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Home / IAS Preparation / Battle Of Saraighat

Battle of Saraighat - Background, Causes, Preparation & Aftermath

Last Updated on Aug 28, 2024
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The battle of SARAIGHAT 1671, was fought between the Ahom Kingdom and the Mughal Empireon on the banks of river Brahmaputra. It was a naval battle and the last battle of Saraighat, the last attempt to capture Assam and extend the empire by the Mughals. In this last battle of Saraighat, Ahom Kingdom was led by Lachit Borphukan and the Mughal Empire was led by Raja Ram Singh. The Ahoms won this battle, but in 1672, Lachit Borphukan died one year later, and Guwahati was taken back by the Mughals in 1679. Guwahati was again won by the Ahom Kingdom in 1682 in the Battle of Itakhuli, and with this, the presence of Mughals was ended in Assam, and the Mughals took no further step to capture it against the Ahom Kingdom.

The battle of Saraighat is one of the important topics for the UPSC IAS EXAM. It also covers a significant part of History in the General Studies Paper-1 prelims and mains General Studies Paper-1.

In this article, we shall cover the causes, Aftermath, and important facts in detail for UPSC.

Fig: Ahom Kingdom

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Causes of the Battle of Saraighat
  • In 1661, the then Mughals emperor Aurangzeb ordered Mir Jumla, the Mughal Viceroy, to capture Assam as the BRAHMAPUTRA valley was strategically important and Ahom Kingdom was defeated, and they lost their capital Garhgaon to the Mughals. King Jayadhwaj Singha, the King of the Ahom Kingdom, agreed to the treaty of Asurar Ali by giving the area from Guwahati to the Manas River to the Mughals. King Chakradhwaj Singha, the successor, appointed Lachit Borphukan as the commander-in-chief and wanted to recover the lost areas.
  • Lachit attacked and managed to capture Guwahati. Then he started ensuring the safety of Guwahati by erecting walls and creating obstacles in case of a retaliatory attack by the Mughals. Guwahati was surrounded by River BRAHMAPUTRA and had naturally made barriers like hillocks.
  • In 1669, the Mughal army, which consisted of 4000 troopers,18000 cavalries, 2000 shieldmen and archers, and 40 ships with additional forces of Koch Bihar, reached the Manas River. 
  • Lachit Borphukan was aware of the strength of this huge army, so he chose the hilly terrain of Guwahati, where Mughal forces would not be that mobile. 
  • So he prepared mud embankments in Guwahati to make it difficult to access by land and force them for a naval war.
  •  Near the Manas River, the Mughals defeated some Ahoms. Lachit strategically retreated to Guwahati and started negotiations with Ram Singh via Firuz Khan and Guerrilla warfare as he knew that his forces could not open an attack with the huge army of Mughals. Ram Singh was frustrated and wanted a duel with them, but Chakradhwaj Singha denied it. 
    • He ordered Lachit Borphukan to attack Mughal forces. Following his orders, Lachit Borphukan sent 40,000 soldiers dressed as Brahmans so that Rajput warriors of Mughal forces desist from killing them. 
    • Thus a battle between Ram Singh and Ahoms took place at Alaboi Hills.In this, Ahoms lost thier 10,000 soldires. 
    • These negotiations, attacks, and diplomacy of the Mughals continued for a year but failed and thus, the Mughals launched a naval attack on the BRAHMAPUTRA River at Saraighat.

Also, read about the Third Battle Of Panipat here!

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Preparations of Ahom for the War

The Ahom king Jayadhwaj Singha passed away in despair after the terrible loss that Mir Jumla suffered. He urged his cousin and chosen successor Chakradhwaj Singha to "take the spear of disgrace from the nation's bosom" as he lay dying. 

Then, the Ahom kingdom underwent a complete makeover. At the proper khels, people who had dispersed due to Mir Jumla's invasion were rehabilitated. Food and military production were also raised, new forts were built and maintained, and an expeditionary force led by Lachit Borphukan was formed. Alliances with the Jaintia and Kachari kingdoms were renewed.

During this period, Mughal imperial demands were carefully and diplomatically refused, but when the new faujdar of Guwahati, Firuz Khan, forced the matter in March 1667, the Ahoms were compelled to move. Lachit Borphukan and Atan Burhagohain commanded the Ahom army when they sailed downstream to recapture Guwahati in August 1667.

What Happened During the Battle of Saraighat?

The Mughals were ready to compensate the Ahoms and wanted them to honour the Treaty of Asurar Ali 1639, which marked the Asurar Ali in the South Bank and Barnadi River in the north bank of Brahmaputra as the boundary of the Ahom Kingdom.

Ahoms rejected this proposal because Atan Buragohain suspected that the Mughal Empire would not stand true to the commitment given by Ram Singh, and by honoring the treaty, Ahoms had to give Guwahati to the Mughals, which in turn would give strategic benefits to the Mughals. Thus Ahoms refused and did not want to give the western part of their Kingdom to the Mughals. They also doubted that Because of the strategic benefits of Guwahati, the Mughals could use it to attack the western part of their kingdom.

