Kachari Kingdom

The Kachari kingdom (called Dimasa Kingdom in medieval times) was a powerful kingdom in medieval Assam. The rulers belonged to the Dimasa people, part of the greater Bodo-Kachari ethnic group. The Kachari kingdom along with others kingdoms (Kamata, Chutiya), are examples of state formations among the Bodo-Kachari ethnic groups that developed in Medieval Assam in the wake of the ancient Kamarupa Kingdom. Remnant of the Kachari kingdom existed till the advent of the British, and this kingdom gave its name to two present districts in Assam: Cachar and North Cachar Hills.

The origin of the Kachari kingdom is not clear. Some historians speculate that they are the remnants of the Mlechchha dynasty of Kamarupa kingdom. [Harvcol|Bhattacharjee|1992|pp=392-393] According to tradition, the Kacharis (Dimasas) had to leave the Kamarupa Kingdom in the ancient period due to a political turmoil. As they crossed the Brahmaputra river some of their compatriots were swept away down river. Later they came to be called Dimasa ("Dima-fisa", sons of the great river Dima, the Dhansiri river). [Harvcol|Gogoi|1968|p=268] It is conjectured that the initial state formation began in the Sadiya region (coterminous with the later Chutiya kingdom) because the Dimasas and the Chutiyas have a common tradition of the worship of "Kechai Khaiti", the goddess in Sadiya. [Harvcol|Bhattacharjee|1992|p=393]

At Dimapur

By the 13th century the Kachari kingdom extended along the southern banks of Brahmaputra river, from Dikhu river to Kallang river and included the valley of Dhansiri and present-day North Cachar Hills district. According to the Buranjis, the Kachari settlements to the east of Dhansiri withdrew before the Ahom advance. The Chutiya kingdom existed further east and the Kamata kingdom to its west.

Hostilities with Ahoms

The Ahoms settled into the tract between the Chutiya and the Kachari kingdoms that was inhabited by the Borahi and Matak peoples. The first clash with the Ahom kingdom took place in 1490, in which the Ahoms were defeated. The Ahoms sued for peace, and an Ahom princess was offered to the Kachari king and the Kachari took control of the land beyond the Dhansiri. But the Ahoms were getting powerful and pushed the Kacharis back west. In 1526 the Kacharis defeated the Ahoms in a battle, but in the same year they were defeated in a second battle. In 1531 the Ahoms advanced up to Dimapur, the capital of the Kachari kingdom, removed Khunkhara the Kachari king and installed Detsung in his place. But in 1536 the Ahoms attacked the Kachari capital once again and sacked the city. The Kacharis abandoned Dimapur and retreated south to set up their new capital in Maibong.

At Maibong

At Maibong, the Kacharis kings came under Brahmin influence. The son of Dersongphaa took a Hindu name, Nirbhay Narayan, and established his Brahmin guru as the "Dharmadhi" that became an important institution of the state. The king's genealogy was drawn from Bhima of the Pandavas, and his son Ghatotkacha born to Hidimba. The kingdom then came to be known as Heramba, and the rulers Herambeswar.

The king was assisted in his state duties by a council of ministers ("Patra" and "Bhandari"), led by a chief called "Barbhandari". These and other state offices were manned by people of the Dimasa group, who were not necessarily Hinduized. There were about 40 clans (called "Sengfong") of the Dimasa people, each of which sent a representative to the royal assembly called "Mel", a powerful institution that could elect a king. The representatives sat in the "Mel mandap" (Council hall) according to the status of the "Sengfong" and provided a counterfoil to royal powers.

The "Sengfongs" became hierarchical in due course. There were five royal "Sengfongs", but most of the kings belonged to the "Hacengha" clan. Some of the clans provided specialized services to the state—ministers, ambassadors, store keepers, court writers etc, and ultimately developed into professional groups: "Songyabsa" (king's cooks), "Nyablasa" (fishermen) etc.

By the 17th century the Kachari rule extended into the plains of Cachar. The plains people did not participate in the courts of the Kachari king directly. They were organized according to "khels", and the king provided justice and collected revenue via an official called the "Uzir". Though the plains people did not participate in the Kachari royal court, the Dharmadhi guru and other Brahmins in the court cast a considerable influence, especially with the beginning of the 18th century.

Neighboring states

Chilarai attacked the Kachari kingdom in 1562 during the reign of Durlabh Narayan and made it into a tributary of the Koch kingdom. The size of the annual tribute—seventy thousand gold "mohars" and sixty elephants— testify to the resourcefulness of the Kachari state. A small colony of Koch soldiers, who came to be known as "Dehans", enjoyed special privileges in the Kachari kingdom. A conflict with the Jaintia king over the region of Dimarua led to a battle and the defeat of the Jaintia king (Dhan Manik).

After the death of Dhan Manik, Satrudaman the Kachari king, installed Jasa Manik on the throne who is said to have manipulated events to bring the Kacharis into conflict with the Ahoms once again in 1618. Satrudaman, the most powerful Kachari king, ruled over Dimarua in Nagaon district, North Cachar, Dhansiri valley, plains of Cachar and parts of eastern Sylhet. After his conquest of Sylhet, he stuck coins in his name.

At Khaspur

The region of Khaspur was originally a part of the Tripura kingdom, which was taken over by Chilarai in the 16th century. The region was ruled by a tributary ruler, Kamalnarayana, the brother of Chilarai. After the decline of Koch power, Khaspur became independent. In the middle of the 18th century, the last of the Koch rulers died without an heir and the control of the kingdom went to the ruler of the Kachari kingdom. After the merger, the capital of the Kachari kingdom moved to Khaspur, near present-day Silchar.

British occupation

After Gobinda Chandra the British annexed the Kachari kingdom under the Doctrine of lapse. At the time of British annexation, the kingdom consisted of parts of Nagaon and Karbi Anglong; North Cachar, Cachar and the Jiri frontier of Manipur.

Rulers

At Dimapur
* Bicharpatipha
* Vikramadityapha
* Mahamanipha
* Manipha
* Ladapha
* Khorapha
* Khunkhorapha
* Detsungpha

At Maibong
* Nirbhay Narayan (1540-c1550)
* Durlabh Narayan or Harmesvar (c1550-1576)
* Megha Narayana (1576-1583)
* Satrrudaman (Pratap Narayan, Jasa Narayan) (1583-1613)
* Nar Narayan (1613-)
* Bhimdarpa Narayan (Bhimbal Konwar) (-1637)
* Indraballabh Narayan (1637-)
* Birdarpa Narayan (-1681)
* Garurdhwaj Narayan
* Makardhwaj
* Udayaditya
* Tamradhwaj Narayan (1699-1708)
* Queen Chandraprabha
* Suradarpa Narayan (-1730)
* Dharmadhwaj Narayan (Harischandra Narayan)
* Kirichandra Narayan (1735-1745)
* Gopichandra Narayan (1745-1757)

At Khaspur
* Harischandra II (1757-1772)
* Krishnachandra Narayan (1772-1813)
* Gobindchandra Narayan (1813-1830)

Notes

References

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