CHAPTER v
ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES: AGRICULTURE, INDUSTRIES, TRADE AND
COMMERCE, SYSTEM OF TRANSPORT AND
COMMUNICATION
Economic a c t i v i t i e s o f the kingdom had
p a rt of the Ahom economic system.
The Ahora
been
a
government
had made a c le a r d is t in c t io n between p o l i t i c s and trade
and they had given more importance t o th e form er,
the l a t t e r . ^ ju s t
than
However, the Ahoms were promoters o f tra d e
l i k e other r u l e r s ,
and t h e i r d ip lo m a tic r e l a t i o n s
w ith th e neighoouring s ta te s and t r i b e s c e n te re d ,in many
c a s e s , round the o o je c t o f in tro d u c in g f r e e
conm ercial
in te rc o u rse to the advantage o f both the p a r t i e s ,
2
The economic a c t i v i t i e s o f D arran gi kingdom was
centred round a g r ic u lt u r e , and
weaving and s e r ic u lt u r e .
t o a g re a t e x t e n t , round
As to th e qu an tity o f d i f f e r e n t
a g r i c u lt u r a l p ro d u c ts, no rec o rd s of th e M edieval period
have been p re se rv e d .
Even re g a rd in g the quan tity o f
products o f the whole o f Assam, no re c o rd s are a v a ila b le
Though r i c e was the p r in c ip a l food crop o f Assam,
'in fo rm a tio n as to th e product o f r i c e i s n o n -e x iste n t.
Any e x e rc is e on t h is account must be t e n t a t iv e .*
O nly,
from a c o p p e r-p late in s c r ip t io n issu e d by th e Ahom king
190
Siva Singha, issued in the year 1739,'the gross
o f unhusked r ic e may be calculated
quintals) per bigha o f ru o it
middle o f
the
copper-plate
eighteenth
the
century' .
maunds
B ritish ru le ,
{1.11
Kamrup during the
3
In
the
several
by the Ahom kings in
no record of any kind
a ctivity i s t o be found.
of
land in
inscriptions issued
Darrangi kingdom,
at 3
produce
of
economic
I t i s only after the beginning
that
records were
made by the
English w riters, in the 19th century. William Robinson ,
in his book ’ Descriptive Account of Assam* ,
gives
much
d e ta il about the agricultural conditions and the c u l t i 4
vable lands in the study area. But no d e ta ils about the
quantity of productions are recorded.
M i l s , in his
5
Report, has given much more detail than Robinson,
but
s t ill,
are not
particulars
about
the
d iffe re n t
available
about
the
study
commodities
area.
It
is
only in W.W# Hunter’ s 'S ta tis tic a l Account of Assam* ,
that d e ta ils about the production o f principal corrrnoditie s are available.
year
1874-75,
6
But those were the records for the
and by
that
tiros,
the
agricultural
7
conditions had changed to a considerable extent. Besides,
the amount o f production o f the principal crop, rice,had
varied
1366,
within a short period o f 10 years, i . e . ,
according to
Winter's Account.
Regarding
average amount o f yield o f paddy per bigha
adjacent d is tr ic t s o f Kamrup and Darrang
century) a lso, the d e ta ils
in the
{in
the
since
the
two
19th
d if fe r w idely. In Kamrup i t
191
was 12.5 raaunds per bigha
according t o M ills,
8
(4.62 quintals) in r upit land.
In Darrang, according to
Hunter* s
account, i t was 7| maunds per bigha (2.77 quintals)
in
rupit lands.
After malting calculations about the cultivable
land in the study area, and considering the agricultural
conditions of those medieval days, i t has been concluded
th at, the agricultural products were barely enough for
the survival o f the people.
condition
Because, the general
o f the peasants was not good.
peasant, cultivating ahu and
An
average
salidhan (sown and planted
r i c e ) , could produce l i t t l e surplus food for sale
provision for the
rainy day .
10
M ills
11
or
12
and Robinson,
in the middle of the nineteenth century, remarked
the ca ttle o f Assam were wretched, and the
conditions were not favourable*
that
agricultural
in 1833, T. Hugon,
O fficer-in-charge of Darrang , had also reported that the
condition o f the ryots in Darrang (the then d is t r ic t
Darrang) was far from being sa tisfa ctory,
in the
of
study
area, there remained l i t t l e incentive for the agricultu­
r i s t s , as the Bhutanese and the central Ahom government
had taken away a great amount o f th eir products,
o f revenue.
by way
Besides, there were the moneylenders who had
advanced money to the peasants fo r the crops, while those
were s t i l l in the f ie l d s .
For th is reason, the ryots had
13
found the cultivation o f opium rather p rofita b le.
