Thread by @itihasika

The ultimate thread on Lachit Borphukan the Ahom general that all Indians should have known about but few do. He demolished Aurangzeb's Mughal Navy in a final battle of Saraighat

We'll also take the opportunity to promote our viral movie on him -

Aurangzeb grabbed the Mughal throne in 1658 AD and deputed two of his best generals Mir Jumla & Diler Khan to Assam. King Jayadhwaj Singha accepted a humiliating treaty giving up territory & his 6year old daughter to the Mughal harem. Please watch -

The king Jayadhwaj Singha died heartbroken and was succeeded by Chakradhwaj Singha, who after consulting Prime Minister Atan Buragohain made Lachit the Borphukan (head of army)
Please watch -

The challenges were immense. Demoralized internally fighting troops against organized Mughal Empire with war veterans like Shaiste Khan and Diler Khan. So the Ahom king invested the next four years in rebuilding the army. Please watch -

Finally they decided to attack. Lachit Barphukan's commanders Ismail Siddiqui & Bagh Hazarika snuck into the Itakuli fort in Guwahati fort at night & immobilized the Mughal cannons by pouring water. The next morning Lachit Barphukan attacked Itakhuli and Guwahati

When Aurangzeb heard of this he got angry and sent Rajput prince Ram Singh the son of mirza raja Jai Singh with a very large army, of 70,000 soldiers. Lachit knew that open battle with Ram Singh's forces that will be a disaster. Please watch -

But Raja Chakradhwaj Singha issued an ultimatum to Lachit Barphukan to fight Ram Singh. This battle in August 1669 AD ended as a terrible disaster, with Lachit Barphukan losing over 10,000 of his best soldiers. Please watch -

However Lachit escaped. By 1671 Ram Singh discovered through his spies that there was a breach in the embankments guarding Guwahati. Mughal armies amassed on the Brahmaputra with forty war ships each carrying 16 guns. Please watch -

In March 1671, the battle of Saraighat began. The grand climax to a series of events set in motion eight years ago with the invasion of Mir Jumla. It was the only major battle in India to have been fought on a river - the mighty Brahmaputra. Please watch -

Between the watery triangles formed by the temple of Kamakhya, the Bishnu Mandir at Aswaklanta and the Itakhuli Hill Fort a grand battle ensued. The Assamese made use of improvised defenses – such as the Pani garh — stockades built in the water from where they could easily fire

Bridges of boats were built, acting like fortified barriers. The small Ahom Bacchari boats were handled swiftly and deftly by their commanders, leaving the large war boats of the Mughals clueless. Lachit Barphukan

Ahoms had perfected the art of fighting on the mighty river and it was at Saraighat that they scored their biggest victory. By the end of that day in March 1671, the Mughals were in retreat and would never again make an attempt at annexing Assam.

It was on this foundation of this victory that later day rulers like Rudra Singha could truly blossom and build infrastructure, many temples and give a cultural boost to Assamese society. Please watch -

A Mughal victory would have most likely lead to total destruction, slavery, mass civilian killings and destruction of temples. But Lachit Barphukan prevented all of that through his valiant leadership, Please watch -

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