The Comprehensive History of Assam Volume 3

522 Pages·2004·327.741 MB·English

by  H.K. Barpujari (Editor)

THE
COMPREHENSIVE
HISTORY OF ASSAM
Volume Three
MEDIEVAL PERIOD
Administrative, Economic, Social and Cultural"
From Thirteenth Century A.D. to the
Treaty of Yandabo (1826)
Edited by
H.K. Barpujari, M.A., Ph.D (Lond)
Professor Emeritus : University of Gauhati
PUBLICATION BOARD ASSAM
GUWAHATI 781021
THE COMPREHENSIVE HISTORY OF ASSAM, Vol. III,
Medieval Period , edited by Dr. H.K. Barpujari and published by Laxmi
Nath Tamuly (AS, Secretary, Publication Board Assan, Guwahati
781021, Assam, India.
Second edition July 2004
© Publication Board Assam
No part or whole of this publication may be reproduced or utilized
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording or by any information storage and
retrieval system, without the prior permission in writing from
Publication Board Assam.
Published by
Laxmi Nath Tamuly, IAS
Secretary
Publication Board Assam
Guwahati 781 021
Assam
Price
Paperback Rs. 275.00
Delux Rs. 395.00
Printed at
Bhabani Offset and Imaging Systems Pvt. Ltd.
Lachit Lane, Rajgarh Road, Guwahati
Publisher's Note
Publication Board Assam, established in 1958, has
so far published nearly 300 rare titles on literary, cultural
and historical background of the State as well as on
national importance. The rare manuscripts collected and
published by the Board have enlightened the rich cultural
heritage of the State. These books have brought
tremendous influence on national consciousness. Board's
publication such as Hastividyarnava, Gita-Govinda,
Kamrupa Sasanavali, Prachya Sasanavali, The
Mother Goddess Kamakhya, Bohag Bihu of Assam
and Bihu Songs etc. in English language have generated
greater interest and appreciation among the intellectuals
at the national level.
Necessary importance has been given to publish
these valuable books aiming at to fulfill the demands of
the scholars, students and teachers of the State as well as
of the country. Accordingly it has been decided to reprint
many of these valuable books.
Laxmi Nath Tamuly IAS
Guwahati Secretary
July 2004
Publication Board Assam
CONTRIBUTORS
J.N. SARKAR,M.A., Ph.D (Cal) F.A.S.,D. Litt (Honoris causa)
Formerly Professor and Head of the Department of History, Jadavpur
riversity and Director of Islamic Culture and Civilization, Th Asiatic
Society, Calcutta.
B.N. MUKHERJEE, M.A., Ph.D.
Carmichael Professor and Head of Ancient Indian History and Culture,
Calcutta University.
S.N. SARMA, M.A., Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus, University of Gauhati.
R. DAS GUPTA, M.A., Ph.D., D. Litt.
Professor Department of History of Art, Banares Hindu University,
Varanasi.
M. NEOG, M.A., Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus, University of Gauhati.
M.M. SHARMA, M.A., D. Litt.
Formerly Professor and Head, Department of Sanskrit, University of
Gauhati.
J.N. PHUKAN, M.A., Ph.D.
Formerly Professor and Head, Department of History, University of Gauhati.
J.B. BHATTACHARJEE, M.A., LL.B., Ph.D.
Fornerly Professor, Department of History, North Eastem Hill University,
Shillong.
U.N. GOSWAMI, M.A., Ph.D.
Formerly Professor and Head, Department of Assamese, University of
Gauhati.
B.N. DUTTA, M.A., Ph.D.
Professor and Head, Departınent of Folk-lore, University of Gauhati.
P. SARMA, M.A., Ph.D.
Department of Archaeology, Government of Assam, Guwahati.
R.C. BURAGOHAIN, M.A., Ph.D.
Head, Department of History, Government College, Lunglei, Mizoram
R.N. MOSAHARY, M.A., Ph.D.
Department of History, Union Christian College, Barapani, Meghalaya.
H.K. BARPUJARI, M.A., Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus, University of Gauhati.