192
T h erefore, assuming that th e c u ltiv a to r s
had
produced only what th e y needed fo r th e y e a r, and assum­
in g th a t production was le s s than as l i s t e d by ffcmter
14
in 1374-75,
quantity o f paddy (takin g a l l the th re e
v a r ie t ie s , i . e . , aha, s a i l and bag) and oth er p r in c ip a l
cro p s, have been c a lcu la te d f o r the year 1322,a s under:
R ice (Orvza sa tiva) -
385185.18
q u in ta ls
975.00
q u in tals
1950.00
q u in ta ls
Mustard (S in a ois dichatoma)6500.00
q u in ta ls
T i l (Sesamum indi cum)
195.00
qu in tals
2275.00
qu in tals
45.00
q u in ta ls
500.00
q u in ta ls
Mug (Phascolus mango) and
Matl-mah (Phaseolus max)
Kala-mah (lath yru s sa tivu s
and Psium sativum) -
Sugarcane (Saccharum
o f f icinarum)
Jute (Cor chorus olitoriu m )
Cotton (w ith seeds)
Of the above, the p r ic e o f paddy produced in
the same y ea r, has been ascertained as R s. 65,00 0 / taking one anna per maund < i . e . , 0 ,3 7 qu intal) , as,* in
1830, paddy was o ffe r e d at le s s than two annas a maund,
and in 1840 rose t o f i v e annas, and in 1859 shot up t o
193
annas eight* .
1
About th e p r ic e o f the oth er c ro p s,
c a lc u la tio n s could be made.
Of th e above l i s t o f
no
p rin ­
c ip a l a g r ic u ltu r a l p rod u cts. Hunter did not in clu d e roati
mah.
Hunter* s l i s t included
quantity was produced.
muor , o f which a
small
The m ajority o f the p eop le,
however, used matl-mah and kola-mah.
Regarding th e other a g r ic u ltu r a l and h o r t ic u l­
tu r a l p rod u cts, lik e b e te l-n u ts , pan leaves (b e t e l-v in e
le a v e s), cocon u ts, p in eap p les, oranges e t c . , and
fo r e s t
products l ik e la c , honey, e t c . , no qu a n titative r e fe r e n ce
o f any kind are a v a ila b le .
Regarding the spinning o f
co tto n yarn and produ ction cotton c lo t h s , no re co rd s were
found, but i t was a common a c tiv it y fo r the women.
Hamilton, however, mentioned that th e cotton weavers (o f
16
Assam) were fo r e ig n e r s , jo g is and J o la s . That s e r ic u l­
tu r e , in clu d in g the production and weaving o f e r l worm
(Afctacus r i c i n i ) s i l k ,
reared in th e R icia u s, P a t,
p ro­
duced from worms c a lle d Borabvx te x t or and Bombvx c r o e s i ,
and Muga
, the golden yellow s i l k , produced
known as Antheroea assamoea. had w idely been
by worm
p ra ctise d
in th e study area in th e medieval d a y s, can be ascertained
from v a riou s fa c t s .
Hamilton, in h is Account o f
Assam,
had w ritten that 'the n a tiv e women ( o f Assam) o f a l l castes
from the queens downward, weave th e four kinds o f s i lk
17
that are produced in the country* .
I t i s , however, not
known whether a l l the queens o f th e Darrangi kings
were
194
weavers, but the common women p ra ctis e d i t as a household
in d u stry . * Bri
c lo t h i s produced in every part
of
the
d i s t r i c t { i . e . , undivided Darrang d i s t r i c t ) but the
g re a ter
concentration o f the indu stry i s in th e
areas
inh abited by the Kachari p eop le, north o f the Mangaldai
18
su b d iv ision ' .
As th ese people had liv e d in the area
even in th e 15th cen tu ry, as has been mentioned
the weaving o f e r i
c lo t h had been an age-old
e a r lie r ,
in d u stry .
In the 19th century a ls o , e r i
c lo t h s had formed an irapor19
tant a r t i c l e o f tra d e in th e f a i r s held in the area. Bri
eloth$, in former tim es, were on sa le a t Kalaigaon
Rearing Pat
market.
worm, in th e p a st, ca rrie d a stigma o f
in p u rity aid as such, i t s rearing was confined only t o the
members o f the Jugi community, and as has already
been
mentioned, the Sipajhar area o f the kingdom had been
p la ce o f residen ce o f t h is community.
th e
For t h is rea son ,
in former tim es, oat s i l k was a v a ila b le in con sid era ble
q u a n titie s in Sipajhar and Patharughat o f
Mangaldai.
About the rearing o f Mug a worms, though no r e co rd s
20
have
been a v a ila b le , the spinning and weaving was p ra ctis e d
even by th e Muslim women o f the study area.
ro y a l people and the
e l i t e s , th e
the v illa g e c a lle d T anti-chuba.
21
For
weavers had liv e d
the
in
22
P o tte ry , the almost p rim itiv e industry,had much
flo u r is h e d , as th e demands were very great
fo r
p o ts , and the cla y was id e a l fo r making them.
earthen
Indeed,
195
p o tte ry o f the study area had some d is t in c t q u a lit ie s in
t h e ir shape and s i z e , fin en ess o f e x e cu tio n , and mode o f
u se.
wide v a riety o f p o ts were e s s e n t ia l fo r
establishm ents a ls o .
r e lig io u s
While granting land and p eop le
the Dakshinpat Satra , king Praraatta Sing ha had given
x
p o tte r {Jiban Hira) a lso fo r making cla y u t e n s ils .
23
to
a
The
v illa g e P ipiraku ch i was once famous f o r the p o t t e r ie s
made by th e 'Kumar' p o t t e r s .
Many l o c a l i t i e s w ith
th e
names ' Kumarpara* and ' Hlrapara’ s t i l l in ex isten ce
in
the study area a ls o tend t o prove th e importance given t o
p o tte r ie s .
Regarding brass and b e ll-m e ta l in d u s tr ie s ,
th ere e x is te d at le a s t two centres fo r th ose in d u s tr ie s ,
i . e . , Mang&ldai and Patharughat.
The Mudra. o f which
th ere e x is te d only s ix p ie c e s , was a ls o manufactured
by
a
th e lo c a l w orkers, as th ere wa^ b a lla d sung in th e study
area about the o r ig in th is instrument.
The bamboo, cane and reed w orks, so common t o the
North East In d ia , were e s s e n tia l f o r every household, and
th e study area was no ex ce p tio n .
T heir importance in the
e a r lie r cen tu ries can only be imagined, p a r tic u la r ly when
t h e ir shape or s iz e or mode o f use had conveyed d iffe r e n t
meanings.
P a r tic u la r ly the bamboo a r t i c l e s , w ith
t h e ir
remarkable shape and s iz e p ecu lia r t o th e study area,
prove th e e x p e rtise o f
the lo c a l craftsm en. Though th ese
a r t i c le s were made in every household, th ere were c e rta in
196
centres f o r more s k i l f u l l works.
For example,the v illa g e
24
Kachomari was a centre fo r making J a p is { l o c a l u m brellas).
The blacksm iths had made the huge iron chains and
anchors fo r b oa ts, huge knives in th e tem ples fo r animal
(even human) s a c r i f i c e , holders f o r palanquins e t c . ,
in
ad d ition t o th e a g r ic u ltu r a l and household implement s .
There i s a story about th e blacksm iths o f Naharbari, that
they had manufactured such a strong and sharp k n ife
(da) ,
that even a fte r cu ttin g a lin e o f seven rows o f Nahar
t r e e s , the rows o f t r e e remained standing as they were,and
th e king could d e te c t i t only when th e leaves o f th e tr e e s
went d r y .
Seeing t h i s , the king honoured them, and
s e ttle d them in the v illa g e Kamarpara.
There are reasons
t o b e lie v e th a t, the l o c a l blacksm iths were a ls o
expert
in making weapons lik e muskets e t c . , as some o f them
are
s t i l l preserved here and th ere in th e study area.
Workshops o f goldsm iths were a common fe a tu r e
th e in d u s tr ia l landscape o f th e study area.
were s o c ia l n e c e s s it ie s .
of
Ornaments
B esides, in th ose p r e -B r itis h
days, ornaments often represented money.
I t was the cus­
tom that every grown up female should wear gold and/or
s ilv e r ornaments.
Not only human b e in g s , but even the
gods and goddesses requ ired ornaments, as the long l i s t
o f ornaments fo r th e d e i t i e s o f the famous Khatara S atra
proves.
25
Ornaments were status symbols.
The roya l
197
treasury was f u l l o f valuable ornaments.
The la d le s
of
the r o y a l household and the fa m ilie s o f the e l i t e s had
possessed stocks o f heavy ornaments.
Not only ornaments
fo r males and fem ales, bu t d e co ra tiv e p ie c e s made o f
g o ld , s ilv e r aid copper were a lso the handiworks
o f the
lo c a l sm iths, as the p ie c e s preserved in the lo c a l
D is t r ic t Museum tends t o prove.
In s h o rt, the in d u s tr ie s
o f gold and s ilv e r smithy had t h e ir heydays in
kingdom.
Darrangi
The Darrang ro y a l fam ily was mostly resp on sib le
fo r i t , though the common people could not always a ffo r d
t o wear gold or even s i lv e r ornaments.
The poor
p e o p le
o fte n had t o wear in m ita tion s.
Carpentry and woodwork had been more
in the medieval
days.
important
The innumerable boats p ly in g
the r i v e r s , the innumerable palanquins used by
in
the high
c la s s p eop le and on cerem onial o c c a s io n s , were made of
wood,
woodwork was used p rofu sely in th e r e lig io u s b u ild ­
in g s . (A couplet i s s t i l l sung in the Patidarrang area o f
Kamrup d i s t r i c t ,
d e scrib in g how the wooden p i l l a r s o f
th e famous Khatara Satra o f Darrang were once decorated
with wooden peacocks carved on them) .
Wooden s e a ts ,
o fte n decorated w ith various d e sig n s, were provided
the d e i t i e s .
wooden s e a ts .
fo r
The sacred books were always placed on
The r a i s a l or thaaa. a d e v ice fo r p la cin g
the f o l i o s fear reading in r e lig io u s ga th erin gs, was s k i l ­
fu lly made o f wood.
The wooden Magar, a p iece
w ith
a
198
design o f a llig a to r on i t , was e s s e n tia l fo r c e rta in r e l i ­
giou s cerem onies.
Furniture^, meant fo r secular purposes
were a ls o p rofu sely decorated w ith various d e sig n s.In the
Duar areas, t o th e north o f the kingdom, the Bhutanese
craftsmen had made th e very smooth wooden p ots
h elp o f th e water power o f the r iv e r K alyani.
t h e ir p erish ab le n atu re, most o f the works o f
26
w ith
th e
Because o f
w oodcraft
have new disappeared.
Regarding b r ic k manufacturing, though large number
o f b r ic k s were used -in th e tanks and temples in many
p la ce s o f the kingdom, not much i s known about th e b r ic k
- k iln s o r the method o f preparing b r ic k s in th e are a.The
in d u s tr ia l a c t i v it ie s taking place in th e study area were
com pletely tuned t o the tr a d itio n a l mode o f w orking,
motto o f which was 'n o h a ste, no rest* .
the
There was no
chance o f la r g e -s c a le environment p o llu t io n , or d is t u r ­
bances in th e s o c io -c u lt u r a l eq u ilib riu m .
Trade and Commerce;
The commercial a c t i v i t i e s were
more
pronounced in the kingdom than the in d u s tr ia l a c t i v i t i e s .
I t can be sa id , perhaps, th at the lack o f en terp rise
the f i e l d o f in d u stria l a c t i v i t i e s was compensated
great e x te n t, by the commercial a c t i v i t i e s .
fa c t o r s could be r e sp o n sib le fo r i t .
in
to
a
Several
The ela b ora te
n e t­
work o f land and water rou tes { t o be d escribed la te r ) had
f a c i l i t a t e d commercial a c t i v i t i e s .
I t was a part o f
the
199
Ahom fo r e ig n p o lic y t o regu late the r e la tio n s with
the
neighbouring cou n tries w ith the help o f trade and
commerce.
The Assam-Bhutan fr o n t ie r , ly in g t o th e north
o f Darrangi kingdom, th erefore,h a d remained
fu ll
commercial a c t i v i t i e s , the r e lig io u s a c t i v i t i e s
of
adding
t h e ir impetus t o them.
About the n atu ral resou rces o f th e kingdom,
it
can be s a id , leaving a sid e the modern sense o f the
concepts o f 'r e s o u r ce '
r ic h in them.
bamboo,
and 'w ea lth *, th a t the kingdom was
Of th e s e , th e fo r e s t products were th a tch ,
reed s, wood, valu able t r e e s fo r tin b e r , t r e e s
lik e agar and k h a ir, and th e wild anim als, p a r tic u la r ly
elep h an ts, as has been mentioned e a r l i e r .
The Mughals
had th e ir eye on th e p re cio u s agar wood and elephants o f
,
27
Darrang.
On several occa sio n s, the merchants from th e
Mughal t e r r i t o r i e s were found engaged in elephant catch in g
op eration s and in c o lle c t in g agar wood fo r the Mughal
28
Emperor.
In the year 1679, when Laluk S ola Barphukan
had made over Gauhati t o Sultan Azarntara, the Fauzdar
Kamrup, Nawab Mansur Khan, had repeatedly applied t o
Ahoms f o r perm ission t o catch elephants in Darrang.
During the time o f the invasion o f Nawab Mir. Jural a
of
th e
29
a ls o ,
e ig h ty -fo u r elephants were captured by the Mughals in
30
Kheda Chikar.
S t i l l , as i t appears from the a v a ila b le
r e c o r d s , most o f the f o r e s t resou rces had remained
u n e x p loited .
200
In the medieval days# the trade cen tres
had
been
the cen tres where the accumulated p o l i t i c a l ten sion s were
relaxed# an
atmosphere o f g o o d -w ill was created#
and d't
the same time# the various m aterial needs were catered t o .
The most important o f th ose trade centres# the nature
which was o f annual tra d e fa ir s # were Seelpota#
of
Udalguri#
Kherkheria, Paneri^, as has been mentioned e a r lie r -
The
v illa g e named Hajalpara# on the Barnadi# i s rem iniscent o f
the tra d e r e la tio n s esta b lish ed by the tra d ers o f Hajo
w ith Darrang.
In a d d ition t o th e se , th ere were
numerous
trade cen tres or f a i r s w ith in the kingdom# creatin g
colou rfu 1 d ots in th e economic landscape.
The p la ce s
tin y
of
the annual Deul F estiv a ls# which were a ls o in p ort ant trad e
centres# have been mentioned e a r l ie r .
Commodities: Nothing perhaps present a more c le a r p ic tu re
about th e needs o f the people o f a re g io n or reg ion
th e a r t i c le s sold in a tra d e f a i r .
than
They represent the t in e ,
the sty le# the taste# th e b e lie fs # the means o f tra n sp orta ­
t io n and sundry other aspects o f a p art o f the g lo b e .
In
connection w ith the study area, the im portation s were
mostly from Bhutan# the only fo re ig n country lyin g t o
north.
the
Likewise# the ex p ortation s were a lso made t o Bhutan.
Some o f the im ports;1 as lis t e d by the B r it is h w rite r s in
th e nineteenth century were# in a d d ition t o those mentioned
e a r l i e r , sheep# dogs# gold# wax# l a c , walnuts# dye#needles#
201
31
tu r n ip s, o n ion , g a r l i c , c h i l l i e s , gum, Bhutiya ba gs, e t c .
From the l i s t , i t appears th a t, a l l the a r t ic le s sold in
the f a i r s by the Bhutanese tra d ers were not Bhutanese
p rod u cts.
The exports included paddy, E rla s ilk c lo t h ,
cotton c lo t h , dunko ler>a and kharu c lo t h , be 11-m etal
pots,
p o ts , bar ir o n , small brass^ pan {b e t e l)
lea v es,
b etel
n u ts, no la s s e s , peacocks, p a rro ts, co tto n thread,
f is h and fl e s h , to b a c co , rape seed, o i l , e t c .
d ried
The
o f a r t i c le s included liv in g beings lik e p on ies,
lis t
sheep
d og s, b ir d s e t c . , and d id not in clu d e s la v e s , eleph an ts,
c a t t l e , timber e t c .
f a i r s o f th e kingdom.
Of th e s e , c a t t le was sold in
many
From the accounts given in
Hunter* s book about the tra n sa ction s o f the trade f a i r s
in Udalguri and Kherkheria around 1875 i t can r „ perhaps
be assumed t h a t , in th e e a r lie r century a ls o ,
were o f g rea ter value than the e x p o rts.
e x p o rts, as
imports
The value o f
recorded by Hunter, was , R s. 41,790,
and
that o f im ports, Rs. 676 51, in the two f a i r s .
Currency: In the medieval days, when c o in s were minted in
small numbers , and p eop le usually d id not want t o p art
w ith them and th e ir c ir c u la t io n had stopped fo r
a
long
p e rio d , s c a r c ity o f c o in s was always th e r e , and co w rie s h e ll was the p rin cip a l currency o f medieval Assam,
32
according to the epigraphical records.
As a . part
of
Lower Assam, coined money was perhaps more in c ir c u la t io n
202
in Darrangi kingdom, as ‘ the people o f th is part o f Assam
were more accustomed to cash payments in lieu
service* .
o f personal
on the north hank o f the Brahmaputra up to
Rowta, Narayani Mudra L coins) was in circu lation .
In
Guwahati, several kinds of currency was in circu la tion ,
34
lik e Sikka, Narayani, Arcot, Rajamuhari, French, e t c . In
the year 1791, Krishnarayan, the refractory prince o f
Darrang, has proposed to pay a sum o f Rupees 5,001 in Rajarauhari coins to the East India company3 5. In short, the
people o f Darrangi kingdom were well-versed in handling
coined money, while in places lik e Sylhet, not a single
rupee in coins was available in the late eighteenth
cen36
tury.
However, barter system was often preferred by the
Koch as w ell as the Ahom kings.
King Naranarayan,
while
a llottin g cultivable lands to the inhabitants of the
northern areas o f the region (to be included later in
Darrangi kingdom) , had asked them t o pay the land revenue
37
in gold and horses.
The Ahom government had also continued
*3 8
barter system with the Bhutiyas.
The B ritish administra­
tors had also accepted th is system In the study area at the
in it ia l stage o f their administration in Assam.
Bankincr/Savine?s: There is no record o f any banking
system
existing in the study area in the medieval period. Traders
and money-lenders had served the purpose of banks.Even
in
the year 1875, banking system, large or small, was absent.
203
though a large amount o f money (more than Rs. one lakh)
was involved:' .in the trade fa irs of Udalguri and Kherkheria alone.
That the kings had placed their
money
and valuables in underground ce lla rs i s indicated by the
description in the Darrang Rajvarnaavali.
39
According to
the descriptions# king Raghudev, after distributing
money and valuable stones e tc .
to the
Brahmins
and
Vaishnavas, had the remaining money and precious stones
to be carefu lly put in side the c e lla r s , and in order to
ensure the secrecy o f i t , had k ille d the paiks,
elephant, and the
the
Mahaut (driver) o f i t , who were
con­
cerned with the operations.
The only person who
knew
about i t was the treasurer.
The unearthing o f hand-made
ancient coins in the v illa g e Neogpara, which were d is co ­
vered placed within earthen jars with earthen lid s , prove
th is to be an ancient method of savings in the region.Not
only money, but valuable a rticle s were also preserved
like th is .
Per a (box) or Barpera (big box) were the
savings box maintained in the houses o f the rich for ready
money.
Cornitunication and Transport; It i s said, that in the
medieval days, people often preferred seclusion than comm­
unication.
There might be some truth in i t , as there were
fear from sudden attacks from the h o stile neighbours,
o f epidemics spreading through constant contacts e tc .
and
204
On the other hand, absence o£ roads would mean stagnation
and d e s tr u c tio n .
Hence, many roads in good con d ition
were th ere t o speed up communication and t o maintain d ip ­
lom a tic, s o c ia l and commercial r e la tio n s h ip s w ith the
( F i g . 18)
neighbouring cou n tries and region ^ . This can be in fe r re d
from the p o s itio n s o f th e ancient and medieval towns,
tanks, h oly p la ce s , ranparts e t c . , which were
connected w ith roa d s.
to r ic a l
c e r ta in ly
From th e ep igra p h ic :and other
h is ­
r e c o r d s , inform ation s about severa l roads
e x is tin g in the study area are t o b e found.
h is t o r i c Gohain Kamal A li
comes f i r s t .
Of th ese,th e
This road
had
in tertw in ed two roa d s, i . e . , Gohain Kamal A li and Kabi-A li
{ a l s o , Kabil A li or Kabirar A li)
, in such a way, that i t
has become im possible t o id e n tify th e tw o.
This splendid
ro a d , w rote John M* Cosh in 1837, as he had found i t ,
was
about f i f t e e n f e e t broad and raised about eigh t f e e t above
th e inundation, and when ifi f u l l r e p a ir , capable o f land
40
conveyance at a l l seasons o f the y ea r.
The road had
entered th e Paneri area from th e w est, touching the
v il l a g e Bhokelikanda, then entered th e area ly in g t o
the
south o f the Nalkhamara v illa g e , touching Bhalukmari
etc.
and had entered Rcwta at a p lace about two k ilom eters
to
th e south o f modern Rowta C h a r ia li, and had crossed
over
t o Orang, and from th e r e , entered the modern Sonitpur
d i s t r i c t , along the modern n ation al highway N o.52.
Tezpur , again, the road went northwards.
Near
Regarding Kabi
A li in the study area, the lo c a l p eop le usually
205
DARRANG.I KINGDOM
MAJOR ROADS AND IMPORTANT PLACES
1700
TO 1800
Km
FIG -18
206
d if f e r e n t ia t e be tween Gohain Kamal A ll and Kabi A l i .
The
Kabi A li ran along the v illa g e K abirali-P u th im ari, ly in g
t o the north o f K alaigaon.
However, from the
referen ce
given by Hunter, i t seems p o ssib le th a t the Gohain Kamal
A l i , in Some p la c e s , had follow ed the path o f th e
already
e x is tin g Kabi A l i *
Next in importance t o th e Gohain Kamal A l i *
th e Bengal A l l , To quote J * M*Cosh, ’ There are
other
bund roads . . . . o f which th e next in
th e Bengal:c, A lly .
was
several
importance i s
I t passess through th e d i s t r i c t o f
DorrOng from North East t o the South west
Brahmaputra n early op p osite G ohatti' .
41
and
I t is
jo in s
th e
b eliev ed
t o have been made by Mir Jumla, th e Mughal invader.
The
Bengal A lly i s thought to have been connected w ith Gohatti
by a bridge o f some con stru ction or another across th e
Brahmaputra, t h is opening a fre e communication w ith th e
great bund roads.
A path c a lle d Hatip a t1
(elephant
hunters* path) sk irted the base o f th e Bhutan h i l l s from
the Barnadi in Katrrup d i s t r i c t t o th e Moramornoi r iv e r
Lakhimpur.
42
As th is road i s not mentioned in th e
in
oth er
a v a ila b le re co rd s, the id e n t ific a t io n o f the p la ces along
which t h is road ran, has been d i f f i c u l t .
A few Ral Al l s
(grand roads) had a lso e x is te d , o f which one i s p a r tic u la r ly
mentioned by a lo c a l p o e t , who had liv e d during th e Darrangi
king Madranarayan.
be th e grand road
H.c. Goswami i d e n t i f i e s t h is highway t o
running from the Raiahawli (ro y a l
207
q u a rte rs) t o P a th a ru g h a t.