After this diplomacy of negotiations and compensation failed, the Mughals decided to attack the Ahoms and launched a massive naval attack. But Ahoms were demotivated due to their earlier defeat, and at this crucial time, Lachit Borphukan was seriously ill. Some of the soldiers even started retreating.

Then Lachit Borphukan ordered his troops to carry him to the boat and sent an order via Katakis to all naval and land forces to attack when the Mughals were about to land at Andharubali. This step of their leader had a huge impact on Ahoms and motivated them, and they entered the River with a large number of small Ahoms boats very quickly and smashed them into the large Mughal warships. It took a lot of work for the Mughals to maneuver against this attack.

Ahoms created a combined front and rear attack by filling the triangle in the Brahmaputra River with men and boats, which was between Itakhuli, Aswakranta, and Kamakhya. Munnawar Khan, a Mughal admiral, was killed by a gunshot. With this, Ahoms persuaded the Mughals to the Manas River, the western boundary of the Ahom Kingdom, which marked their Victory over the Mughals.

Fig : Ahom's defence during the battle of Saraighat

Comparison of Military Forces of Mughals and the Ahom Kingdom in the Battle of Saraighat

Ahoms won the battle of Saraighat even with a weaker military compared to the Mughals.

Mughal forces in 1669 consisted of ” 4,000 troopers from Char Hazaari mansab, 1500 Ahadis soldiers recruited by the Emperor, 500 Barqandez ,30,000 infantrymen, 40 warships, 21 Rajput commanders/ chief with their respective contingent, 2000 archers and shieldmen and 18,000 cavalries.

Mughal forces highly outnumbered ahom forces and thus could not face a battle in open plains. Thus they created mud embankments specifically for the cavalry to make their movement difficult so that they were forced to take the naval way, as Ahoms knew that naval defense was the weakest point of the Mughals.

Also, read about the battle of Buxar/buxar war here!

The aftermath of the Battle of Saraighat

Ahoms won in 1671, but the next year in 1672, due to natural causes, Lachit Borphukan died. Lachit Borphukan’s successor Laluk Sola abandoned Guwahati, which was then captured by the Mughals in 1679. But later, in the Battle of Itakhuli in 1682, Ahom forces led by Dihingia Alun Borbarua defeated the Mughals, and the Ahom Kingdom got the Guwahati back. This ended the Mughal-Ahom conflict permanently, and the Mughals took no further steps to expand their presence in Assam against the Ahom Kingdom.

Escalation of the Mughal-Ahom Conflict

The Mughals tried to persuade the king to accept vassalage under their empire diplomatically, but they were rejected. A reorganised Ahom army led by Lachit soon marched toward Guhwati. Lachit seized possession of Guhawati from the Mughals by seizing the five choukies that guarded it.

After obtaining reinforcements, the Mughals marched against the Ahoms again, but continual Ahom attacks on their positions at the Manas River compelled them to give up. The Manas River was once more under the power of the Ahom Dynasty. Only through the Brahmaputra river's passage through Saraighat, whose narrow spots were perfect for defensive action, was an eastern advance possible.

Ram Sing even deceitfully tried to get Lachit Borphukan out, but it wasn't successful. The Mughal and Ahom kings, whose patience had run out due to the protracted conflict, each instructed their commanders to lead their respective armies in a decisive battle that would take place at Saraighat in 1671.

Points to Remember
  • Aurangzeb was the Mughal Emperor at the Battle of Saraighat and ruled from 1658 to 1707.
  • Lachit Borphukan was the leader of the Ahom Kingdom during the battle of Saraighat, and to honour him.
  • The battle of Saraighat was fought on the Brahmaputra River, which flows through their entire territory, divides the kingdom almost into two halves, and then enters present-day Bangladesh.
  • Every year in the National Defense Academy, the gold medal at the Passing out Parade has been granted to cadets since 1999.

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Battle of Saraighat FAQs

Ahoms defeated the Mughals by making the movement difficult in open fields by creating obstacles and mud embankments and smart diplomatic negotiations, guerrilla tactics, psychological warfare, and military intelligence forcing them to choose the naval attack and then they created a combined front and rear attack using small boats against their huge warships.

Aurangzeb was the Mughal Emperor at the time of the battle of Saraighat. He ordered Mir Jumla who was the Mughal Viceroy to capture Assam.

Chakradhwaj Singha was the Ahom king during the battle of Saraighat.

The battle of SARAIGHAT was in March 1671 between the Ahom Kingdom and the Mughal forces.

The Ahom Kingdom won the battle of Saraighat even with a weaker military in comparison to the Mughals.

The naval war between the Ahom Kingdom and the Mughals was fought on the River BRAHMAPUTRA at Saraighat, Assam.
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