A History of Assam c14: Chapter VIII. The Decay and Fall of the Ahom Kingdom
A History of Assam c14
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Chapter VIII. The Decay and Fall of the Ahom Kingdom
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THE nobles placed the Jubrāj, Gaurināth Singh on the vacant throne, and he was installed as king with the usual ceremonies. He assumed the Ahom name Suhitpāngphā. He ordered his father's body to be cremated and the ashes to be intombed at Chāraideo, after a funeral ceremony performed according to Hindu rites. He caused the other princes of the blood to be mutilated, in order to render them ineligible for the succession. He chose the Bar Barua as his chief adviser. The latter set himself to poison the king's mind against the Bar Gohāin, with whom he was on bad terms; he accused him of having been opposed to Gaurināth's elevation to the throne and, on this charge, which seems to have been wholly unsubstantiated, the unfortunate man and several of his near relatives were beheaded. But the Bar Barua's triumph was of very short duration. He gave great offence to the king by disposing of important matters without consulting him, and was dismissed from his office and deprived of all his possessions.
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Gaurināth chose as his religious preceptor a son of Rāmānanda Achārjya and underwent the ceremony of initiation as his disciple.
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He was a bitter enemy of the Moāmariās and lost no opportunity of oppressing them. At last they were goaded into a fresh rebellion. One night, in April, 1782, when the king was returning to Garhgāon at a late hour after a fishing expedition, a band of them attached themselves to his party, disguised as torch bearers, and after thus gaining admittance to the town, attacked and killed several of the king's attendants. Gaurināth himself managed to escape to his palace on an elephant. The insurgents tried to set fire to the town, but were frustrated by the Burhā Gohāin, who hurried up with a party of soldiers and, after a sharp struggle, drove them away. They next marched to Rangpur and, failing to obtain an entry by stratagem, broke down the gates and paraded the streets, killing all whom they met and setting the houses on fire. The local officials fled, but the Burhā Gohāin, who had followed them from Garhgāon, soon succeeded in dispersing them.
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This energetic and capable officer, of whom more will be heard later on, seeing that harsh methods frustrated their own ends, now urged the king to win over the malcontents by mild and conciliatory treatment, and, if his advice had been followed, it seems likely that the Moāmariās would have given no further trouble. But it was not. The new Bar Barua taking the opposite view, advocated their wholesale extermination; and this course commended itself to the cruel and vindictive nature of the king. A general massacre of the Moāmariās was proclaimed; many thousands, including women and children, were put to death, and four sons of the deposed Bar Barua, who were found to have been cognizant of the rising, were deprived of their eyesight. These atrocities served only to fan the flames of disaffection, and conspiracy succeeded conspiracy. The first was hatched at Jaysāgar by a Mahanta belonging to the Jakhalābāndhā Gosāin's family. He was caught and blinded, and three of his followers were fried to death in oil. The Morāns in the extreme east next broke out in rebellion, under a man named Badal Gāonburha, but they were dispersed without much trouble.
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This abortive rising was followed, early in 1786, by a more serious revolt of the Moāmariās on the north bank of the Lohit. An expedition which was despatched to quell it was cut up, and many other malcontents then flocked to the rebel camp. Fresh troops were sent, but they too were defeated in an engagement near the Garaimāri bil. The chiefs of Rāni, Luki and Beltolā were asked for help, and sent up a force, which was at once despatched to Pahumāra in the Mājuli. The Moāmariās responded by crossing the Lohit at Gorāmur and attacking the Gorāmur sattra, which was taken after a feeble resistance by the Gosāin's disciples. They then marched against the Gauhāti levies and put them to flight with heavy loss. The remnant of the royalist army on the north bank, on hearing of these disasters, recrossed the Lohit and the Dihing* and joined the Burhā Gohāin, who was in command of another force, and had entrenched himself at Sonāri. He was in his turn attacked and defeated; he retreated, first to Gaurisāgar and then to Rangpur, where he rejoined the king. He was closely followed by the Moāmariās, who laid waste the country and burnt the villages along their line of march. They made their headquarters at Bhatiāpār, and defeated in turn several forces sent against them. They were, however, foiled in an attempt to take Rangpur and fell back to the Mājuli. Gaurināth now sent urgent appeals for help to the Bar Phukan at Gauhāti, and also to the Manipuri, Kachāri and Jaintia kings, but meanwhile the Moāmariās again advanced, along the bank of the Jhānsi river, and, bearing down all resistance, appeared before the gates of Rangpur.
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The king fled panic stricken to Gauhāti, accompanied by most of his officers. The Burhā Gohāin Purnānand, with the Bar Barua and a few others, courageously remained behind and endeavoured to stem the tide of rebellion. On reaching Gauhāti, Gaurināth Singh found the Bar Phukan preparing to start to his assistance. He held a council, and despatched thirteen thousand men under the Pāni Phukan to reinforce the Burhā Gohāin, but, before they arrived, the Moāmariās had again defeated the royalists and taken possession of Garhgāon. They burnt down the palace and destroyed many of the neighbouring villages; and the common people, finding themselves unprotected, began to throw in their lot with the rebels.
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The Burhā Gohāin had retreated as far as the Kāziranga river when he met the Pāni Phukan with the
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Gaurināth flies to Gauhāti.
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Burhā Gohāin continues to resist Moāmariās.