PREFACE
The post-independence period has witnesses a spate of research activities
in the medieval as in modern and ancient period of the history Assam. The
invaluable contributions made by our pioneers like P.N. Gohain Barua (Assamar
Buranji, 1937) S.K. Bhuyan (Ahomar Din, 1918) Hitesvar Barbarua (Ahomar
Din, 1981) opened up the field for further research and brought into light many
unknown and unexplored source materials. However, their narratives were of
the traditional pattern : descriptive, neither interpretative nor objective and
analytical. In spite of certain limitations, works of U. Gohain (Assam Under
the Ahoms, 1942), Lila Gogoi (Tāi Samskritir Rūprekha, 1971; The Buranjis :
Historical Literature of Assam, 1986) Sarvananda Gobain (Itihasé Süwarā Sašatā
Basar, 1980) and S.M. Goswami (A History of Revenue Administration in Assam
1228-1826 A.D., 1986) yield valuable information. The beaten track has been
avoided by P. Gogoi in his The Tāi and the Tai Kingdoms (1968) and-N.K.
Basu Assam in the Ahom Age, (1970). Significant are the two monographs done
by M. Neog, Sarikaradeva and His Times (1965) and S.N. Sarma The
Neo-Vaişnavite Movement and the Sattra Institution in Assam (1966), and the
last named scholar is also credited with A Socio-Economic Cultural History of
Medieval Assam (1980). Amalendu Guha's socio-economic studies are com
mendable though coloured by Marxian principles. Valuable contributions have
been made in the history of Art. Among recent studies mention may be made
of B.N. Mukherjee, East India Art Styles (1980); R. Das Gupta, Art of Medieval
Assam (1982); N.D. Chaudhury, Historical Archaeology of Central Assam from
the Earliest Period to A.D. 12th Century (1985); R.D. Chaudhury; Archaeology
of the Brahmaputra Valley (1985); P. Sarma, Architecture of Assani (1988); K.K.
Dasgupta, Wood Carvings of Eastern India (1990) and M. Dutta, Sculptures of
Assam (1990). Most of the works done so far has been in the form of doctoral
dissertations on themes chosen at random and no cooperative venture has been
made for an integrated and comprehensive picture of the life and conditions
of medieval Assam from 1205 to 1826 A.D. The present work is the first of its
kind. It seeks to delineate the administrative structure apart, economic, social,
religious, cultural artistic and aesthetic life of the people in proper perspective
during the period under review.
VIII
The volume opens with the Ahom Administration (Chapter One) by
Professor J.N. Sarkar, a doyen of Medieval Indian historiography. The chapter
is remarkable in its wealth of materials, critical analysis, lucidity in language
and objectivity in judgement. The administrative structure presented a spectacle
of monolithic unity of the central and the units : civil, military, executive and
judiciary. Theoretically the king was absolute in the state, but in practice his
powers were limited by the Councillors who could appoint, control and even
depose him in case of misgovernment and oppression. Nonetheless, the Heavenly
King (Swargadeo) with a divine origin and succession limited only to a royal
family proved to be the sheet anchor for stability even during the period of
political convulsions. Security reasons made it necessary for the monarch to be
vigilant against the entry of foreigners and to appoint none but the members
of the royal family or herediary nobility to position of trust and responsibility.
The watchword of the Ahom monarchy was however one of political integration.
The unification of principal tribes and peoples in one monolithic structure was
the outcome of a policy of concliation cum coercion, annexation and absorption.
To break their resistance or earlier tribalism, the rebels, renegades and
recalcitrants were dispensed, deported and suitably located at new centres. The
animus against influx of immigrants gradually wore off and this was accelerated
with the growing needs of the state whether of economy or cultural integration.
Not only doors were opened to the non-Ahoms in all avenues of the state, but
the foreigners, including the Muslims, were welcomed and absorbed in services
after generations of their residence and of proven loyalty.
The political ideals of the Abom Monarchy were essentially secular and
utilitarian. While the bureaucracy looked after the varied interests of the state,
the päiks organised in khels formed the mainstay of the entire socio-economic
and military organisation of the state. A new ground has been broken in this
book on the unfamilar and technical subject, the Military system of the Ahoms.
The learned contributor has discussed at length the various aspects of the
subject; practices and traditions of the Täis, divisions of the army, discipline,
military engineering, mode of warfare with his knowledge of the topography of
the land and extensive and intensive studies on the subject.
