An eye opener from history

These are memoirs of another day, memories of another war. An autobiography written on sanchi paat (bark of a tree) nearly 200 years ago has opened a new chapter in Assam’s history and of the country’s freedom movement. It was not Mangal Pandey, but an Ahom prince perhaps who first raised the banner of revolt against the British in 1827, thirty years before the Sepoy Mutiny, according to recently recovered manuscripts.

The prince Gamadhar Konwar along with compatriot Dhanjoy Borgohain had organized a revolt against the British at Mariani to free Assam, a year after it was annexed by the British from the Ahoms with the signing of the treaty of Yandabo."

History must acknowledge Konwar's contribution to India's freedom struggle which came to light with the discovery of a 30-page 'sanchi pat' or tree bark manuscript two years ago," said Jintu Hazarika, secretary of a group formed to ensure that the prince received his due place in the annals of history.

The manuscript was written by Konwar's close associate Mokham Barua in Tai language in the form of a diary.It was lying with Barua's descendants for the last two centuries till it was discovered by a Tai teacher, Mridul Phukon from Deodhai village in Sibsagar district, Hazarika said.

Recovered recently from near Sivasagar, the memoirs belong to a king named Gamadhar Konwar, who is even now a little-known figure in Assam. But experts on Tai-Ahom history said they are reconstructing a priceless mosaic of facts, one which will reveal Gamadhar Konwar in a new light: as the first Indian to have started the freedom struggle against the British Empire, much before Mangal Pandey rose in rebellion in 1857.

Mridul Phukon, an expert on Tai language from Sivasagar, has translated the autobiography from the original Tai language into Assamese. It has also been adapted into a play to mobilize public opinion so that recognition is given to Gamadhar Konwar?s heroism.

Gamadhar, a close relative of Ahom king Pratap Singha, had set up his own kingdom at Nakachari in Jorhat district in 1828 and declared war against the British.
He managed to garner the support of tribal chieftains of the region. He also set ablaze a British armoury at Rongpur, now in Sivasagar district, and then fled to Nagaland.
The British kept Gamadhar’s mother under house arrest for several months in a bid to capture him. Gamadhar was later imprisoned by the British and sent to the Andamans in 1828.

Nothing is known about Gamadhar after he was sent to the Cellular Jail in the Andamans, known as kala pani then. Nor does the book mention anything further.
The autobiography in Tai language was written in 1828, two years after the signing of the Treaty of Yandaboo, which brought Assam under British rule.

Phukon said the 120-page memoirs, named Ko Mou Ko Bang (Moments of Life), was recovered from the house of one Bhabakanata Phukon of Sivasagar. Mridul Phukon translated the book into Assamese and Jatin Hazarika adapted it as a play.

Phukon said the play would be staged in Guwahati soon. “We are planning to take this play to Rabindra Bhawan in the state capital so as to publicise the fact that Gamadhar was the first in the country to stand up against the British” says Phukan.

Pointing out that there was nothing fictional in this drama, Phukon said it was a true story of one of the greatest sons of the soil who finds very little mention in the pages of history.