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∗ By the Dihing, the present course of the Brahmaputra south of the Mājuli is meant, but the use of this name by no means proves that the main channel of the Lohit, or Brahmaputra, still flowed to the north of the Mājuli at the period in question. The Assamese, like other Indian races, are very conservative in the matter of names, and the southern channel river was still called the Dihing when the map in *Wilson's Narrative of the Burmese War* (London, 1852) was prepared. According to common tradition in Assam, the change in the course of the Brahmaputra was caused by a flood brought down by the Dibong river in 1735, or more than half a century earlier. The northern channel, however, must still have carried a considerable volume of water, as we read that on one occasion Lakshmi Singh was prevented by a storm from crossing it.
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reinforcements from Gauhāti. He then assumed the offensive and inflicted several minor defeats on the rebels. But soon afterwards, a force under the Pāni Phukan was cut up in a night attack, and another force, under the Dhekiāl Phukan, was so demoralized that it dispersed in confusion on the approach of the fugitives, whom it mistook for Moāmariās. The Burhā Gohāin with great difficulty rallied his men, but he could no longer hope to do more than prevent a further advance on the part of the rebels. With this object, he constructed a line of forts along the Nāmdāng river, from the Bar Āli to the Khari Katiā Āli, which he succeeded in holding until March 1788, when a son of Raja Rājesvar Singh, known as the Pātkuar, collected a force, and, after defeating several detachments of the insurgents, joined hands with him. Meanwhile the Moāmariās, who were suffering from want of supplies, relaxed their efforts, and the Pātkuar, deeming the time opportune for a fresh advance, moved forward and occupied Sibsāgar. His success was short-lived. Soon afterwards he was ambushed, taken prisoner and put to death.
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The Burhā Gohāin, undaunted by this fresh disaster, continued to hold his position on the Nāmdāng; and in February, 1789, with the aid of further reinforcements from Gauhāti, he was able once more to advance against the rebels. For some time he was successful, but in the end he was driven back on Gaurisāgar, where he was closely invested. Provisions ran so short that his troops were fain to eat the flesh of horses and elephants. Many died of starvation and dysentery, and his forces were so depleted by the direct and indirect losses of the campaign that he was at last obliged to retreat, first to Tarātali and then to the Desoi. Here he erected a fort and placed it under the command of Japarā Gohāin. He then proceeded to Rajanikhāt, west of Kachārihāt. Japarā was no sooner left to himself than he declared himself independent, but, being unwary enough to be enticed into the power of the Burhā Gohāin, he was made prisoner and his eyes were put out.
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After halting for some time at Sungighāt and Charāibāhi, the Burhā Gohāin, in April 1790, constructed a fortified position at Jorhāt. He placed an outpost at Meleng.
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but it was soon afterwards destroyed by the Moāmariās. Gaurināth now sent up four hundred Bengal mercenaries and, with their aid, the Burhā Gohāin made a fort at Teok. On the advent of the rainy season, however, he again fell back behind the Desoi river. The Moāmariās captured an advanced position on the Kokila river, but they were repulsed with heavy loss in a subsequent attack on a fort near the Bar Āli, on the right bank of the Desoi. This reverse appears to have disheartened them; and for some time they abstained from regular fighting, and resorted to guerilla tactics. They harassed the inhabitants of the tract held by the Burhā Gohāin by constant raids, especially at night, when small bodies would pass up the Dhansiri and Kākakān streams, plunder some village on the banks, and disappear again before they could be intercepted.
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The people gradually lost heart and would gladly have accepted the Moāmariā supremacy, but for the untiring efforts of the Burhā Gohāin, who alternately coaxed them by presents of food and clothing and coerced them by inflicting severe punishment on those who disobeyed his orders. But if their sufferings were great, their condition was still far better than that of the people living in the country held by the Moāmariās, where the burning of villages, the looting of supplies and the wanton destruction of crops led to a terrible famine: rice was not obtainable, and the sufferings of the people were so great that many abandoned their own children. Even persons of the highest castes, it is said, were reduced to eating the flesh of cows, buffaloes, dogs and jackals. Some roamed about in the jungle, devouring wild fruits and roots, while others fled to the Burhā Gohāin or to the neighbouring hill tribes, and even to Bengal.
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During these operations a number of soi-disant Rajas had appeared in various parts of the country. On the north bank of the Lohit, at Japaribhitā, a man of the weaver caste was set up by the Moāmariās; in the Mājuli, a man named Hāulia exercised supreme power; east of the Dihing, at Bengmarā, the Morāns acknowledged one Sarbānand as their ruler; while at Sadiya the Khāmtis appeared on the scene with a Raja and Deka Raja of their own. The main body of the Moāmariās at Rangpur placed Bharath Singh on the throne and appointed one Sukura as his Bar Barua.
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Bharath Singh and Sarbānand both opened mints. Coins of the former dated 1791, 1792, 1793, 1795 and 1797 are still extant, and of the latter dated 1794 and 1795. Bharath Singh described himself on his coins as a descendant of Bhagadatta, while Sarbānand used the Ahom title, Svargadeb.
