A History of Assam c14.11

c14.11

∗ 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.