UNDERGROUND RESISTANCE MOVEMENT IN ASSAM FROM 1921 TO 1947

 UNDERGROUND RESISTANCE MOVEMENT IN ASSAM FROM 1921 TO 1947:

INTRODUCTION: Assam is located in the tropical latitudes (24. 3° N and 28° N ) and eastern longitudes (89.5° E and 96.1° E). It is connected with the rest of the country( India) through a narrow strip of land below the district of Darjeeling in the West Bengal ‘Called the Siliguri Corridor or Chicken’s neck’[1]. The geographical proximity of this state with Bhutan and Tibet on the North, Burma (Myanmar) and China on the south and east, and Bangladesh on the west has provided her a special position and importance. [2]Assam is surrounded on three sides by hills and mountains. The rivers Brahmaputra and Barak, in the North and South respectively, cover deep valleys that represent the major part of the state. Between the two valleys, there lies a strip of highland made up of hills and plateaus,[3]inhabited by diverse tribes, each with its distinctive manner customs, and languages. They are the Bhutias, the Akas, the Dafflas, the Abar, the Mishimis,  the Khamtis, and the Singphos.  Practically the Singphos separate Assam from China and Burma[4]. On the southeast lies the state of Cachar and Manipur. The Nagas, the Jayantias, the Khasis, and the Garos inhabited in the hills westward of Assam. Most of the hills in Assam are named after the tribes that occupied the hills, such as the Khasi Hills, Naga Hills, Mikir Hills, Garo Hills, etc. The Ahom kingdom was surrounded by these hill tribes in three directions: north, east and south. As the tract inhabited by the hill tribes did not yield well enough to meet their requirements, they used to make inroads into the fertile foothill plains inside the Ahom territories and sometimes forced the duar people to give their produce and service to them. The Ahoms on the part usually avoided retaliatory expeditions against these tribes, which were not only expensive but unpredictably hazardous”.[5]

British annexation of Assam and germination of Resistance Activity:

 The Ahom rule declined in the second decade of the seventeenth century due to palace intrigues for powers. ‘Political rivalry between Prime Minister Purnanda Borgohain and Badan Chandra Barphukan, the Ahom Viceroy of Lower Assam, led to the invitation of Burmese by the latter[6]  leading to the three successive invasions on Assam. The Ahom ruler Chandra KantaSingha tried to check the Burmese invaders but he was defeated after fierce resistance in the battle of Mahgarh and invited the British to come to their aid in driving out the invaders[7]. They readily agreed to do so and compelled the Burmese king to sign an agreement called the Treaty of Yandaboo,  signed on 26^th February 1826, surrendering their territories to the British. ‘Thus,  Assam was not conquered by the British but it came under the terms of the Yandaboo Treaty on the defeat of the Burmese under the British Hand’[8].

 Before driving out the Burmese the British had made some commitments to the king of Assam and the Assamese people. A proclamation issued to the people of Assam in February 1824, contained the assurance that seemed to exclude together the idea of annexation. It said – “ We are not led into your country by the thirst of conquest; but are forced, in our own defense, to deprive our enemy of the means of annoying us[9].” By this proclamation, the British officers were asking the Assamese to operate with them and promising the establishment of a government adapted to their wants, and calculated to promote the happiness of all classes.[10]Accordingly, the Assamese people not only fought with the British but also willingly supplied food to the British army[11]But breaching all those promises, Mr. David Scott informed the Governor-general that a part of lower Assam extending from Biswanath should be kept with the British while the kingdom of the Mattacks, Khamties,  Singphos should be kept separate and the remaining part should be treated as tax payable kingdom. Accordance to his recommendation, the British higher authorities in Calcutta decided to appoint Barsenapoti of the Mattack as tributary king and after excluding the areas of the khamtis and Singphos, the whole of Assam to be brought under British Rule. In other words, the British broke their promise and made a declaration on 7^th March 1828, according to which Assam was included in the British Empire.

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[1] Wikypedia,’  Assam’

[2]Dr, N.N. Acharya, Historical documents of Assam and Neighboring state, original records in English, p. 1.

[3] & [4]. A.K.Bhagabati and others, Geography of Assam, p. 1)(GEOGRAPHY OF ASSAM, Abani k. Bhagabati, Ashok k. Bora, Bimal K. Kar, Rajesh Publications, New Delhi, 2002. ’’ 

[5] Chapter 18, Ahom policy Towards the Neighbouring Hill tribes, page 369, Comprehensive History of Assam, S.L. Barua.

[6] Bhuyan, S.K., Tungkhungia Buranji{(1681-1826), Assam, 1968, Page 199), Gait- E.A. History of Assam, Lawyer’s Book Stall, Guwahati, 1926, p-214 }

[7]  Barbarua, Hiteswar,  Ahomar Din, Guwahati, 2003, page -319-20

[8]  Freedom Fighters of Assam, Report of Enquiry Committee of Freedom Fighters, Govt. of Assam, 1979, Guwahati, Introduction Chapter

[9]. Comprehensive History of Assam, H.K. Borpujari, P-365.

[10]. Comprehensive History of Assam, H.K. Borpujari, P-360

[11] Barbarua, Hiteswar,  Ahomar Din, Guwahati, 2003, page -319-20.