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It has been mentioned that Gaurināth sent an appeal for help to the kings of the neighbouring states. The Kachāri and Jaintia Rajas were only too glad to hear that their once dreaded neighbour was in difficulties, and absolutely refused to give him any assistance. But the Manipuri Raja was mindful of the services rendered him a few years previously by Gaurināth's uncle, Rājesvar, and marched with five hundred horse and four thousand foot to Nowgong, where he was met by Gaurināth. He then proceeded upcountry to assist the Burhā Gohāin. The latter proposed that he should make an attack on Rangpur. He agreed, and advanced to Gaurisāgar with his own troops and a detachment of the Burhā Gohāin's force. Next day he moved on towards Rangpur, but, when he approached the Moāmariā lines, the latter at once gave battle and, after a short engagement, put his troops to flight. Many were killed during the fight and more in the pursuit that followed; and the martial ardour of the Raja was so effectually quenched that he lost no time in hastening back to Manipur. He left a thousand of his men with the Burhā Gohāin, but they proved quite useless, and deserted in a body on the approach of the Moāmariās.
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The Burhā Gohāin, however, still managed to hold his own; and in 1792, after repulsing an attack made by the Moāmariās on his position along the Desoi river, advanced his line of defence to the Ladaigarh.
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After his interview with the Manipur Raja, Gaurināth stayed for some time in Nowgong. His numerous followers irritated the villagers by their constant demands for supplies and other acts of oppression, and the discontent thus caused at last found vent in open revolt. The leader of the rebels was a man named Sinduri Hājarika. An attack was made on the king who fled precipitately up the Kallang river. He took shelter for a short time in the *Sattras* of the Auniāti and Dakhinpāt Gosāins, and then went downstream to Gauhāti. Here fresh troubles awaited him.
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Some time previously he had treacherously seized and put to death Hangsa Nārāyan, the tributary Raja of Darrang, on an unproved charge of sedition, and set up in his place another member of the family named Bishnu Nārāyan, thereby ignoring the claims of Krishna Nārāyan, the son of the late chief. The latter, stung by the injustice, went to Mr. Douglas, the Commissioner of Koch Bihār, and, through him, sought the aid of the British. He offered, if reinstated, to hold his estate as their vassal, in the same way as his ancestors had done under the Mughals, into whose possessions the British had now entered. Failing in his appeal, he determined to act for himself. He collected a force of Hindustanis and Bengalis, drove out Gaurināth's nominee and proclaimed himself Raja of Darrang. Finding that there was no one to oppose him, he proceeded to annex the northern part of Kāmrup and even took possession of North Gauhāti.
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Gaurināth appealed for help to Mr. Lumsden, the Collector of Rangpur. A merchant named Raush, the farmer of the salt revenue at Goālpāra, who is said by some to have recruited mercenaries in Bengal for the Burhā Gohāin, also wrote in his behalf. The matter was referred to Lord Cornwallis, the Governor-General, who held that, as the trouble appeared to have been caused by gangs of marauders from British territory, it was incumbent on the Government to take such steps as might be necessary to restore order. A message was sent to the leaders of these gangs, directing them to return to British territory. They refused to do so, and it was, therefore, decided to expel them by force.
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Accordingly, in September, 1792, six companies of sixty sepoys each were sent to Goālpāra under the command of Captain Welsh, with Lieutenant Macgregor as adjutant, and Ensign Wood as surveyor. The commandant's orders were to proceed to the town of Goālpāra and, after making careful local enquiries, to submit a full report to the Governor- General, on receipt of which, he was told, detailed instructions would be given him. The modern district of Goālpāra had become a British possession in 1765, when the whole of the Muhammadan possessions in Bengal were ceded to the East India Company. At the time of these events, it formed part of the district of Rangpur. The town from which it derives its name was the great emporium of trade with Assam. There was a military outpost at Jogighopā on the opposite bank, but there was no resident civil officer, and the place was but seldom visited by the Rangpur officials. The only European inhabitant was Mr. Raush, who had been there since 1768. Captain Welsh reached Goālpāra on the 8th November 1792. He obtained from Mr. Raush a long account of the troubles that beset the Ahom king, and further details were supplied by Bishnu Nārāyan, the fugitive Raja of Darrang.* He thus learnt that matters were far more serious than had been supposed when he left Calcutta and that, if he was to be of any assistance, prompt measures were called for. He decided to proceed at once to the Raja's relief without waiting for further instructions from headquarters.
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He wrote to the Governor-General informing him of his decision, and on the 16th November started up the river towards Gauhāti.† Three days later, as the heavy boats conveying the detachment were labouring up the stream, about three miles below the Nāgarberā hill, a few canoes appeared in the distance. As they approached the fleet, they were hailed, and were found to contain Gaurināth and a few attendants, who had escaped with him from Gauhāti at two o'clock on the previous morning. The immediate cause of his flight was not the advance of Krishna Nārāyan, but a raid by a mob of Doms, or fishermen, from Pākariguri, who had banded themselves together under a Bairāgi† and, descending the Brahmaputra, had set fire to some houses near the king's residence. The Raja and his advisers had by this time become so demoralized that even this contemptible foe sufficed to inspire them with frantic terror, and they fled hastily without making the slightest effort at resistance.
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∗ Bishnu Nārāyan showed Captain Welsh a letter from Gaurināth in which he compared himself to a heavy-laden ship on the point of sinking. † This letter was crossed by one from Lord Cornwallis, relaxing the original order that no action was to be taken pending further instructions. Welsh was now told to act as seemed best according to circumstances until more specific instructions could be given for his guidance; it was added that mediation should be sought and bloodshed avoided if possible, but that if Krishna Nārāyan proved hostile or insincere, vigorous measures should be taken.
