Proud moment for descendants of last Ahom ruler

Guwahati: The descendants of King Purandar Singha, the last ruler of the Ahom kingdom, celebrated with great pride after the Moidams in Assam’s Charideo district were designated as a Unesco World Heritage site on Friday. The Moidams are burial mounds of Ahom kings, queens, and nobles, featuring unique pyramid-like structures.Rajkumar Alok Narayan Singha, the great-grandson of Purandar Singha, expressed his joy at this recognition, acknowledging the efforts of the state government and other stakeholders in achieving this milestone. He told TOI over phone that receiving the World Heritage site tag from Unesco 76 years after India’s Independence is a significant source of pride for both the Ahom community and the entire state of Assam. “Tourist flow from abroad or from other parts of the country used to visit the Moidams in order to know the rich history and culture of Ahom dynasty, which is unique in the world, will now increase as people across the globe will now get to know about it,” he added.Alok Narayan extended his gratitude to the state government for taking initiatives to spotlight the legacy of Ahom General Lachit Borphukan, who famously saved Assam from the Mughals by defeating them in the Battle of Saraighat in 1671, and the Moidams on the world stage. He elaborated, “Even people of other parts of the country did not know or had less knowledge about the Ahom rule for 600 years. People in other parts of the country as well as the world do not know the history of the Ahom, how they adopted the culture and language after arriving in Assam in 1228 AD and how they converted to Hinduism. People will now get attracted to the moidams and other relevant things related to Ahom dynasty with getting the world heritage site tag.”Rajkumar Alok Narayan Singha, who currently resides in Jorhat district, is part of a lineage that traces back to his father Nagendra Narayan Singha, grandfather Chandra Narayan Singha, and great grandfather Purandar Singha himself. Purandar Singha’s reign was short-lived due to the second Burmese invasion of Assam in 1819, but he was later installed as a tributary ruler of upper Assam by the British in 1833 after they took control of the region from the Burmese invaders following the Treaty of Yandaboo in 1826.Alok Narayan shared with TOI, “In 1888, the British government gave the charge of running ‘mouza’ to my grandfather and since then, the family has been handling the job of ‘mouzadar’. I am looking after two mouzas – Jorhat town and Garmur — after my elder brother Rajkumar Ajit Narayan Singha’s death a few years ago, who had taken charge after our father’s demise.”The recognition of Moidams as a Unesco World Heritage site is expected to boost tourism, shedding light on the rich historical and cultural heritage of the Ahom dynasty, and attracting global attention to this significant historical site.
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