Ahom state formation and mobilization of natural resources in pre-colonial Assam, India

ABSTRACTThe environment has played a crucial role in the formation of early states in many regions over history. It provided the necessary resources, defenses, and transportation networks, allowing early societies to grow and flourish. States that were able to successfully harness these environmental features were often able to consolidate power and rule for a long run. The Ahoms, a migrant ethnic group, formed a powerful state in Assam from the 13th to 19th century, and their success was largely dependent on their ability to mobilize the natural resources of the region. This study will focus on the Ahom’s agendas regarding mobilization of natural resources and how they utilized these resources to build a strong and prosperous state. This article contributes to our understanding of the ways in which human societies can utilize natural resources and offers valuable insights into the ecological history of the Brahmaputra Valley.KEYWORDS: Ahom statenatural resourceresource mobilizationstate formationpre-colonial assamenvironmental history AcknowledgmentsWe are thankful to the Editor and the Reviewers for their insightful and quick comments on the earlier draft of this paper.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1. Guha, ‘The Ahom Political System: An Enquiry into the State Formation Process in Medieval Assam’; See also Borah, ‘Introduction of Wet Rice Cultivation in Assam and the Role of the Ahoms: A Vexed Historiography.’.2. Lahiri, ‘The Pre-Ahom Roots of Medieval Assam’.3. Kakoty, ‘Technological Changes and Mode of Production in the Evolution of the Ahom State,’ 67.4. Gadgil et. al., This Fissured Land: An Ecological History of India, 17.5. Borah, ‘Exploring the “Green”: A Review of Environment and Ecology as Embedded in the Historical Literature of Pre-Colonial Assam,’ 65.6. Scott, Against the Grain: A Deep History of the Earliest States, 124.7. Guha, Medieval and Early Colonial Assam: Society Polity Economy, 122.8. Dixit et. al., ‘Holocene climatic fluctuations from Lower Brahmaputra flood plain of Assam, northeast India,’ 138.9. Saikia, The Unquiet River: A Biography of the Brahmaputra, 21.10. Bhuyan, Deodhai Assam Buranji, 8.11. Saikia, The Unquiet River: A Biography of the Brahmaputra, 80.12. Guha, ‘The Ahom Political System: An Enquiry into the State Formation Process in Medieval Assam,’ 6.13. Saikia, The Unquiet River: A Biography of the Brahmaputra, 81.14. Goswami, Purani Assam Buranji, 60.15. Tamuli-Phukan, Assam Buranji, 37–38.16. Saikia, The Unquiet River: A Biography of the Brahmaputra, 57–69.17. Bhuyan, Satsari Assam Buranji, 33.18. Konwar ‘Mir Jumla’s Invasion of Assam (1662–63): War Experience of a Dutch Sailor Heiden and Translator Glanius,’ 50–53.19. Martin, The History, Antiquities, Topography, And Statistics of Eastern Assam, 643.20. See Barua, Hem Kosha.21. Saikia, The Unquiet River: A Biography of the Brahmaputra, 90.22. Gadgil et. al., This Fissured Land: An Ecological History of India, 20.23. Guha, Medieval and Early Colonial Assam: Society Polity Economy, 65–70.24. Saikia, The Unquiet River: A Biography of the Brahmaputra, 89.25. Gogoi, Agrarian System of Medieval Assam, 66.26. Sarkar, ‘Assam and the Ahoms in 1660 A.D.’, 180–184.27. Saikia, The Unquiet River: A Biography of the Brahmaputra, 78.28. Gogoi, Agrarian System of Medieval Assam, 168.29. Bhuyan, Satsari Assam Buranji, 98.30. Nath, Climate of Conquest: War, Environment, and Empire in Mughal North India, 68.31. Bhuyan, Deodhai Assam Buranji, 132.32. Nath, Climate of Conquest: War, Environment, and Empire in Mughal North India, 72.33. Gait, A History of Assam, 141.34. Bhattacharjee, ‘Forest Conservation and Management Practices among the Ahom rulers of Pre-Colonial Assam: An Historical Assessment,’ 1–17.35. Barua, Ahom Buranji, 135.36. Nath, Climate of Conquest: War, Environment, and Empire in Mughal North India, 173.37. Ibid., 259.38. Shamsastry, Kautilya’s Arthashastra, 110.39. Guha, Medieval