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† This is the "Burjee Raja" of Captain Welsh's reports. In these reports Gaurināth is generally referred to as the Surgey Deo, a corruption of Svargadeb. Ordinarily Bairāgi means an ascetic or religious recluse. The Ahoms, however, used the term as the designation of their envoys to other kings.
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Gaurināth begged Captain Welsh to continue his journey, and declared that he had many adherents who would openly declare for him if he returned accompanied by a sufficient force. The advance was, therefore, continued. On the 21st November, the Bar Barua, who had also fled, attached himself to the expedition. On the 23rd Hātimorā was reached, and the tributary chief of Rāni joined the party. Next evening the boats arrived at a point about eight miles west of Gauhāti. Leaving a company in charge of the boats and the Raja, Captain Welsh, with the remaining five companies and several nobles, including the Bar Barua, made a night march to Gauhāti, apparently along the line now followed by the Trunk Road. The gateway near the town was reached without adventure. Hearing footsteps, the men on duty went out with torches, but, on seeing the sepoys, they threw them down and fled in all directions, without even giving the alarm. The troops crossed in silence the wooden bridge which then spanned the Bharalu river and, making straight for the Bairāgi's house, surprised and overpowered the occupants. In all, sixty persons were made prisoners and handed over to the Raja's people, who were told to treat them kindly. No resistance was anywhere encountered, and the ensuing day was spent in pitching camp and securing the position occupied by the troops.
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The Raja arrived in the evening with the boats and at once made his entry into the town in great state. At his own request he was given a guard of sepoys.
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Negotiations were now opened with Krishna Nārāyan, and also with the leaders of his mercenaries, or *barkandāzes*, whom it was sought to induce to return home by the payment of all arrears of salary and the release of their property in Bengal, which had been attached. The replies to these overtures, though couched in respectful and conciliatory terms, were thought to be evasive, and Krishna Nārāyan was called upon to prove his good faith by marching into Gauhāti.
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Up to this time the sole object of the expedition had been the suppression of the freebooters whom Krishna Nārāyan had brought up from Bengal, and it had never been suggested that it should concern itself with the Moāmariā rebellion in Upper Assam, of which indeed Government does not hitherto appear to have been cognizant.* Now, however, finding that he was totally unable to stand alone, and realizing, perhaps, that the assistance hitherto accorded him had been rendered without any selfish after-thought, Gaurināth stated that he wished to place himself unreservedly in the hands of the British Government and begged for assistance against all his enemies.
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This completely changed the position, and the petition was referred to the Governor-General for orders. Captain Welsh himself was in favour of acceding to it, but he pointed out that, in the event of his views finding acceptance, it would be necessary to send another battalion to join him at Gauhāti, and to post a second one as a reserve at Bijni on the north bank; he also asked for a couple of six-pounders and transport cattle sufficient for the whole detachment, as none could be procured in Assam.
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Lord Cornwallis, in his reply, highly commended Captain Welsh for his conduct of the expedition, but said that before a final decision could be given regarding the proposed extension of the original programme, the Raja should be made to understand that he must try to pacify his rebellious subjects by adopting conciliatory measures; he also suggested that if, by the restoration of his ancestral rights, Krishna Nārāyan could be induced to submit, his troops with those already at Captain Welsh's disposal might prove sufficient to conduct the Raja to his capital.
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∗ There is, at least, no mention of it in the late Sir James Johnstone's elaborate summary of the official correspondence. It should be mentioned, however, that in one of the *Buranjis* there is a reference to the arrival in the Burhā Gohāin's camp in 1791, of two native agents sent by some British official, who is called a captain, to report on the state of the country.
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Before this communication was received, Captain Welsh had become convinced that Krishna Nārāyan was trifling with him, and he determined to take vigorous measures to reduce him to obedience. Before daylight on the morning of the 6th December, 1792, he crossed the Brahmaputra with two hundred and eighty men, and landed near a small hill with a temple on it, presumably Asvakrānta, on and around which the enemy's troops, three thousand strong, were posted. The foot of the hill was reached without opposition, but at this point the enemy made several determined attempts to repel Welsh's small force. They were, however, unable to withstand the steady discipline and superior arms of the sepoys, and fled with the loss of twenty killed and forty wounded, besides several prisoners. Forty cannon mounted on the hill were also taken. On the British side, the only casualties were six men wounded.
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Krishna Nārāyan rallied his men some distance from Gauhāti, and, towards the end of the month, he was reported to be ravaging the tract east of the Bar Nadi which now forms the Mangaldai sub-division. A detachment of three companies under Lieutenant Williams was promptly sent against him, and, after some manœuvring, engaged a band of five hundred Barkāndāzes at Khātikuchi. A hundred of them were killed or wounded, and the rest fled across the Bhutān frontier, which at this period extended into the plains as far as the Gosāir Kamala Ali. There is nothing to show when this encroachment on the part of the Bhutias began, but it was not formally recognized until Gaurināth's time.
