There were three Burmese invasions of Assam between 1817 and 1826, during which time the
Kingdom of Assam came under the control of
Burma
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...
from 1821 to 1825. Locally, this period, called the ''manor din'' (
Assamese: "The days/period of the Burmese") by the people of Assam, is remembered with horror. The sharp drop in population due both to depredations as well emigrations left the erstwhile kingdom in shambles. It was the climactic period of the
Ahom kingdom. The
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
, who were earlier reluctant to colonise Assam, came into direct contact with a belligerent Burmese occupying force. Following the
First Anglo-Burmese War
The First Anglo-Burmese War (; ; 5 March 1824 – 24 February 1826), also known as the First Burma War in English language accounts and First English Invasion War () in Burmese language accounts, was the first of three wars fought between the ...
they annexed Assam and took
Manipur
Manipur () is a state in northeastern India with Imphal as its capital. It borders the Indian states of Assam to the west, Mizoram to the south, and Nagaland to the north and shares the international border with Myanmar, specifically t ...
as a subsidiary state.
Background
In the later part of 18th century, the
Ahom kingdom in
Assam
Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...
was wreaked by series of rebellions. The
Moamoria rebellion
The Moamoria rebellion (1769–1805) was an 18th-century uprising in Ahom kingdom of present-day Assam that began as power struggle between the Moamorias (''Mataks''), the adherents of the Mayamara Sattra, and the Ahom kings. This uprising ...
in Upper Assam and the
Dundiya rebellion in Western Assam severely weakened the Ahom kingdom due to loss of lives and property. The Prime Minister
Purnananda Burhagohain tried his best to reestablish Ahom rule over the regions. With great efforts, he finally suppressed all the rebellions, and firmly established the royal authority over the kingdom. For smooth functioning of administration or to consolidate his power, he appointed all his relatives in high posts of the Kingdom of Ahom.
Badan Chandra Borphukan, the governor of
Guwahati
Guwahati () the largest city of the Indian state of Assam, and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the seat of the Government of Assam. Th ...
, was anxious of the growing power of Purnananda Burhagohain. At first, he tried to make friendship with Purnananda Burhagohain. He gave his daughter Pijou Gabhoru to Purnananda's son, Oreshanath Dhekial Phukan along with a huge amount of gold ornaments and utensils as dowry. The move backfired when Purnananda Burhagohain expressed his displeasure and suspected Badan Chandra Borphukan of misusing his office. Angered by the behaviour of Purnananda Burhagohain, Badan Chandra Borphukan encouraged conspirators in the capital
Jorhat
Jorhat ( /) is a major city in Upper Assam division, Upper Assam and among the fastest growing urban centres in the state of Assam in India.
Etymology
Jorhat ("jor" means twin and "hat" means market) means two hats or mandis - "Masorhaat" and ...
with the aim to assassinate Purnananda Burhagohain. The conspiracy failed and the conspirators were punished. The alleged link of Badan Chandra Borphukan with the conspirators got revealed.
Meanwhile, the people of Western Assam, complained Burhagohain about the atrocities committed by Badan Chandra Borphukan and his two sons, Janmi and Piyoli. Finally in 1815 CE, Purnananda Burhagohain decided to act and he send a deputation with orders to arrest Badan Chandra Borphukan and bring him to the capital Jorhat for justice. Pijou Gabhoru, the daughter-in-law of Purnananda Burhagohain, who was also the daughter of Badan Chandra Borphukan, sent an early message to her father, warning him of the impending danger. Warned by his daughter, Badan Chandra Borphukan escaped to
Bengal
Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
, which was under British rule. Burhagohain's men caught him at Chilmari in Bengal, but he again escaped with the help of local Thanedar or Police officer. He went to
Calcutta
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
and visited the Governor General
Lord Hastings
Baron Hastings is a title that has been created three times. The first creation was in the Peerage of England in 1290, and is extant. The second creation was in the Peerage of England in 1299, and became extinct on the death of the first holder in ...
with the plea for help to oust Purnananda Burhagohain. The Governor-General declined his plea stating their Policy of Non-interference in the internal matter of another kingdom. Around that time, Badan Chandra Borphukan met the envoy of Burmese King
Bodawpaya
Bodawpaya (, ; ; 11 March 1745 – 5 June 1819) was the sixth king of the Konbaung dynasty of Burma. Born Maung Shwe Waing and later Badon Min, he was the fourth son of Alaungpaya, founder of the dynasty and the Third Burmese Empire. He was procl ...