and Early Colonial Assam: Society Polity Economy, 18.40. Barpujari, The Comprehensive History of Assam: Medieval period: Administrative, Economic, Social and Culture, from thirteen century AD to the Treaty of Yandabo, 114.41. Borboruah, Ahomar Din. 429–430.42. Bhuyan, Satsari Assam Buranji, 98.43. Saikia, The Unquiet River: A Biography of the Brahmaputra, 127.44. Gait, A History of Assam, 120.45. Guha, Medieval and Early Colonial Assam: Society Polity Economy, 22.46. Bhuyan, Tungkhungia Buranji, 73.47. Nath, Climate of Conquest: War, Environment, and Empire in Mughal North India, 278.48. Guha, Medieval and Early Colonial Assam: Society Polity Economy, 150.49. Bhattacharjee, ‘Forest Conservation and Management Practices among the Ahom rulers of Pre-Colonial Assam: An Historical Assessment,’ 10.50. Caroline, Adventures of Jean-Baptiste Chevalier in Eastern India (1752–1765), 25.51. Ibid., 29.52. Cederlof, Founding an Empire on India’s North-Eastern Frontiers 1790–1840: Climate, Commerce, Polity, 30.53. Barpujari, The Comprehensive History of Assam: Medieval period: political, from thirteen century AD to the Treaty of Yandabo, 40.54. Robinson, A Descriptive Account of Assam: With a Sketch of the Local Geography and a Concise History of Tea-Plant of Assam, 36.55. Borboruah, Ahomar Din, 458.56. Ibid., 458.57. Ibid., 458.58. Ibid., 458.59. Ibid., 467.60. Ibid., 473.61. Ibid., 473.62. Gait, A History of Assam, 148.63. Ibid., 95.64. Borboruah, Ahomar Din, 473.65. Gohain, Assam Under the Ahoms, 98.66. Handique, Purani Asomar Silpa, 45.67. Borboruah, Ahomar Din, 474.68. Ibid.69. Hannay, ‘Observations on the Quality of Principal Timber Trees Growing in the Vicinity of Upper Assam,’ 122.70. Baird, Dipterocarpus Wood Resin Tenure, Management and Trade: Practices of the Brao in Northeast Cambodia.71. Hamilton, Account of Assam, 21.72. Bhattacharjee, ‘Forest Conservation and Management Practices among the Ahom rulers of Pre-Colonial Assam: An Historical Assessment,’ 8.73. Rajkumar, Itihase Suwara Sashota Bosor, 177.74. See Choudhury, Hastividyarnava.75. Borboruah, Ahomar Din, 412.76. Gait, A history of Assam, 236.77. Bhattacharjee, ‘Forest Conservation and Management Practices among the Ahom rulers of Pre-Colonial Assam: An Historical Assessment,’ 9.78. Goswami, ‘The Systems of Digging Ponds By The Ahoms, The Greater Tai Tribe In The North-East India,’ 660.79. Ibid.80. Shiva, Staying alive: Women, Ecology, and Development. Also see note 4 above.81. Guha, ‘Claims on the Commons: Political Power and Natural Resources in Pre-Colonial India’.82. Kumar ‘Claims on Natural Resources: Exploring the Role of Political Power in Pre-Colonial Rajasthan, India’.83. Neog, Prachya-Sasanavali, 209.84. M’cosh, Topography of Assam, 44.85. Barua, Last Days of Ahom Monarchy, 273.86. Hamilton, An Account of Assam, 146.87. Devi, Ahom Tribal Relations, 128.88. Ibid., 159.89. Mackenzie, The Northern Frontier of India, 387.Additional informationNotes on contributorsAnurag BorahAnurag Borah is an Assistant Professor in the Department of History at Rangia College, located in Kamrup, Assam, India. His areas of specialization and interest include Ancient Indian History, Environmental History, and Historiography. His research interests include studying the complex relationship between humans and their natural environment, particularly how environmental factors have influenced Assam’s social, economic, and cultural history. He holds a Master’s degree in History and an M.Phil. degree in the same field.Chandan Kr. SarmaChandan Kr. Sarma is an Associate Professor in the Department of History in Dibrugarh University, with a diverse range of experiences and expertise. His specialization and areas of interest include Ancient India, Political history, Environmental History, and Historiography. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Dr. Sarma has held several administrative positions at Dibrugarh University, including Coordinator of the Buddhist Study Centre and Co-Coordinator of the UGC-NET Cell.