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The efforts which Welsh made to induce Gaurināth to conciliate his numerous enemies by acts of clemency were frustrated, not only by the vindictive disposition of the king himself, but also by the evil advice given to him by the Bar Barua and other ministers. It was discovered that, since the Raja's return to Gauhāti, no less than one hundred and thirteen persons had been murdered, including twenty-four for whose good treatment Welsh himself had given special orders. Seventy others were found in prison dying from starvation. Strong measures were taken to put a stop to these and other atrocities. The Bar Barua and the Soladharā Phukan were placed under arrest; the dismissal of the Bar Phukan was insisted on; and the Raja himself was severely rebuked. The latter, far from showing any signs of contrition, accepted full responsibility for all the brutalities that had been committed, and declared that he would rather abdicate than forgo the power of killing and mutilating his subjects at will. He was therefore deprived temporarily of all authority, save over a hundred attendants who were placed at his disposal. A new Bar Phukan was appointed, and entrusted with the administration of Lower Assam. Two manifestoes were issued, one to the people of Assam, and the other to the chiefs and nobles. In the former, the people were informed that, in future, justice would be righteously administered, and certain days were appointed on which complaints would be heard and grievances redressed; in the latter the chiefs and nobles were invited to come to Gauhāti, and assist in concerting measures for ameliorating the condition of the country.
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Gaurināth now became more tractable, and signed an agreement consenting to the following measures, *viz.*, the dismissal of the Bar Barua and other officials proved guilty of treachery or oppression; the proclamation of a general amnesty; the abolition of all punishments extending to death or mutilation, except after a regular trial; and the convocation of all the chiefs and nobles at Gauhāti for the purpose of framing measures for the re-establishment of the king's authority and the future good government of the country. The Bengal mercenaries in Gaurināth's employ were found to be oppressing the people and to be giving information of Welsh's movements to their friends in the Darrang Raja's camp. They were accordingly deported to Rangpur.
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Krishna Nārāyan submits.
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In May, Krishna Nārāyan was induced to march into Gauhāti with his remaining mercenaries, to the number of about four hundred. These were sent off under escort to Rangpur, where they were given their arrears of pay, amounting to nearly six thousand rupees, while Krishna Nārāyan, after taking the customary oath of allegiance, was formally installed as Raja of Darrang. He refunded the amount given to his disbanded clubmen and agreed, though very reluctantly, to pay an annual tribute of fifty-eight thousand rupees in lieu of the feudal obligation to supply soldiers and labourers*; he also agreed that his position was to be that of a landholder and not of a ruling chief, and that the political and administrative control should rest in the Bar Phukan, as it had done in the time of his predecessor. When these arrangements had been completed, he proceeded to Mangaldai and took formal possession of his estate, accompanied by a guard of sepoys, which was furnished to him at his request.†
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† Krishna Nārāyan also claimed the portion of Kāmrup which lies north of the Brahmaputra, but a similar claim was advanced by two other members of his family and the question was postponed for future decision.
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In the following September some of Krishna Nārāyan's mercenaries, who had fled into Bhutān, re-appeared, but they were easily dispersed by a small detachment sent against them. With this exception Darrang affairs gave no further trouble.
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In response to Welsh's request for reinforcements, six more companies of sepoys were sent up from Bengal, but they did not all arrive until the latter part of April, when the time for field operations was over. It was, therefore, decided to halt at Gauhāti for the rainy season, and to spend the interval in consolidating the Raja's position in Lower Assam and in restoring confidence. This task proved more difficult than had been anticipated. In spite of the promised amnesty, the chiefs and nobles showed no disposition to place themselves in the Raja's power, and it was suspected that some hostile influence was at work. It was discovered that the dismissed Bar Barua and Solādharā Phukan were still intriguing and causing mischief, and they were deported to Rangpur in Bengal. The removal of these malcontents was productive of the best possible results. Soon afterwards the three great Gohāins signified their adherence to Captain Welsh, and their example was followed by most of the officials as well as by the feudatory chiefs.
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∗ This sum of Rs. 58,000 was made up as follows:—for Darrang, Rs. 50,000; for Chutiya Rs. 2,000; for Koliābar Rs. 3,000; in lieu of customs duty between Darrang and Bhutān, Rs. 3,000.
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Towards the end of October an advance-guard under Lieutenant Macgregor was sent up the river to Koliābar, and great exertions were made to send up supplies, with a view to making that place a base for the coming operations in Upper Assam. The pacification of Nowgong was also effected, and the banditti who infested the river and interrupted communications between Gauhāti and Goālpāra were suppressed.
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Everything was now ready for the campaign against the Moāmariās, but Gaurināth was a confirmed opium eater and his long-continued excesses in the consumption of this drug had induced such a condition of physical lethargy and mental torpor that he could hardly be persuaded to leave Gauhāti. He was also, apparently, far from satisfied that Welsh, with such a small force, would be able to overcome the hosts which the Moāmariās could bring into the field.
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At last a move was made and, in January, 1794, the whole expedition advanced to Koliābar. Gaurināth here sent for Captain Welsh and, after recounting his misfortunes, the evils inflicted on the people by his bad ministers, and the invaluable services rendered him by the British Government, declared that he possessed neither the ability nor inclination to transact business with his officers. He therefore begged him to concert the necessary measures with them. He also wrote to the Governor-General, begging that Captain Welsh might be permitted to employ the troops under his command in any way that might seem expedient to him and the ministers for the restoration of order, and undertaking to pay a sum of Rs. 3,00,000 annually for their maintenance. Of this sum half was to be collected by the Bar Phukan from the districts under his control, and the other half by the Bar Barua from the rest of the Ahom dominions. In consultation with the Bar Gohāin, the Barpātra Gohāin and the Solāl Gohāin, Captain Welsh appointed the Pāni Siliā Gohāin to be Bar Barua, while two princes who had escaped the general sentence of mutilation pronounced on the royal family by Gaurināth, when he ascended the throne, were given the posts of Sāring Raja and Tipām Raja, respectively. A letter was despatched to the Moāmariās chiefs, calling on them to settle their differences with the Raja, and assuring them of their safety should they do so, but adding that, if they refused, the blame would rest on their own shoulders. It was afterwards ascertained that this letter never reached its destination, the bearer of it having been afraid, or unable, to pass through the outlying rebel forces.
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Lieutenant Macgregor was again sent on ahead to reconnoitre and arrange to get supplies. He reached Debargāon on the 11th February and, on the 14th, paid a three days' visit to Jorhāt, to interview the Burhā Gohāin, who was still maintaining the unequal struggle against the insurgents. Shortly after his return to Debargāon, the Moāmariās, who had learnt of his visit to Jorhāt, appeared before that place in such numbers that the Burhā Gohāin sent him an urgent appeal for help. Although his force consisted of only forty-six men of all ranks he did not hesitate for a moment. As soon as he received the news, he sent off a Subadar and twenty men, who safely reached Jorhāt; and the next evening he followed them in person, accompanied by Ensign Wood, a havildar and fourteen men. A nāik and eight sepoys were left in charge of the boats. The small party marched all night and, early next morning, arrived in the vicinity of the Moāmariā camp. A detour to the right was made to avoid it, and then the two officers, impatient of the delay, left the sepoys to come on with the baggage and, pushing on through the jungle with a few servants and camp followers, reached Jorhāt about 8 A.M.*
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Moāmariās defeated at Jorhāt.
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* The reckless way in which these officers left their small guard and marched alone into Jorhāt shows the contempt they must have felt for the enemy.
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The following incident shows this even more clearly:—While Macgregor was encamped at Koliābar he sent a nāik with four men to arrest Sinduri Hāzarika, the leader of the Moāmariās in Nowgong. The nāik returned without effecting his object, and reported that Sinduri was surrounded by one thousand armed men, who announced their determination to oppose his arrest. This explanation was held to be inadequate; and the nāik was court-martialled, and sentenced to reduction to the ranks for a month. It is only fair to add that Captain Welsh refused to confirm this sentence.
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They found that the Moāmariās had advanced the same morning, and were at that moment quite close to Jorhat. Without waiting for the rest of his force, Macgregor at once mustered the party of twenty men under the Subadar, who had arrived the previous day, and led them out in support of the Burhā Gohāin's troops. He had just drawn up his small force, with their right covered by an embankment, when he was attacked by a mob of two thousand Moāmariās, who came crowding on, confident of victory. The sepoys, although they received but little aid from the Burhā Gohāin's troops, behaved with great coolness; they obeyed the instructions of their two officers to fire singly and at separate objects, and inflicted such heavy losses upon the enemy, that the latter were soon in full retreat. No casualties were suffered by the little detachment. About 1 P.M., the same afternoon Lieutenant Macgregor was again attacked while reconnoitring, but soon routed his assailants. His loss was only four men wounded. The Moāmariās in the two engagements lost about eighty killed and wounded.
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News of these events reached Captain Welsh on the 23rd February. He at once set out with all his troops, except one company which was left at Koliābar to guard the stores, and reached Debargāon on the 8th March. From this place another letter was addressed to the Moāmariā leaders, but it, like the former one, was never delivered. When the advance was resumed, Lieutenant Irwin was sent ahead with two companies. He had reached a place about twelve miles from Rangpur when he was furiously attacked by a large number of men armed with matchlocks, spears and bows. He drove off his assailants and, pushing on, took up a strong position on a brick bridge over the Nāmdāng river, four or five miles from Rangpur. In this engagement he had two men killed and thirty-five wounded. The Moāmariās lost far more heavily, and their leader himself was seriously wounded.
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Captain Welsh hastened to join the advance-guard and, on the 18th March, the whole party proceeded to Rangpur, which had just been evacuated by the enemy. Their flight was so sudden that they left behind them large quantities of grain, cattle and even treasure. The booty was sold, and realized a sum of Rs. 1,17,334 which, with Gaurināth's approval, was distributed among the troops as prize money. This action afterwards brought down upon Captain Welsh a severe rebuke from the Governor-General.
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Gaurināth, who had remained with the boats which were being brought up the Dikhu, reached Rangpur on the 21st March. On his arrival, Captain Welsh held a grand durbar and, in the presence of the nobles, asked the Raja if he could now dispense with the help of British troops. The answer was an emphatic negative. The Raja and his ministers were unanimous in asserting that, if they were withdrawn, the country would inevitably return to a state of anarchy. Welsh, therefore, decided to complete the pacification of the Moāmariās. Before resorting to force, he made a fresh attempt to obtain a peaceful settlement, and he induced the Raja to write to the rebels promising them pardon if they would come in. Welsh himself guaranteed the fulfilment of this promise. He waited a month for an answer, but none was received, and it became clear that the Moāmariās would never submit until they were thoroughly beaten. On the 19th April, Welsh despatched three companies to attack their head-quarters at Bāgmāra near Rangpur, but it had not proceeded many miles when orders were received from Government prohibiting further offensive operations, and it was accordingly recalled to Rangpur.
