Lachit was born in 1622, the son of Momai Tamuli Borbarua, a senior official of the Ahom kingdom, which had ruled the Brahmaputra valley for four centuries. He was trained in the arts of war and administration and held several posts at court.
দেশতকৈ মোমাই ডাঙৰ নহয়“My uncle is not greater than my country.”Words attributed to Lachit in Assamese tradition
In 1662 the Mughal general Mir Jumla had overrun much of Assam and forced a humiliating treaty. In 1667 King Chakradhwaj Singha appointed Lachit as Borphukan, commander of the army and governor of lower Assam, with the task of winning back Guwahati.
Guwahati regained
Lachit rebuilt the army and in 1667 recaptured Guwahati from the Mughals. Aurangzeb sent a great army under Raja Ram Singh of Amber to retake it. Lachit fortified the hills and riverbanks around Guwahati. A famous story tells that when he found the rampart his maternal uncle was building unfinished one night, he executed him for neglect, saying, "My uncle is not greater than my country."
Saraighat
After years of fighting, the decisive battle came in March 1671 on the Brahmaputra at Saraighat, near Guwahati, where the river narrows. Lachit was seriously ill, but when he saw his men beginning to give way, he had himself carried onto a boat and led the attack. The Ahom boats, smaller and faster, defeated the Mughal fleet. It was one of the few great naval victories in Indian history, and the Mughals never again seriously threatened Assam.
Death and memory
Lachit died about a year later, in 1672, of his illness. He was buried in a maidam at Hoolungapara near Jorhat, which is now a memorial.
How they are remembered
Assam observes Lachit Divas on 24 November, and since 1999 the best passing-out cadet of the National Defence Academy receives the Lachit Borphukan gold medal. A giant bronze statue of him was unveiled at Hollongapar near Jorhat in 2024.
Ekatmata Stotra · Stanza 23
Named in Stanza 23 of the Ekatmata Stotra — those who held the line against invasion.
लाचित्-भास्करवर्मा च यशोधर्मा नृपोत्तमः।
कृष्णदेवश्च ललितादित्यो वीराः प्रकीर्तिताः॥
Sources: Wikipedia: Lachit Borphukan · Wikipedia: Battle of Saraighat. Written afresh for The Hindu Book; corrections welcome at [email protected].