Self-sufficiency was the keynote of Ahom economy. In discussing the
products, both agricultural and non-agricultural, Professor J.N. Phukan has
highlighted (Chapter Two) the importance of the individual and dignity of
human labour from the lowest to the highest. Radical changes had been brought
about by the Ahoms in the introduction of wet-cultivation and intensive culture
by reclamation of lands and raising embankments. The increased productivity
was ensured by officials at the khats or estates and rice, the staple food of the
people, was stored up at state grannaries. He is not oblivious of the fact that
IX
agriculture and industries remained undeveloped in absence of any demand
beyond the level of local consumption. Notwitstanding subsistence economy,
barter of commodities from surplus to deficit areas is borne out by contemporary
literature. This received an impetus in the hands of far-sighted rulers who had
not only established hats and fairs at convenient locations, but encouraged
border trade and erected chaukies or check posts for their regulation. Trade
was generally carried on by barter. Evidence of the use of cowries, as in early
times, is not lacking. Professor B.N. Mukherjee has exploded the myth that
coins were only used for distribution of gifts or commemorating events ; that
these had become an 'integral part of commercial transactions at the close
of the seventeenth century. Nature and extent of the use of coins in Assam and
neighbouring states has been dealt with by the same scholar in Chapter Five.
Foreign trade or trade with Bengal was minimal. Security reasons made
it necessary for the rulers to adopt a closed-door policy against foreign or
Muslim invaders of Bengal. The final expulsion of the Mughals (1682) and the
erection of the check-post at Kandahar opened up the prospects of Assam
Bengal trade. With the advent of the Europeans merchants, particularly the
East-India Company, there had begun a period of open trade followed by
controlled monopoly and monopoly of salt trade. The bright prospects were
doomed to bitter disappointment during the period of anarchy and confusion
in the wake of civil wars and invasions of the Burmese as has been narrated
by the editor in Chapter Four.
The social and cultural policy of the Tāi-Ahom rulers was synthesis or
integration of numerous ethnic groups in Assam : Aryans, Dravidians,
Indo-Mongoloids, Tibeto-Burmans and others. Free from caste prejudices and
untouchability, they succeeded in assimilating different racial elements and
cultural strains into a single national unit which had enabled them to repel the
repeated invasions of the foreigners. A contributory factor to the fusion of
different ethnic elements has been attributed to the advent of Sarkaradeva
(1449-1568), the founder of neo-Vaișnavism, with its emphasis on anti-caste or
classless society. Besides salient features of the new faith Professor S.N. Sarma
has discussed (Chapter Six) the process of assimilation between the tribesmen
and the Assamese and also their innate conservatism, superstitious beliefs,
customs and usages, food habits, articles of common use and luxury. In spite
of the growing influence of neo-Vaişnavism, Professor M.M. Sharma maintains
(Chapter Seven) Hinduism in its Vedic form, Saivism, and sāktism continued
lo exist in different parts of the Valley of Brahmaputra. The period also
witnessed the penetration of Islam, Sikhism and the followers of Christ. This
was rendered possible mainly because religious policy of the Ahom rulers was
‘one of non-interference and tolerance'. In fact a major segment of the
a
2
X
blue-blooded Ahoms, as observed by Dr. R.C. Buragohain in the same chapter,
gradually Hinduised in faith and way of life, though a cross-section clung fast
to the pristine religion, time-honoured Phura-lung, Somdeo and other deities.
To each of religious persuation, the rulers extended in general royal patronage
and permission of proselytisation. It redounds to the credit of the shom rulers
that they never enforced Medieval European principle of cujus regio ejus religio,
what is kings religion should be people's religion. The process of sanskritisation
apart; Dr. R.N. Mosahary in another section has described the notions of
tribesmen, both of the hills and plains, of the Supreme Being, gods and
goddesses, worship of ancestors, priesthood and celestial and terrestial bodies.
In tracing the evolution of Assamese language, in his short but erudite
section (Chapter Eight) Professor U.N. Goswami has concluded that Assamese
language is the admixture of Pre-Vedic, Vedic, Pali, Prakrit and other
north-Indian and non-Aryan languages. Replacement of Sanskrit by Assamese
language is a salient feature of the period; although Sanskrit works continued
to be produced by local scholars. In the development of Assamese literature,
Professor M. Neog recounts the contributions of Vaişnavite saints, particularly
Sankaradeva and his ardent disciple Madhavadeva, and the significant rôle
played by the Kamatā, Koch and Ahom rulers. The policy of the Ahom kings
being one of assimilation, they adopted the language of the conquered and
extended patronage to literature and men of letters which resulted in the growth
of multi-faced Assamese poetry and prose literature and the emergence of
interest in scientific, technical and utilitarian subjects. The Buranjis (chronicles),
Carit Puthis (biographies) and Vamisāvalis (genealogies) of the age, often
illustrated with paintings and portraits, reflected the cultural and artistic
attainment of the Assamese under the Ahoms. The contemporary Dimasa rulers
of Cachar, too, as explained by Professor J.B. Bhattacharjee in the same chapter,
not only accepted the language of the immigrant Bengalis, but patronised their
poets, scholars and men of letters. Any organised system of education in the
modern sense of the term could not be expected in medieval Assam. Whatever
existed, as Professor S.N. Sarma maintains in the same chapter, was not
academic, but essentially practical and utilitarian and that sprang from private
enterprise provided by the Brahmans and priests, Satradhīkārs and a few
members of the royal family.