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Sir John Shore had taken the place of Lord Cornwallis as Governor-General in December, 1793; and his accession marked a distinct change in the policy of the Government of India. Non-interference was the key-note of the new administration. The result, in Assam, was disastrous. Captain Welsh had succeeded admirably in the task assigned to him; and had not only shown himself a good organizer and a bold and determined leader, but had also displayed consummate tact and singular administrative ability. He had gained the confidence of all classes. He had dismissed the more oppressive and corrupt officials, and had secured the cordial co-operation of the others; while by a policy of conciliation and clemency, combined with firmness, he had procured the submission of the Darrang Raja and had induced the people generally to acquiesce in Gaurināth's restoration. Gaurināth had several times written to Government expressing cordial appreciation of his services, and begging that he might be allowed to remain at least some time longer, and had offered to pay the whole of the expenses of the troops. This appeal was seconded by Welsh himself, who reported that, if the detachment were withdrawn, "confusion, devastation and massacre would ensue"; that the king left to himself would never keep the promises of pardon which he had been induced to make; that Krishna Nārāyan, fearing assassination, would either flee from the country or import more *barkandāzes*; that the obnoxious favourites would be recalled and would wreak their resentment on all who had cultivated the friendship of the English; and that the Moāmariās would soon break out again and once more expel the Raja from his capital. But the new Governor-General had already made up his mind; and, in spite of these representations, he issued the order above alluded to, directing Captain Welsh to abstain from all further active operations, and to return to British territory by the 1st July at the latest.
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On the withdrawal of the troops sent against them, the Moāmariās returned to the neighbourhood of the Dikhu river and, emboldened by their immunity from attack, actually plundered some granaries within the environs of Rangpur. A second raid of the same kind was prevented by a timely alarm. In the face of this renewed activity of the insurgents, and of the danger to which, not only the king's followers, but the expedition itself, would be exposed unless something were done, Welsh determined to make a final effort to disperse them before starting on his journey back to Bengal. Accordingly, at 2 A.M. on the morning of May 5th he marched out against the rebels and drove them from their encampment. They retreated so rapidly that they escaped without much loss, and, taking up a fresh position on the right bank of the Darikā river, continued their guerilla tactics. Welsh, therefore, on the 12th May, crossed the Dikhu with all his available troops and marched against their new position. On this occasion, either because his advance was expected or because, having now a force of four thousand men, they felt more confident of success, they advanced boldly to the attack, and greeted the oncoming sepoys with a storm of bullets and arrows. But their new-found courage soon oozed away; and, when they saw the troops continuing to advance, they broke and fled. They were hotly pursued and, in the end, were entirely dispersed with heavy loss. Their camp was burned, and the troops returned to Rangpur with only two casualties.
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A few days later, in spite of the urgent entreaties of the Raja, Captain Welsh reluctantly left Rangpur on his downward voyage. He arrived at Gauhāti on the 30th May. Here he was overwhelmed with petitions, imploring him to remain, from all sorts and conditions of people whose interests would be ruined by the removal of the troops, and who had, in many cases, given their adhesion to Gaurināth on the understanding that Welsh would protect them from injustice or molestation. But the orders of the Governor-General were imperative, and, on the 3rd July, 1794, the expedition again reached British territory.
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Many of Welsh's gloomy prognostications were quickly realized. As soon as the expedition was withdrawn, Gaurināth, despairing of holding Rangpur, proceeded with his chief nobles to Jorhat, which now became the capital. He had barely left Rangpur when the Moāmariās, hearing of the departure of the British troops, collected their scattered forces and advanced against the town. The garrison fled to Jorhat without making any attempt at resistance, and the place fell once more into the hands of the insurgents.
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The officers and others who had been befriended or protected by Captain Welsh now became the victims of Gaurināth's vindictive spite. The Bar Barua, who had been appointed on that officer's nomination, was stripped of all his belongings and dismissed; the Bar Phukan was accused of disloyalty and barbarously murdered, and the Solāl Gohāin shared the same fate. The Bairāgi who had led the attack on Gauhāti was beheaded. All persons of the Moāmariā persuasion within the tract owning allegiance to the king were hunted down, robbed and tortured to death; and the brutalities to which they were subjected were so appalling that many committed suicide to avoid falling into the hands of their persecutors.
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The greatest confusion ensued, and the grip of the central administration on the outlying provinces was seriously weakened. At Gauhāti a Bengali mercenary, named Hajāra Singh, held the post of Bar Phukan at his disposal. He sold it to one candidate for ten thousand rupees, and then supplanted him in favour of another, who bid sixty thousand rupees. The latter is reputed to have raised the wherewithal for payment by despoiling the Kāmākhyā, Hājo and other temples of their gold and silver utensils. Hajāra Singh was at length defeated and killed by some mercenaries brought up from Bengal.
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Meanwhile, in Upper Assam, steps were being taken to form a standing army, modelled on the pattern of that maintained by the East India Company. It was recruited in the first instance from men who had served with credit in the Burhā Gohāin's operations against the Moāmariās. They were given a uniform, armed with flint-lock guns purchased in Calcutta, and drilled and disciplined by two of Captain Welsh's native officers, who had been induced by heavy bribes to remain in Assam.* With the aid of this force the king's officers were once more able to show a bold front to the Moāmariās and other internal enemies, and, but for the intervention of the Burmese, the downfall of the Ahom dynasty might have been considerably delayed.
