Assam’s R-Day tableau to showcase Ahom general’s victory over Mughals

Guwahati: The Assam tableau in the Republic Day parade will showcase legendary Ahom general Lachit Borphukan who defeated the Mughal army of Aurangzeb and ousted the “aggressors” from Assam’s land.
The BJP-led Assam government took Lachit to the national stage on his 400th birth anniversary last year with a series of events in New Delhi which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Shakti shrine, