Ruins of Kachari Rajbari are a set of

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

s located in

Dimapur Dimapur () is the largest city and municipality in the Indian state of Nagaland. As of 2024 , the municipality had a population of 172,000. The city is the main gateway and commercial centre of Nagaland. Located near the border with Assam along ...

Nagaland Nagaland () is a States and union territories of India, state in the northeast India, north-eastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south, and the Naga Sel ...

, in

Northeast India Northeast India, officially the North Eastern Region (NER), is the easternmost region of India representing both a geographic and political Administrative divisions of India, administrative division of the country. It comprises eight States and ...

. Their history dates back to the 10th century when they appeared during the Kachari civilization. The Kachari Rajbari Ruins are a series of mushroom domed

pillar A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

s. They were created by the Kachari Kingdom, which ruled Dimapur before the Ahom invasion into the territory during the 13th century. Their origin and purpose are largely mysterious. The pillars are not well maintained. Some pillars still stand in all their glory but others have crumbled down. It is believed that a game similar to chess was played there with the mushroom domes.

Colonial descriptions of the Ruins

Lieutenant Grange, then Assistant Political Agent to the colonial government in Assam, undertook his first expedition to the

Naga Hills The Naga Hills, reaching a height of around , lie prominently on the border of India and Myanmar. They are part of a complex mountain system, and the parts of the mountain ranges inside the States and territories of India, Indian states of Naga ...

in 1840. An extract from his journal was published in the '' Journal of Asiatic Society''. In his description of the Dhemapore Nugger (Dimapur), he described that they consisted of "some pillars of various pattern, a gateway, the ruined tower, or palace walls, and a small fort to the north, besides tanks both within and without the walls." In 1840, the fort was surrounded on three sides by a dry ditch. The gateway, Grange described, to be in a "tolerable state of preservation" but the inner passage or guard room had turned into "a heap of ruins." In 1874, Major H. H. Godwin-Austen, from the Topographical Survey of India, describes the entrance gateway as "fine solid mass of masonry... the stone which are pierced to receive the hinges of double heavy door, are still in perfect preservation." He further sketches it to be flanked on both sides by octagonal turrets of bricks with "false windows of ornamental moulded brick work." The pillars were in three parallel rows. The form of the town, or palace enclosure, was an oblong square running parallel to the

Dhansiri river The Dhansiri is an Indian river of Golaghat District of Assam and the Chümoukedima District and Dimapur District of Nagaland. It originates from ''Laisang peak'' of Nagaland. It flows through a distance of from south to north before joining ...

. Through oral tradition, Grange notes that it was built by Chokradoz, the fourth king of

Cachar Cachar district is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. After independence, the pre-existing undivided Cachar district was split into four districts: Dima Hasao (formerly North Cachar Hills), Hailakandi, Karimganj, and the ...

. These pillars, according to Godwin-Austen, were the most distinguishing feature of the ruins. However, he counted them as two rows rather than three as Grange noted. The tallest pillar was about 15 feet, and the smallest one at the southern end was 8 feet and 5 inches. Most of these pillars were around 12 to 13 feet. The lotus was evident in all of the carved work. Jae-Eun Shin (2020) points out that early colonial descriptions by successive British administrators fail to mention any clear trace of temples and images at the ruins. This raises doubt about the scale and intensity of Brahmanisation in the early history of the Dimasas. She also points out that this city is probably the one mentioned in the ''Ahom

Buranji Buranjis (Ahom language: ''ancient writings'') are a class of historical chronicles and manuscripts associated with the Ahom kingdom. There were written initially in the Ahom Language and later in the Assamese language as well. The Buranjis ar ...

'', which records that Ahom king

Suhungmung Suhungmung (), or Dihingia Roja was one of the most prominent Ahom Kings who ruled at the cusp of Assam's medieval history. His reign broke from the early Ahom rule and established a multi-ethnic polity in his kingdom. Under him the Ahom Ki ...

(''alias'' Dihingia Rāja) and his son reached the city by ascending the river Timā (Dima or Dhansiri) in 1526 when the Ahoms attacked Dimapur. However, no Brahmanical temples or images are mentioned in this Ahom Buranji record either.

Notes

References

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dimasa Kachari Ruins Buildings and structures in Nagaland History of Nagaland Dimapur