, who was on a visit at Calcutta. The envoy, after hearing his plea took him to
Burma
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...
and fixed an appointment with Bodawpaya.
First Burmese invasion
In 1816,
Badan Chandra Borphukan came to the court of Burmese King
Bodawpaya
Bodawpaya (, ; ; 11 March 1745 – 5 June 1819) was the sixth king of the Konbaung dynasty of Burma. Born Maung Shwe Waing and later Badon Min, he was the fourth son of Alaungpaya, founder of the dynasty and the Third Burmese Empire. He was procl ...
and sought help to defeat his political rival
Purnanada Burhagohain. The Burmese monarch agreed and send an expedition under a general of
Bhamo
Bhamo ( ''ban: mau mrui.'', also spelt Banmaw), historically known as Manmaw (; ) or Hsinkai () is a city in Kachin State in northern Myanmar, south of the state capital, (Myitkyina). It is on the Ayeyarwady River. It lies within of the border ...
, with Badan Chandra Borphukan which entered Assam in January 1817. The first battle took place on March 27, 1817, at Ghiladhari. The Assam forces were led by Daman Gogoi, Hau Bora and Jama Khan. The battle continued for a week when Purnananda Burhagohain died due to natural causes. This, according to chronicles, led to the division in the ranks of the Ahom nobility, and due to lack of reinforcements the Assam army surrendered. Ruchinath, the son of Purnananda, became the Burhagohain, and asked the king to evacuate, who refused. This led Ruchinath to suspect that Chandrakanta Singha was in alliance with Badan Chandra Borphukan, and left for Guwahati without the king when the Burmese army advanced toward the Ahom capital at Jorhat. The king,
Chandrakanta Singha, stayed behind, received Badan Chandra Borphukan and made him the Mantri Phukan.
The Burmese army was paid 1,000,000 rupees and the commanders were given suitable presents. Hemo Aideo, an Ahom princess (daughter of Bagakonwar Tipam Raja and sister of Swargadeo Jogeshwar Singha) was sent to the king of Burma with 50 elephants and dowry. The Burmese army left Assam in April 1817. Soon after, Badan Chandra was assassinated. Ruchinath marched against Chandrakanta Singha and made Purandhar Singha the king.
Second Burmese invasion
Bodawpaya
Bodawpaya (, ; ; 11 March 1745 – 5 June 1819) was the sixth king of the Konbaung dynasty of Burma. Born Maung Shwe Waing and later Badon Min, he was the fourth son of Alaungpaya, founder of the dynasty and the Third Burmese Empire. He was procl ...
, on hearing this news, sent an army of 30,000 under the command of Kiamingi (Ala Mingi Borgohain) and guided by Patalang Senapati (Momai Barua). This army was met by an army led by Jagannath Dhekial Phukan on February 15, 1819, at Phulpanisiga, near
Janji. The Burmese army was defeated with a loss of about 300 soldiers and retreated a short distance. The Assam army, instead of pursuing the defeated Burmese, returned to the Ahom capital Jorhat leading to much confusion and panic. Failing to instill confidence, Ruchinath Burhagohain and Purandar Singha sailed down to Guwahati, and the Burmese army was able to occupy the capital two days later.
Chandrakanta was reinstated as the king on March 9, 1819, followed by execution of the Ahom officials who had supported Ruchinath Burhagohain; and in the middle of April 1819 Kiamingi left for Burma leaving Mingimaha Tilwa in charge. Under Tilwa's orders, Patalang pursued Ruchinath, engaged his forces in Nagaon and finally pushed him beyond Assam chokey. Patalang was made the Borbarua and the Burmese contingent returned to Burma on January 27, 1820. To express his gratitude to Bodawpaya, Chandrakanta Singha sent a princess, Upama Aideo, along with officials and attendants.
