Fury over destruction of 300-year-old Ahom Maidam in Sivasagar

Dibrugarh: In a brazen act of cultural vandalism, land mafias have demolished nearly 90% of a 300-year-old Maidam — a sacred pyramid-shaped burial mound of the Ahom dynasty — in Mohan Gaon under the historic Maduri Gohain area of Nazira in Sivasagar district.The mound belonged to the lineage of Laithepena Borgohain, a 17th-century minister and nobleman who was the father of Sati Joymoti, Assam’s legendary princess.The destruction came to light on Wednesday when locals alerted the All Tai Ahom Students’ Union (Atasu). Their members rushed to the site and were horrified to find the towering Maidam, a testament to Ahom architectural grandeur, reduced to rubble by heavy excavators wielded by land supply contractors.Atasu leaders Shyamal Boruah and Lolit Chetia filed a complaint at Nazira Model Police Station against prime suspect Biswarup Handique, a local land contractor. They have demanded his immediate arrest and strict action to prevent further desecration.“This is not just an attack on a historical structure, it’s an assault on our heritage and the memory of icons like Sati Joymoti. We found excavator tracks and flattened earth where the Maidam once stood proudly. Almost 90% is gone. This systematic destruction must be investigated as a deliberate cultural crime,” said Shyamal Boruah, the president of Atasu’s Nazira unit, urging the state govt to intervene.The Maidam’s significance runs deep into Ahom history. Laithepena Borgohain served as a key minister during the early 17th century, navigating the dynasty’s turbulent politics. His daughter, Joymoti Konwari — immortalised as Sati Joymoti — etched her name in folklore through her ultimate sacrifice. In the mid-17th century, under the reign of King Sulikpha (Lora Raja), Joymoti endured 14 days of torture at Jerenga Pathar in present-day Sivasagar. Soldiers demanded the hiding place of her husband, Prince Gadapani, exiled in the Naga Hills amid the king’s purge of young royals. Joymoti refused to betray him, dying heroically and paving the way for Gadapani to return, ascend the throne as Gadadhar Singha (1681-1696), and stabilise the kingdom.