Ahom rebellion | |||
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![]() Sculpture of the Ahom Rebellion in Shaheedi Park, Delhi. | |||
Date | 1828 | ||
Location | |||
Goals | Withdrawal of British troops from Ahom territories | ||
Resulted in | Company victory | ||
Parties | |||
| |||
Lead figures | |||
Gomdhar Konwar ContentsCaptain Neufville | |||
Casualties | |||
Arrested | Gomdhar Konwar | ||
Charged | Treason |
Ahom Rebellion was an attempted uprising against the British East India Company in 1828 in Rangpur in present-day Assam. [1] The rebellion was led by Gondhar Konwar, a prince of the Ahom dynasty, along with his followers. [2] This is considered to be the first instance of a demand for independence from the British rule in Assam. [3]
At the end of the first Anglo-Burmese War, the East India Company signed the treaty of Yandabo in 1826. [4] According to this treaty, Burma was to give the land of Assam to the British. [5] The British had previously promised the Ahom king and local chiefs that following the war, the British troops shall withdraw from their territory.
Konwar, with the support of his counterparts Dhanjoi Borgohain and Jayram Kharagoria Phukan, charged at the British fort in Rangpur. [6] The British, however, found out about the incoming ambush and were already prepared for it. The rebellion was suppressed near Deberapar Marangial Namghar, although the three leaders were able to escape and hide in the Naga Hills. [7]
The East India Company pressured the kingdom to surrender Konwar to them, which they eventually did. Konwar was charged with treason and was sentenced to death. However, to maintain peaceful relation with the Ahom people, they reduced his sentence to seven years in exile. They also withdrew from the land as they had promised, and ceded it to the then Ahom king Purandar Singha. [8] [9]