New Delhi: Assam’s Charaideo Moidams, or royal burial mounds, are India’s only entry for recognition as a World Heritage Site in the cultural category in 2023-24, state Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced Saturday.
According to the Assam CM, out of 52 temporary sites across the country, pitched by other states, Charaideo Moidams was chosen by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as India’s entry. Sarma said a UNESCO team will visit the site in September and it is expected to be declared a World Heritage Site by March next year.
The Charaideo Moidam mounds contain the remains of the royal houses of the Ahom dynasty, which ruled present-day Assam for 600 years – from the 13th century to the 19th century.
The selection of Charaideo Moidams as India’s UNESCO World Heritage Site entry followed repeated invocations of the Ahom dynasty by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
In 2022, on the 400th anniversary of the 17th century Ahom general Lachit Borphukan, central government A three-day festival was organized in Delhi from 23 November. During the event, a documentary on the life of Lachit Borphukan, revered as a Hindu hero, was also launched. The state observes November 24 as Lachit Divas.
What are Moidams?
Among the Moidams are the remains of the royal house of the Ahom dynasty. Earlier, the Ahoms were buried, but after the 18th century, they adopted the Hindu method of cremation, and the bones and ashes were encased in a “moidam”, which is an earthen pyramid. These Moidams are commonly known as Pyramids of Assam,
Sarma said, “Of the 386 Moidams that have been discovered so far, the 90 royal burials at Charaideo are the best preserved, representative and most complete examples of this tradition.” in a letter To PM on 16 January,
Charaidev, or “shining city on a hilltop”, was the first capital established by the dynasty’s founder king Chaolung Sukapha in 1229 CE. During the 600 years of Ahom rule, the capital was shifted several times. So far, Charaidev The symbolic center of power remained.
Who were the Ahoms?
Ahom Allegedly represented a time when “the Assamese race was united and capable of fighting a foreign, formidable force such as the Mughals”. Arup Kumar Dutta, author of the book, said, “The British reduced a brave race to a degenerate one…Even in free India, we had to fight for everything.” Ahom Media has been quoted as saying.
The Ahoms, who were non-Hindu, converted to Hinduism, the local religion, during the reign of Sudangpha (1397–1407). “It was the first time that Hinduism, which was the dominant religion outside the Ahom territory, entered at the very top. Hindu rituals including the worship of the Lakshmi-Narayan Shaligram in addition to the Shan Murti Somdev began to be performed in the royal palace. Later, the Hindu Lord Indra removed langdan (ruler of heaven) in Ahom and Ahom kings started adopting Hindu names in addition to Shan titles,” Dutta wrote in the book.
Ahom in current politics
For the 2021 assembly elections in Assam, the Ahoms along with Assam’s “greatest military hero” Borphukan played a central role in the BJP’s campaign.
Borphukan was a general in the Ahom kingdom and is best known for his leadership in the 1671 Battle of Saraighat, which thwarted an attempt by the Mughal army to capture Assam.
Last year, on the occasion of the 400th birth anniversary of Borphukan, PM Modi had tweeted, ‘Congratulations on Lachit Diwas. This Lachit Day is special because we are celebrating the 400th birth anniversary of the great Lachit Borphukan. He was a symbol of incomparable courage. He kept the welfare of the people above everything else and was a just and visionary leader.
We bow to the brave Lachit Borphukan on his 400th birth anniversary. He played an important role in preserving the culture of Assam. https://t.co/w8eG6BAGby
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 25, 2022
PM Modi was also mentioned in March 2021 borphukan As a freedom fighter, saying that he “contributed to freedom”.
The general died about 200 years before the independence movement.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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