Nevertheless, Chandrakanta's attitude toward the Burmese changed soon after. Patalang, who was originally a
Kachari, persuaded the king to shake off Burmese allegiance and had a fort constructed at
Jaypur (Dighalighat).
Third Burmese invasion
In 1819,
Bagyidaw
Bagyidaw (, ; also known as Sagaing Min, ; 23 July 1784 – 15 October 1846) was the seventh king of the Konbaung dynasty of Burma from 1819 until his abdication in 1837. Prince of Sagaing, as he was commonly known in his day, was selected as cr ...
became the king of
Burma
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...
and decided to annex Assam. He sent Mingimaha Tilwa to Assam in February 1821. Patalang Borbarua was killed and Chandrakanta Singha fled to Guwahati. Mingimaha killed a number of Ahom officials and installed Punyadhar (Jogeshwar Singha), a brother of Hemo Aideo, as the king.
Chandrakanta Singha's response
Chandrakanta Singha made his camp at Guwahati and lead his campaign against the Burmese. Purandar, who was unable to raise an army in the British territory, raised one in
Bhutan
Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...
under Robert Bruce, but this force was dispersed by Chandrakanta's Sikh forces in May 1821.
A large force, deputed by Tilwa, advanced against Chandrakanta (September 1821), who retreated to Assam Chokey and then to the British territories. Unlike Purandar, Chandrakanta was able to raise a force mainly of Sikhs soldiers, and he retook Assam Chokey (October 1821) and Guwahati (December 1821) and pitched his camp at Mahgarh, near Jorhat, on March 15, 1822. The commander of the Sikh soldiers, Chataniya Singh of
Lahore
Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...
was killed although the Sikhs routed the Burmese hordes.
Bagyidaw
Bagyidaw (, ; also known as Sagaing Min, ; 23 July 1784 – 15 October 1846) was the seventh king of the Konbaung dynasty of Burma from 1819 until his abdication in 1837. Prince of Sagaing, as he was commonly known in his day, was selected as cr ...
, on hearing of the Assam situation, sent in a 20,000 strong contingent under
Mingi Maha Bandula who attacked and defeated the forces of Chandrakanta in April 1822. Chandrakanta fell back to
Guwahati
Guwahati () the largest city of the Indian state of Assam, and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the seat of the Government of Assam. Th ...
, and finally to Assam chaki, where he encountered Mingimaha Tilwa in June 1822. He was defeated and had to further retreat into the British territory. After this victory, the Burmese declared Mingimaha Tilwa the Raja of Assam and brought an end to the sovereign Ahom rule in Assam.
Direct Burmese rule
The defeat of Chandrakanta at Assam Chokey brought the Burmese face-to-face with the British in the
Brahmaputra valley. Tilwa demanded the British hand over the fugitive king, and threatened to enter British territory to seize him, with about 7,000 troops at Assam Chokey and 1,000 more at Guwahati under Bandula. Nevertheless, the Burmese troops faced logistics issues, and as a result Bandula left Guwahati, leaving Tilwa at Guwahati with only 1,000 troops. At this juncture, the Chandrakanta Singha was invited by the Burmese to come back and rule. Chandrakanta abandoned his Baruas and Phukan's and surrendered to Tilwa at Assam Chokey. When he reached Jorhat, he was seized and imprisoned instead.
Alternative Burmese account
This account differs a little from the Burmese account in which the expedition that started in February 1821 with the 20,000 (including 10,000
Khamti Shan and
Kachin levies) Burmese Army is said to have taken one and a half years to reach Assam when it defeated Chandrakanta Singha in July 1822 and made Assam a Burmese province under a military governor-general, extinguishing the 600-year-old
Ahom court once and for all.
[Myint-U, River of Lost Footsteps, p. 112][Myint-U, Making of Modern Burma, pp. 15–16] Chandrakanta Singha fled to British territory of
Bengal
Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
. The British ignored Bandula's demands to surrender the fugitive king, and instead sent reinforcement units to frontier forts.