Assamese Art is considered as a 'segment of Indian Art. In spite of close
affinity in the structural practices in temple building of the Imperial Guptas
and the early rulers of Kamarūpa, the Varmans, the Sālastambhas and the
Pālas, Dr. P. Sarma holds that there had been variations which gave them a
distinct regional tradition. During the rule of the Pālas (900-1140 A.D) building
activities spread over the whole of the Valley of the Brahmaputra and the
earlier phase of the Ahom architecture appears to have been erected following
XI
the exact plans and dimensions of the earlier period. Infact, late medieval
architecture started with renovation and reproduction in a modified form what
a
had survived from the earlier age. The Ahoms were the mighty builders, Sarma
continues, of ramparts, roads, bridges, tanks, temples and mausoleums, but
there is hardly any evidence, epigraphic or literary, of secular building.
Non-religious permanent building started from the reign of king Rudra Simha
(1696-1714); the type and form of which and those of the Kacharis and the
Koches are dealt with elaborately in the Chapter Nine. By the end of the
thirteenth century tradition of the Pālas died out and Islamic influence steadily
penetrated into western Assåm and gradually passed on to building activities of
the rulers of Garhgaon. In Sculpture, too, Professor B.N. Mukherjee identifies
a parallel trend (Chapter Ten) born out of fusion between a local art-style and
the ‘lingering tradition of Gupta schools in Kamarūpa during the post-Gupta
period.' He also finds affinities to the Pāla schools though they occasionally
indicate local variations. New features were of course added by the Ahom
rulers who used in certain areas old sculptures for decorating temples. The
learned scholar repudiates the theory that 'sculptural style in Assam received
impetus from Orissa and Central India on the one hand and South-East Asia
on the other'.
The artistic skill of the people were illustrated not only by the calligraphy
in the Mss but also in book illustrations through miniatures of coloured paintings,
both religious and secular. In tracing the different phases of Assamese painting
(Chapter Eleven) Professor R. Das Gupta has focussed brilliantly the similarities
of Assamese painting with those of the Mughals, and also of the Rajputs, Pabari
and Deccani schools. That ancient Assam had the tradition of Performing
Arts-music, dance and drama is borne out by the archaeological, epigraphic
and literary sources of the period. These received an impetus during the period
of cultural resurgence in the wake of neo-Vaişņavite movement of the fifteenth
and sixteenth centuries. In his scholarly analysis Professor B.N. Dutta has dealt
in the concluding chapter diverse aspects of Vaişnavite (Satriya) music with
devotional songs (bargits), dance and dramatic performances (arkiyā nāts and
bhāonās). Not only Aryan or classical music and dance, he continues, has their
impact on local form, but the influence of neighbouring Indo-Mongoloid tribes
and far off South-East Asia is discernible in Assamese art. Admittedly, the
heritage of Performing Art is remarkable not only in its diversity and variety,
but also in the integration and synthesis' of diverse elements in the socio-cultural
life of the people.
The source material for the present volume, as its previous one, are ample
and varied. It has been written, as originally planned, by different scholars who
have specialised in their respective topics. In spite of profusion of materials,
critical analysis and objectivity in treatment, in absence of one controlling mind
XII
besides the lack of literary unity, some chapters are uneven in scope, size,
approach and marshalling of facts in conformity with historical methodology.
Some degree of reiteration and discrepancy is of course unavoidable. To
coordinate the contributors the editor has done all that is possible and desirable.
No departure has been made generally in the policy and principles of the earlier
volumes. The editor hopes that the present book will generate, further studies
on different aspects of the subject to bring out a more comprehensive volume
in forseeable future. Unfortunately, there has been inordinate delay in its
publication as some contributors could not complete their assignment in time.
We are greatly relieved that the book is now out filling up a void in our historical
literature.
Chandmari : Guwahati H. K. Barpujari
February : 1994
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