43
A ro a d w h ic h le d from U d a lg u r i
4^
t o B h a ira b k u n d a was known a s B h u tiy a A l i . '
Prom t h e
name
B h s itiy a A l l , i t can b e in f e r r e d t h a t t h i s A l i had
e x is te d
t h e r e fro m a v e r y e a r l y p e r i o d , c o n n e c t in g B h u tan and
D a r r a n g i kingdom .
D u rin g t h e r u l e o f t h e B a r a b h u y a n s ,th e r e
w as a s m a ll, w ild p a th ru n n in g th r o u g h t h i c k
fo re s ts
S i n g r i t o R ow ta, w h ic h w as used b y t h e p i l g r i m s .
from
Some
of
th e r o a d s m entioned!. i n th e co p p er p l a t e s w e r e , K u a n ri A l i ,
e x i s t i n g t o t h e e a s t o f D u rd u riya r i v e r
K har a A l i ,
, a ro ad named
w h ich w as n e a r a sh a rp bend o f t h e r i v e r
B a r n a d i, and r a n a c r o s s t h e v i l l a g e B o r ig a o n ,
a lo n g a ta n k
named P ad o r P u k h u r i, a ro a d { w ith o u t n a m e ) e x is tin g b e tw een
th e D u rd u riy a r i v e r and th e B arnadi# ru n n in g fro m t h e w e st
t o e a s t , w h ich had form ed th e s o u th e rn boundary o f t h e p l o t
o f land g r a n te d t o S r i B an am ali G o s a in o f D akb in p at S a t r a ,
45
e tc .
R e g a rd in g t h e w a te r r o u t e s , in n u m erable p l a c e names
w i t h t h e p r e f i x *Nao*
and t h e s u f f i x ‘ G h a t* , can g i v e
a
f a i r id e a .
E conom ic C o n d itio n o f t h e P e o p le o f D a r r a n g i Kingdom :
As t o t h e eco n o m ic c o n d it io n o f t h e p e o p le ,
G a it
w r i t e s t h a t th e s ta n d a r d o f l i v i n g was g e n e r a l l y h ig h e r i n
Upper Assam th a n i n Low er Assam.
I n t h e form er a r e a , s i l k
was u sed by a lm o st e v e ry b o d y and g o ld ornam ents w ere found
i n m ost o f, th e h o u s e s .
I n Lower Assam , most o f t h e p e o p le
had u sed c o tto n c l o t h s and s i l v e r o rn a m e n ts.
AGs'
B u t ,in th e
208
year 1824, i t was found th at th e r e a lis a t io n o f revenue
in Upper Assam was much more d i f f i c u l t than in
Assam.
Lower
In Upper Assam, the r y o ts had abundance o f
g ra in , but very l i t t l e cash.
A
r t -
The revenue c o ll e c t io n s
in Lower Assam, in the year 1824-2 5, came up t o more
than tw o-th ird s o f the o r ig in a l demand.
But in
Upper
Assam, the c o lle c t io n s f o r th e f i r s t th ree years
averaged on e-th ird o f th e estimated r e c e ip t s .
48
Though
th e se broad d iv is io n s do not through much lig h t
in t o
the con d ition s o f the people o f Darrangi kingdom ,it can
be said th a t, the d iffe r e n c e s said t o be present in th e
two p arts o f Assam were not much in th e pecuniary
c o n d itio n s , as were in the value systems in existen ce in
these two p a rts.
R eferen ces:
1. Bhuyan, S . k . 1949. Anglo-Assamese R e la tio n s. Guwahati
Department o f H isto r ic a l And Antiquarian
S tu d ies, p . 50 .
2 . I b i d . , p.48 .
3 . Barpukari, H.K.
{ E d . ) . 1994.
The Comprehensive
H istory o f Assam, Vo 1.I I I (Medieval
P eriod ) ,
Guwahati: P u b lica tio n Board, Assam, p . 107 f .
4 . Robinson,w. 1975. A D escrip tive Account o f Assam.
(R e p rin t). D elhi:Sanskara Prakashaik,p. 291 f f
209
5. M ills# A.J.M. 1984.
Report on The Province o f
Assam.
{R e p rin t). Guwahati: P u b lica tio n Board .Assam,
p. 399 ££.
6 . Hunter, w.w. 1975.
A S t a t is t ic a l Account o f
V o l .l (R e p r in t .).
Assam .
D elh i: B.R. P u blish ing
C orporation, p , 125 ££ .
7 . I b i d . , p . 131 •
3 . M ills , o p .c i t . , p . 14 .
9. Hunter, o p . c i t . , p.123 ♦
10. B a rp u jari, H.k . 1980.
Assam in the Days o f the
pany {1826-1858). {2nd e d .) .
Com­
Guwahati :
Spectrum P u b lic a tio n s , p« 238 f .
11. M ills ,
op.
c i t . , p.21 .
