ASSAM DISTRICT GAZETTEERS - CACHAR - Volume I: B. C. ALLEN

Traditional Origins of Kacharis

THE Kacharis of Cachar, or Dimasa, as they call themselves, are generally supposed to be a section of the great Bodo horde. This populous and powerful race is said to have had its origin somewhere between the upper waters of the Yang-tse-kiang and the Hoang-ho, to have spread in successive waves over Assam, and to have even penetrated as far south as the Tippera Hills. Mr. Dundas, lately Subdivisional Officer of North Cachar, reports that an old prayer is still in use amongst the Dimasa which refers to a huge pepul tree growing near the confuence of the Dilao (Brahmaputra) and the Sagi. It was here, according to the prayer, that they were born and increased greatly in numbers, and from here that they travelled by land and by water to Nilachal, the hill near Gauhati on which the temple of Kamakhya stands. From Nilachal they moved to Halali, and finally settled at Dimapur. Copper-plates which have been recently discovered, and which are ascribed to the tenth and eleventh centuries A.D., state that the descendants of Narak, one of the earliest kings of Kamarupa, were overthrown by Cala Stambha, a Mleccha or foreign conqueror. Cala Stambha was succeeded by twenty other foreign kings, and the line of Narak was then restored in the person of Brahma Pala. It thus seems possible that the Dimasa may for a time have ruled at Gauhati, and may have been driven from there eastwards into the valley of the Dhansiri. When the Ahoms entered the Assam Valley in 1228 A.D., the Dimasa occupied the western part of Sibsagar, and a considerable part of Nowgong in addition to the valleys of the Kapili and the Dhansiri.

Wars between Kacharis and Ahoms.

The first collision between the Kacharis and the Ahoms is said to have taken place in 1490 A.D., on the banks of the Dikho river. The Kacharis were victorious and killed 120 of the enemy, and the Ahoms offered a girl, two elephants, and twelve slaves to induce them to make peace. In 1524, the Kacharis again raided into Ahom territory, but were repulsed, and the Kachari Raja gave his sister in marriage to the Ahom king. There was little loss of life on this occasion, but an expeditionary force sent up the Dhansiri two years later succeeded in killing upwards of 1,700 of the Kacharis. In 1580, Detsung, the Kachari Raja, is said to have offered his sister in marriage to the Ahom king, and to have sent with her as dowery an elephant, 500 swords and cloths, 1,000 napkins, 100 doolies, and Rs. 1,000 in cash; but it was evident that there could be no permanent peace with such an aggressive neighbour. In 1586 hostilities again broke out. Detsung was defeated and his capital was sacked, and the Kacharis were shorn of all their possessions in the valley of the Dhansiri, and north of the Kalang in Nowgong.

Migration to Maibang

Raiding parties continued to be sent into the Kachari country, and it was probably about this time that the king decided to abandon Dimapur, and moved his capital south-west to Maibang on the Mahur river, in the hope that the Ahoms would be unable to follow him through the jungle-covered hills to his new abode. The remains of brick ruins, rock sculptures, and dense grovee of bamboos show that Maibang must once have been a thriving place, but the Raja was wrong in supposing that he had passed beyond the sphere of Ahom influence. In 1706, Rudra Singh, one of the most powerful of their princes, despatched an expedition into the hills. The army numbered no less than 37,500 men, and the Kacharis were unable to withstand the attacks of such a powerful force. Maibang was taken and sacked, the spoil including a brass cannon, 700 flint guns, 240 maunds of sulphur, 140 iron shields, 6 large copper drums and 4 tuska.

Migration to Cachar Plains

The Kachari Raja fled southwards to Khaspur, and, hearing that the Ahom troops had suffered severely from sickness during the rains, applied to the Jaintia Raja for help to recover his lost territory. The latter prince persuaded the unfortunate monarch to proceed to Bikrampur, where he met the prime minister of the Jaintia State. He was then induced to advance to the Barak, and to enter a boat in which the Jaintia king was said to be reposing. Needless to say there was no such person there, and the Kachari prince was made captive and removed to Jaintiapur. Both he and the members of his family were treated with scant courtesy, and the Jaintia king proclaimed himself sovereign of the Kachari country. Means were, however, found of applying to the Ahom king for help, which was not refused. A strong force was sent through both the North Cachar and Jaintia Hills, which captured both the princes and conveyed them to the Brahmaputra Valley. The list of spoil obtained, if it is correct, shews that the Kachari king must have been a person of some wealth and power. It included 8 large cannons, 2,278 large and small guns, 12,000 pieces of silver, 143 gold embroidered coats, 68 elephants, and 11 Turkey horses. The opportunity was also taken of removing back to Assam some 1,600 persons who had fled into the hills at the time of the Koch and Muhammadan invasions, or had been kidnapped by the Kacharis. The two captive princes were kindly treated by the Ahoms. The Kachari king was stationed near Bishnath, and was finally sent back to his own country, with ten elephants, and a supply of guns, gun-powder, and other implements of war. He took up his abode at Khaspur, but shortly afterwards was attacked by a mortal disease, and though the Ahom king sent three physicians across the hills to prescribe for his sick friend, be breathed his last in 1708 A.D.

