Lachit Day in Assam Date in the current year: November 24, 2024

Lachit was born on November 24, 1622. His father was a counselor to the King of Ahom and commander-in-chief of the Ahom army. Having received his education, Lachit had held several offices at the court of King Supangmung, also known as Chakradhwaj Singha, until he was finally appointed as the Borphukan (the governor of the region west of Kaliabor who held both executive and judicial powers).

In 1667, Supangmung appointed Lachit commander-in-chief of the Ahom army and tasked him with protecting the kingdom from the Mughal Empire. Lachit raised the army and liberated the capital city of Guwahati from the Mughals and subsequently prevented it from being recaptured by the Mughal forces during the Battle of Saraighat that took place in 1671.

After suffering another defeat from Lachit’s forces, the Mughal army led by Ram Singh I sailed up the Brahmaputra from Dhaka to Assam, determined to make another attempt to recapture Guwahati. It consisted of 30,000 infantry, 18,000 cavalry, 15,000 archers and 5,000 gunners, and had a large flotilla of boats and over a thousand cannons.

To discredit Lachit and weaken his army, Rama Singh I resorted to a dirty trick. He shot an arrow carrying a letter into an Ahom camp. The letter said that Lachit had agreed to surrender Guwahati to the enemy for money. The letter was eventually brought to Supangmung, who started to doubt his commander-in-chief’s loyalty. However, the king’s chief counselor convinced the king that the letter was a frame-up.

Lachit, although seriously ill, led a flotilla of seven boats against the Mughal fleet down the Brahmaputra. The Mughals attacked Lachit’s forces near Saraighat and engaged them in a desperate battle. Lachit defeated them, forcing the Mughals retreat from Guwahati. After that, the Mughals abandoned their attempts to conquer Ahom for several years. Lachit died about a year after his glorious victory due to natural causes. He was 49 years old.

In the state of Assam, where the Ahom Kingdom used to be back in the day, Lachit is considered a national hero because of his victory at Saraighat. His birthday is celebrated statewide to commemorate Lachit’s heroism and loyalty to his kingdom and its people. Lachit Divas is marked with wreath-laying ceremonies at Lachit’s statues that can be found throughout the state.