[Shakespear, pp. 62–63] Maha Bandula left a military garrison of 2,000 men commanded by
Maha Thilawa, and returned to Ava.
[Phayre, pp. 233–234]
This period is remembered in
Assam
Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...
as very difficult, with the garrison soldiers and native marauders committing atrocities on the common people leading to thousands leaving Assam for
Bengal
Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
. Much of the neighboring
State of Manipur was also laid waste by the marauding armies.
By 1825, the
Meiteis under the leadership of
Meitei king
Gambhir Singh had repulsed the Burmese and drove them past the
Chindwin river
The Chindwin River (), also known as the Ningthi River (), is a river in Myanmar and is the largest tributary of the Irrawaddy River.
Sources
The Chindwin originates in the broad Hukawng Valley of Kachin State of Burma, roughly
, where the Tanai, ...
. The occupation led to frequent contacts between the Burmese and the British and finally to the
First Burmese war
The First Anglo-Burmese War (; ; 5 March 1824 – 24 February 1826), also known as the First Burma War in English language accounts and First English Invasion War () in Burmese language accounts, was the first of three wars fought between the ...
and the
Treaty of Yandaboo in 1826. This treaty marked the end of Burmese rule and the beginning of British rule in Assam.
Atrocities during Burmese rule
Reign of terror
In ''Buranji-vivek-ratna'',
Maniram Dewan, an eyewitness writes:
...in attacking the house of a rich man, would tie him with ropes and then set fire to his body. Some they flayed alive, others they burnt in oil and others again they drove in crowds to village '' Naamghars'' or prayer-houses, which they then set on fire... It was dangerous for a beautiful woman to meet a Burmese even on the public road. Brahmans were made to carry loads of beef, pork and wine. The ''Gosains'' were robbed of all their possessions. Fathers of damsels whom the Burmese took as wives rose speedily to affluence and power.
The atrocities committed by the Burmese in Assam have passed into the common traditions of the people, and have been confirmed by the recorded versions of sufferers and eyewitnesses, and of those who had come in contact with them. Gangs of local marauders and some of the neighboring hill tribes like the
Jingpo/Singphos and
Khamtis, having identified their interests with the invaders, committed the same atrocities on the people and carried off numerous inhabitants into slavery. Those who afford fled to the neighboring countries like Bengal, Bhutan and Cachar. It is impossible to estimate the number of persons who fled, were killed or deported to Burma. The wholesale depopulation and widespread misery and agony. Consequently, this excellent valley, in the words of M'Cosh, who surveyed it a few years after the Burmese invasion.
The Burmese incursions in Manipur are said to have depopulated the country and removed all traces of Manipuri civilization. The period of
seven year devastation in Manipur from 1819 to 1826 is known as "Chahi Taret Khuntakpa." The ravages of Bodawpaya and his predecessors had reduced parts of Siam into a desert, for years the fields round
Tavoy
Dawei (, ; , ; , RTGS: ''Thawai'', ; formerly known as Tavoy) is a city in south-eastern Myanmar and is the capital of the Tanintharyi Region, formerly known as the Tenasserim Division, on the eastern bank of the Dawei River. The city is about ...
were white with human bones. To escape from Burmese oppressions the greater part of the population of Arakan had deserted their country and taken shelter in British territory“ where taxation was reasonable, and a man could go to bed at night without wondering whether his throat would be cut in the morning by order of some official.“ The
Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
Pangal of
Manipur
Manipur () is a state in northeastern India with Imphal as its capital. It borders the Indian states of Assam to the west, Mizoram to the south, and Nagaland to the north and shares the international border with Myanmar, specifically t ...
too were devastated and taken as slaves by the invading Burmese armies.
Notes
References
*
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Burmese Invasions Of Assam
19th-century conflicts
History of Assam
Military history of Myanmar
19th century in Burma
First Anglo-Burmese War
1810s in Asia
1820s in Asia
1810s in Burma
1820s in Burma
Military history of India
1810s in India
1820s in India
1817 in Burma
1825 in Burma
1826 in Burma