How did the Ahom Empire defeat the Mughals when they were nowhere close to the powerful Mughal Empire
Ahom Empire War Mastermind
The Battle of Saraighat was fought in 1671 between the Mughals led by Ram Singh and the Ahom kingdom under the leadership of Lachit Borphukan. Even with a lesser army, the Ahoms were capable of defeating the Mughals by showing their skills in all kinds of war tactics like diplomatic negotiations, guerilla warfare, psychological operations, and the use of military intelligence by exploiting the one weakness of the Mughal army: their navy.
The war started after the signing of the Treaty of Ghilajarighat. Heavy indemnity and a huge load on the kingdom treasury forced the then king Jayadhwaj Singh to declare war to proclaim the land of Ahoms. Alliances were formed with faujdar Firuz Khan, the Jaintias, the Garos, and the Kacharis. The Ahom army first recaptured Guwahati in 1667, luring Ram SIngh from Delhi to Assam. Being aware of the Mughal army’s strength, Lachit Borphukan dived into strategic planning to fight back in the war.
They chose Guwahati as the battlefield and made it their headquarters as it was hilly, thus stalling the movement of the Mughal army. Naval attacks in the narrow Brahmaputra at Saraighat were planned. When Ram Singh arrived, they strategically retreated to Guwahati and arranged for fake negotiations to buy time for preparations. Aurangazeb sent for reinforcement in 1669 after months of no progress, which was tackled by guerilla warfare under the Ahom leader Atan Burhagohain. Ram Singh’s diplomatic proposal of retreat was also declined by the Ahoms.
In the final battle of Saraighat in 1671, the seriously ill Lachit motivated the Ahom army, who had lost their direction and stimulus to fight the war. Several naval encounters weakened the Mughals, and with Lachit Borphukan’s brave leadership, the Ahom army smashed the Mughals. After some changes in control over the land, finally, by 1682, the Mughals had permanently left the lands of Guwahati and Kamrup.
This battle marked the end of the Mughals’ attempt at expanding in Assam, which was thwarted miserably owing to the unity, military intelligence, and strategic planning of the Ahom kingdom.
– Written By Srinjana Singha