Kacharis subject to Ahoms

He was succeeded by his minor son, who on his sucession sent a horse, a string of pearls, and a locket to Ahom his suzerain. When dismissing the envoys who had brought these gifts, the Ahom king, according to the old chroniclers, gave the following summary of the relations between the two states:-

"The previous rulers of Cachar were under our protection and paid us tribute. The father of Suradarpa, the present prince, forgot this fact and had to pay the penalty of his forgetfulness. I take this opportunity of reminding his son that he must be both faithful and loyal, and must punctually submit reports to a Borborna who has been posted at Raha to hear all complaints from the Kachari kingdom. These reports will be sent on to me, and I shall pass such orders as seem fit."

Tula Ram Senapati's territory

Tula Ram Senapati Thaosen was sprung from humble origins, but for many years he occupied as a quasi independent chief, a considerable tract of country in the North Cachar Hills and the upper valleys of the Dhansiri and Doiang.

His father, Kacha Din, was a khitmatgar in the employ of Raja Krishna Chandra Hasnu, who was appointed to an office in the hills. He rebelled, and then was foolish enough to put himself in the power of the Raja's Agents at Dharmpur, by whom he was put to death. His son, who was acting at the time as a chaprasi in the Raja's service, escaped to the hills, and successfully resisted all atempts that were made to redtee him to submission. In 1828, he entrusted the command of his levies to his cousin Gobind Ram , who defeated Gobind Chandra's troops, but then turned upon his kinsman, and drove him into Jaintia territory. From here Tula Ram was brought back by Gambhir Singh, the Raja of Manipur, and in 1829 Mr. Scott, the Agent to the Governor-General on the north-east frontier,induced Gobind Chandra to assign to him a definite tract of land within the hills. In 1884, he entered into an agreement with the British Government by which he was confirmed in the tract of country "bounded on the west by the Dyung river, and a line to be determined hereafter, drawn from the Barèe ford on the Dyung to a point on the Jamuna river, between the cultivation of Seil Dhurmpore and of Duboka and the Hajae (excluding the two latter); by the Jumuna and Dyung rivers north, by the Dunsira river east, and to the south and south-west by the Naga Hills and Mowhier river" - boundaries which it would be a little difficult to lay off upon the ground. Tula Ram died in 1850, and as his descendants did not seem capable of administering the country it was resumed in 1854.

Sambhudan's rising in 1882

In 1882, a curious outbreak occurred which resulted in the death of the district officer. The incident is thus described by Sir W. W. Hunter:-

"A man named Sambhudan Phonglo , who had set up as a worker of miraculous cures, and as a directly inspired agent of the deity, gathered together a small body of followers, and took up his residence at Maibang, where he lived at free quarters on the forced contributions of his neighbours, and became the terror of the country-side. The Deputy Commissioner proceeded to Maibang with a force of armed police, but on his arrival found the place deserted. Meanwhile Sambhudan with twenty followers had proceeded to Gunjong, the headquarters of the North Cachar Subdivision, about six hours' journey from Maibang, and burnt the place; killing two servants and a policeman. They then returned to Maibang, where Major Boyd and his little force had encamped for the night, and attacked him at daybreak the following morning, the deluded marauders having been persuaded that Sambhudan's magical spells had rendered them invulnerable to bullets. The attack was easily repulsed, and eight or nine Cacharis were killed. Major Boyd , however, received a severe cut in the hand from a dao or hatchet, which being unskilfully treated in the absence of proper medical assistance, resulted in his death from tetanus in a few days. Sambhudan evaded capture for a time, but his hiding-place was afterwards discovered. In attempting to escape from the cordon of police which surrounded him, he received a wound in the leg, from the effects of which he bled to death. A man named Man Singh, who acted as a sort of high priest to Sambhudan, was sentenced to transportation for life."

Archeology

Cachar contains few archeological remains of any interest. At Maibang there are ruins which are probably the remains of the palace of the Raja, but the walls have been almost entirely demolished, and it is hardly possible to trace even the outline of the building. There are also some fifteen rock sculptures in an indifferent state of preservation, eleven of which represent foot and one a horse soldier, one a horse, one a tiger, and one a tortoise. A solid rock, the size of a small cottage, has been carved into the outward seeming of a house. At Khaspur, on the river Madhura, there are four temples and two other masonry buildings, but they are of comparatively recent date and possess little architectural merit. At Chandragiri there is a temple with a lingum which is still worshipped by the villagers, while at Badarpur there are the remains of an old fort on a rock overhanging the Barak.

This is a sample of the history section of the ASSAM DISTRICT GAZETTEERS - CACHAR - Volume I: B. C. ALLEN. For people who are curious can read the official historical textbooks.

Historical records indicate that the kings, administrative structure, and royal traditions of the kingdom were associated with the Dimasa people. For this reason, modern historians generally interpret the Kachari Kingdom as the political history of the Dimasa Kacharis rather than the collective history of all communities sometimes described as “Kachari.”

Books you may refer to:

• Allen, B. C. ASSAM DISTRICT GAZETTEERS - Cachar, Vol 1, 1905
• Gait, Edward. A History of Assam, 1926
• Endle, Sidney. The Kacharis, 1911