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Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has written a letter on August 4 to his counterparts across the country to include a chapter on Ahom army general Lachit Borphukan in the textbooks of educational institutions in their respective States.
The request is among a series of initiatives undertaken by the Assam government for the year-long celebration of the iconic 17th-century military strategist’s 400th birth anniversary.
“Lachit Borphukon’s valorous leadership led to the decisive defeat of the Mughals at the Battle of Saraighat in 1671, registering for him a unique space in the annals of Assam history,” Mr. Sarma wrote, believing the saga of the Ahom general should spread far and wide and instil in every Indian a sense of pride over his exploits.
In the Battle of Saraighat, Borphukan led his army from the front to a resounding victory despite being terribly ill, he wrote.
But he lamented that Borphukan has remained comparatively unknown in many parts of India despite being a shining example of patriotism and love for one’s motherland.
The Ahom general’s military accomplishments merit inclusion the academic curricular of your State, Mr. Sarma said in his letter to each of his counterparts.
The Ahoms, who ruled Assam for more than 600 years to record one of the longest dynastic reigns in the subcontinent, were instrumental in thwarting more than 15 attempts of the Mughals and other rulers of the Delhi Sultanate to conquer the region.