12. Robinson, o p . c i t . . p . 217 £ .
13. A s ia t ic R esearches. V ol. The Fourteen, 1980. (R ep rin t.)
New Delhi.: Cosmo P u b lic a tio n s , p . 270 .
14. Hunter,
op.
c i t . , p . 128 .
15. B a rp u ja ri, H.k . ( S 3 .) . 1993. The Comprehensive H istory
o f Assam, V ol.V .
Modern p e r io d : Yandaboo
D iarchy, 1826-1919. Guwahati, P u b lica tion
Board, Assam, p.64 .
to
210
16. Hamilton, F. 1987.
An Account o f Assam.
Ed. by S.K.
Bhuyan. (3rd impression) . Guwahatidepartment
o f H is to r ic a l and Antiquarian S tu d ies, Assam,
p . 64 •
17. I b i d , p.63 •
18. Dutta, N.C. 1978.
Parr ana D is t r ic t G azetteer.Guwahati!
Government o f Assam, p.214 •
19. Hunter, w.W. 1879.
A S t a t i s t ic a l Account o f
Assam.
V o l . l , Irmdon : Turnber & C o ., p . 143 f .
20. D utta, o p .c l t . , p . 213 •
21. A l i , N. 1969. Mor Jivanar Kichu Katha. Mangaldai,
Kachijan Sampadana, p .62 .
22. Nath, I,. 1976.
Bhowgolik p r i st i t Mangaldai
Mangaldai
j
Mohkuma •
The Author, p .3 .
23. Neog, M. (E d .). 1974.
Praschya Sasanavali. Guwahati:
P u b lica tion Board, Assam, P la te N o.52 .
24. Goswami, K.H.p. 1974.
Dyaurang S m ritl.
S a ib a r i-
B atabari, Tang la : S ri Sankar P ress,
p .6 5
Tangla,
.
25. Das, P .R . 1974.
Khatara Satra . Tangla: P .C .R ajvanshi,
S r i Sankar P ress, pp. 30-37 .
211
26. Goswami, K.H.D. 1976.
Raiva .
Uttarakhand a Dyaurang
Ujanl
Br ahmananda Sevasram, Chaibari
B otabari, Tang la : The Author, p. 25 ,
27. Bhuyan, S.K. 1957. At an Buragohain And His Times.
Guwahati: Lawyer’ s Book S t a l l , p .8 28. I b i d . . p . 209 29. Bhuyan, S.K. 1949. o p . c l t . , p . 266 .
30. Bhuyan, S.K. 1956.
Mir Jumlar As am Akraman. Guwahati:
Lawyer's Book S t a l l, p .9 5 .
31. Hunter, W.W. 1379.
OP.
c l t . . p .l4 3 £ f ,
32. S ir c a r , D.C. 1986.
Shell-money and Foreign Trade .
Souvenir, 74th Annual Conference o f the
Numismatic S ociety o f In d ia .
D irector o f
Guwahati ;
Museums, Assam, pp. 21-26
33« Bhuyan, 1949. op. c i t ♦, p . 56 5 .
34. Dhekial Phukan, H.R. 1369 (Beng.) .
by J.M. Bhattacharyya.
Pustakalaya, p.77 .
35. Bhuyan, 1949. op. c i t . , p.275 .
36 * I b i d . , p . 294 .
As am Bur an i i . Ed.
Guwahati, Mokshada
212
3 7 . Sarma# N .C . ( E d . ) . 1973.
Parrang R a jv a ro sa v a li. Guwahati:
Bani P rakash , p . 68 *
3 8 . M* c C osh , J . 1 9 7 5 . T opography__o f
Assam ( R e p r i n t ) .
D e lh i! Sanskara P rakash ak, p . 13 5 .
3 9 . Sarma, o p . c i t . , p . 238 .
4 0 . M* c C osh, o p . c i t . , p .l 6 5£ .
41. I b id .
4 2 . H unter, o p . c i t . , p . 137 4 3 . Sarma, B .( E a .) . 18 93. Saka.
R a s a n a v a li.
4 4 . T alu k d ar, H .C . 1973.
Hemehandra Goswami
J o r h a t : Asam S a h ity a S abh a,p.388 •
O d a lg u r ir B h u tiya M ela. In(Sarm a,
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S a h ity a Sabha S m r jtig r a n th a ) , Ud a lg ur i : Ud alg ur i
S a h ity a Sabha, p .2 •
4 5 . N eog, M. ( E d . ) . 19 74.
P ra sch y a S a s a n a v a li.
Guwahati j
P u b l ic a t io n B oard, Assam, P la t e H o s. 1 4 7 , 8 6 ,5 2 .
4 6 . P u t ta , o p . c i t ♦, p.320
.
4 7 . Bhuyan, 1949. o p . c i t . , p , 566
4 8 . I b i d . , p . 56 5£