
·
Accordingly, the first Budget
Session of Assam Legislative Assembly was held at the temporary capital
of Dispur on 16th March 1973.
·
Due to the changing geographical
boundaries and shift in the population graph of Assam, there were frequent
fluctuations in the strength of Assam’s Legislative Assembly.
·
In 1952-57, the strength of
the legislative assembly was 108, which further drops down to 105
in 1957-62 (2nd Assembly), again it reaches to 114
in 1967-72 (3rd Assembly) and fluctuation continues
until it reaches to 126 in 1972-78 (5th Assembly),
which continues till date.
·
As per Article
172, the duration of State Legislative Assembly was 5 years, but due
to the imposition of National Emergency in 1975
the 5th Assam Assembly lasted for six years.
·
There were 21 speakers since the Assam Legislative Assembly was formed. Babu
Basanta Kumar Das was the first and Biswajit Daimary is the present
speaker of the 15th Assam Legislative Assembly.
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