The Burmese invasion of Assam denotes the period between 1817 and 1826 when the Ahom Kingdom in Assam was under the control of the Burmese rulers. This period, called the manor din by the Assamese and Chahi-Taret Khuntakpa (seven years of devastation) in Manipuri, is remembered with horror. It was the climactic period of the 600-year old Ahom kingdom. The period ended with the defeat of the Burmese in the First Anglo-Burmese War and the subsequent annexation of the kingdom to British territory.
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In January 1817, after an extensive preparation, a general of Bhamo entered Assam with the guidance of Badan Chandra Borphukan, a fugitive governor of Guwahati. The first battle took place on March 27, 1817 at Ghiladhari. The Assam forces were led by Daman Gogoi, Hao Bora and Jama Khan. The battle continued for a week when Purnananda Burhagohain died due to natural causes. This, according to chronicles, led to the division in the ranks of the Ahom nobility, and due to lack of reinforcements the Assam army surrendered. Ruchinath, the son of Purnananda, became the Burhagohain but left for Guwahati when the Burmese army advanced toward the Ahom capital at Jorhat. The king, Chandrakanta Singha, stayed behind, received Badan Chandra Borphukan and made him the Mantri Phukan. This led Ruchinath to suspect that Chandrakanta Singha was in alliance with Badan Chandra Borphukan.
The Burmese army was paid 100,000 rupees and the commanders were given suitable presents. Hemo Aideo, a daughter of an Ahom prince was sent to the king of Burma with 50 elephants and dowry. The Burmese army left Assam in April 1817. Soon after, Badan Chandra was assassinated. Ruchinath marched against Chandrakanta Singha and made Purandar Singha the king.
Bodawpaya, on hearing this news, sent an army of 20,000 under the command of Kiamingi (Alumingi Borgohain) and guided by Patalang Senapati (Momai Barua). This army was met by an army led by Jaganath Dhekial Phukan on February 15, 1819 at Phulpanisiga, near Janji. The Burmese army was defeated and retreated a short distance. The Assam army returned to the Ahom capital Jorhat leading to much confusion. The Burmese army was able to occupy the capital two days later.
Chandrakanta was reinstated as the king and Patalang became the Borbarua.
In 1819, Bagyidaw became the king and decided to annex Assam to Burma. He sent Mingimaha Tilwa to Assam in February 1821. Patalang Borbarua was killed and Chandrakanta Singha fled to Guwahati. Mingimaha killed a number of Ahom officials and installed Punyadhar (Jogeshwar Singha), a brother of Hemo Aideo, as the king.
There followed a period of triangular conflicts between the forces of Mingimaha Tilwa, Purandhar Singha and Chandrakanta Singha. At the end of this period, Chandrakanta was able to reach Mahgarh near Jorhat in March 1822. Bagyidaw sent in reinforcements under Mingi Maha Bandula who finally defeated the forces of Chandrakanta in April 1822. Chandrakanta fell back to Guwahati, and finally to Assam chaki, where he encountered Mingi Maha Thilawa in June 1822. He was defeated and had to further retreat into the British territory. After this victory, the Burmese invasion of Assam was complete.
In February 1821, a Burmese army of 20,000 (including 10,000 Hkamti Shan and Kachin levies) crossed the snow-clad mountains to Assam from their northernmost forts along the Hukawng valley. After nearly a year and a half of hard fought battles in some of the most difficult terrains in the world, the Burmese forces finally defeated Chandra Kanta Singh and the Assamese army in July 1822, and made Assam a Burmese province under a military governor-general, extinguishing the 600-year-old Ahom court once and for all.[1][2] The Assamese king fled to British territory of Bengal. The British ignored Bandula's demands to surrender the fugitive king, and instead sent reinforcement units to frontier forts.[3] Maha Bandula left a military garrison of 2000 men commanded by Gen. Maha Thilawa, and returned to Ava.[4]
This period is remembered in Assam as very difficult, with the garrison soldiers and native marauders committing atrocities on the common people leading to thousands leaving Assam for Bengal. Much of the neighboring state of Manipur was also laid waste by the marauding armies.
By 1825, the Meiteis had repulsed the Burmese and drove them past the Chindwin river.[5] The occupation led to frequent contacts between the Burmese and the British and finally to the First Burmese war and the Treaty of Yandaboo in 1826. This treaty marked the end of Burmese rule and the beginning of British rule in Assam.
In Buranji-vivek-ratna, Maniram Dewan, an eyewitness writes:
...in attacking the house of a rich man, would tie him with ropes and then set fire to his body. Some they flayed alive, others they burnt in oil and others again they drove in crowds to village Naamghars or prayer-houses, which they then set on fire... It was dangerous for a beautiful woman to meet a Burmese even on the public road. Brahmans were made to carry loads of beef, pork and wine. The Gosains were robbed off all their possessions. Fathers of damsels whom the Burmese took to wives rose speedily to affluence and power.
The sort of fighting and bloody killings that took place between 1812-19 when the Burmese kings of Mandalay tried to conquer and subdue the Shan Ahom kingdom in Assam, India, where the Burmese garrison commander Maha Thilawa's troops committed atrocities. However, the native marauders and hilly tribes, taking advantage of the unstable situation, disguised themselves as Burmese, looted the cities and probably killed more people than the invaders did.[6] The population of Assasm was greatly reduced by 2/3 and 1/3 of the men and boys were killed during this period.[7].
This event so weakened and disorganized the Shan Ahom that by 1839 the kingdom was completely annexed by the British. Before that from about 1220 - 1812 AD they maintained themselves under one Dynasty, (that of Mong Mao 568-1604 AD when its descendants ruled Hsenwi or Theinni in Burmese). Indeed the Shan Ahom resisted conquest by the Mughals who had conquered much of India before the British incursion.[8] [1] Burmese translation of above interview [2]