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The Ahoms were not, however, able to retain their hold of Sadiya. In 1794 this place was taken by the Khāmtis, who had descended from the hills to the east some fifty or sixty years previously, and had established themselves, with the permission of the Ahom Raja, on the bank of the Tengapāni. They defeated a so-called Raja, who had been set up by some Doms of the Moāmariā sect, and reduced the local Assamese to slavery. Their chief arrogated to himself the title of Sadiya Khowā Gohāin.
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Gaurināth Singh did not long survive his restoration to power. In less than eighteen months after Captain Welsh's return to Bengal he was seized with a mortal illness, and, on the 19th December, 1794. his misspent life came to an end. The Burhā Gohāin, who was on the spot, concealed his death; and, on the pretence that the king had sent for the Bar Barua, induced that officer to come to the palace, where, still using the king's name, he caused him to be arrested and put to death. Having got rid of his most powerful rival, he announced Gaurināth's death and appointed as his successor Kināram, a descendant of Gadādhar Singh who, he declared, had been nominated by Gaurināth himself on his death-bed.
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∗ Previous to this time flint guns were not in use in Assam. There was, however, a plentiful supply of matchlocks. Captain Welsh found twenty thousand of these weapons at Gauhāti, but the officials had so neglected their duties that there were few who knew how to use them.
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Gaurināth was the most incompetent, blood-thirsty, His disreputable and cowardly of all the Ahom kings. He was character. described by Captain Welsh as "a poor debilitated man, incapable of transacting business, always either washing or praying, and, when seen, intoxicated with opium." His vindictive treatment of the Moāmariās and other enemies has already been mentioned. But the stimulus of hatred or revenge was not needed to induce him to perpetrate the grossest barbarities; he would frequently do so from the sheer love of inflicting suffering on others, and he never moved out without a body of executioners ready to carry out his sanguinary orders. Many stories are told which reveal his cruel and brutal nature, but a single instance will suffice. One of his servants having inadvertently answered a question intended for another, he instantly caused him to be seized, his eyeballs to be extracted, and his ears and nose to be cut off. Gaurināth neglected entirely the duties of his kingly office, which he left to his intriguing and corrupt favourites. These were stigmatized by Captain Welsh as "a set of villains, all drawing different ways." It was probably the vices and excesses of the king and his parasites, quite as much as the physical and moral deterioration of the people, that led to the ignominious overthrow of his government by the Moāmariā rabble. The signal success of Captain Welsh's small force, ably handled though it was, clearly shows what contemptible foes the Moāmariās really were; and it is impossible to believe that the Ahoms, much as they may have degenerated, would have been unable to repel them, had they presented a united front, instead of being distracted by jealousy and mutual distrust, and had not their loyalty been sapped by the brutal excesses of the inhuman monster, who called himself their king, and of his equally infamous ministers.
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During his reign the people, who had hitherto enjoyed a fair measure of happiness and prosperity, were plunged into the depths of misery and despair. Where the Moāmariās held sway, whole villages were destroyed, and the inhabitants, robbed of all their possessions, were forced to flee the country, or to eke out a precarious existence by eating wild fruits and roots and the flesh of unclean animals. The country between Dergāon and Rangpur, once so highly cultivated, was found desolate by Captain Welsh, and many large villages had been entirely deserted by their inhabitants.* In Lower Assam the Bengal mercenaries and gangs of marauding banditti who flocked into the province caused similar, though less widespread, havoc, while where Gaurināth himself had power, all persons belonging to the Moāmariā communion were subjected to all manner of persecutions and barbarities.
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Some interesting information regarding the condition of the country towards the close of the eighteenth century is contained in Captain Welsh's reports. At that time Gauhāti was an extensive and populous town. It was situated on both banks of the Brahmaputra and extended to the neighbouring hills. Along a portion of the river bank there was a rampart, on which were mounted one hundred and thirteen guns of different calibre, including three of European manufacture. The only other fortification of any kind was a large oblong enclosure, a hundred yards from the river, surrounded by a brick wall six feet in height, with a narrow wet ditch inside and out, and containing a thatched building, so large that the whole of the detachment found accommodation in it. Rangpur, which had been for many years the Ahom capital, was a large and thickly populated town, twenty miles in extent. In the centre was an enclosure, similar to that found at Gauhāti, but much out of repair. The surrounding country had been very highly cultivated. The nobles held large tracts of land, which were tilled by their slaves, but the produce was never brought to market, and it was all but impossible to buy grain. Salt and opium were found more serviceable than money as a means of procuring supplies.
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∗ In his last letter to Sir John Shore begging for the retention of the British detachment, Gaurināth affirmed that the Moāmariās had destroyed "cows, Brāhmans, women and children" to the extent of one hundred thousand lives.
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At the sale of the loot taken at Rangpur, rice in the husk was sold at the rate of six hundred pounds per rupee, while buffaloes fetched five rupees, and cows two rupees, each.* In spite of these low prices and the consequent dearness of money, the resources of the country were such that Gaurināth was able to offer a large subsidy for the retention of the British troops.
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The trade with Bengal was considerable, and the officials who farmed the customs revenue paid Rs. 90,000 a year to the Bar Phukan of which, however, only Rs. 26,000 reached the royal treasury. Before the disturbances the registered imports of salt from Bengal amounted to 120,000 maunds a year, or barely one-sixth of the quantity imported at the present day. At that time, however, a certain amount was produced locally, and some, no doubt, was smuggled past the custom house. The money price was three times as great as it is now, while, measured in paddy, it was more than forty times as great. It was thus quite beyond the means of the common people.
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