When is Lachit Divas?
Lachit Divas (Lachit Day) is a regional public holiday in the Indian state of Assam, observed on November 24th each year.
On this holiday, the Assamese government celebrates the birth anniversary of the legendary Ahom army general Lachit Borphukan.
History of Lachit Divas
In the 17th century, the Mughal Empire was dominant across large swathes of the Indian subcontinent. Stretching from the Deccan plateau in South India to Afghanistan and Kashmir in the north, the empire also had designs on Assam which was part of the Ahom Kingdom.
Chao Lachit was an army general (Borphukan) from Assam who fought relentlessly to curb the expansion of the Mughal Empire in Assam and had reversed Mughal territorial gains in the region.
Lachit was the commander at the Battle of Saraighat which was fought in 1671 between the Mughals and the Ahom Kingdom on the Brahmaputra river at Saraighat, now in Guwahati.
Outnumbered and with his troops demoralised after recent losses, Lachit gave a military masterclass by using the terrain, guerrilla tactics and inspirational leadership to score a famous victory and defeat the Mughal forces.
Lachit Borphukan died from natural causes in April 1672 about a year after the Battle Saraighat. His remains lie in the Lachit Maidaam near Jorhat.
Despite the heroic victory at Saraighat, Lachit's brother succeeded him as Borphukan and abandoned Guwahati to Mughal control in 1679, though the Ahoms did take it back once and for all in 1682 and Lachit's victory proved to thwart the Mughal's last major attempt to extend their empire into Assam.
Various events are organised in the state in remembrance of the legendary warrior and tributes are paid at his statues across the state.
Paying tribute to the hero of Assamese history, the Assamese government recently announced it would take the initiative to introduce a chapter on Lachit Borphukan in all school textbooks.
