Ahom rebellion

Ahom rebellion
Sculpture of the Ahom Rebellion in Shaheedi Park, Delhi.
Date	1828; 197 years ago (1828)
Location	Rangpur, Kingdom of Konbaung, British India (present-day Sibsagar, Assam, India)
Goals	Withdrawal of British troops from Ahom territories
Resulted in	Company victory
Parties
Konbaung dynasty  East India Company
Lead figures
Gomdhar Konwar Dhanjoi Borgohain Jayram Kharagoria Phukan William Pitt Amherst
Casualties
Arrested	Gomdhar Konwar
Charged	Treason

Ahom Rebellion was an attempted uprising against the British East India Company in 1828 in Rangpur in present-day Bangladesh.[1] The rebellion was led by Gondhar Konwar, a prince of the Ahom dynasty, along with his followers.[2] This is considered to be the first instance of a demand for independence from the British rule in Assam.[3]

Background

At the end of the first Anglo-Burmese War, the East India Company signed the treaty of Yandabo in 1826.[4] According to this treaty, Burma was to give the land of Assam to the British.[5] The British had previously promised the Ahom king and local chiefs that following the war, the British troops shall withdraw from their territory. However, this was not done in spite of repeated requests from the kingdom of Konbaung.

The revolt and aftermath

Konwar, with the support of his counterparts Dhanjoi Borgohain and Jayram Kharagoria Phukan, charged at the British fort in Rangpur.[6] The British, however, found out about the incoming ambush and were already prepared for it. The rebellion was suppressed, although the three leaders were able to escape and hide in the Naga Hills.[7]

The East India Company pressured the kingdom to surrender Konwar to them, which they eventually did. Konwar was charged with treason and was sentenced to death. However, to maintain peaceful relation with the Ahom people, they reduced his sentence to seven years in exile. They also withdrew from the land as they had promised, and ceded it to the then Ahom king Purandar Singha.[8][9]

References

1. "Gomdhar Konwar...The unsung hero". Archived from the original on 2014-12-18. Retrieved 2014-12-18.
2. Das, Dhurba Jyoti (1 November 2022). "Anti-British Uprising in Assam (1826-30)" (PDF). International Journal of Humanities Social Science and Management. 2 (5) (published 12 November 2022): 96–98 – via IJHSSM.
3. "राज्य के पहले स्वतंत्रता सेनानी गमधर कोंवर को सीएम ने अर्पित की श्रद्धांजलि". www.hindusthansamachar.in. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
4. Lt. Gen. Sir Arthur P. Phayre (1967). History of Burma (2 ed.). London: Sunil Gupta. p. 237.
5. Maung Htin Aung (1967). A History of Burma. New York and London: Cambridge University Press. pp. 214–215.
6. "गोमधर कुंवर - भारतकोश, ज्ञान का हिन्दी महासागर". bharatdiscovery.org. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
7. "Gondhar Konwar". Indian Culture. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
8. Bhuyan Dr. S.K. Tunkhungia Buranji or A History of Assam (1681-1826) second edition 1968 Department of Historical and Antiquarian Studies in Assam Guwahati p. 211
9. Barbaruah Hiteswar Ahomar-Din or A History of Assam under the Ahoms 1981 p. 338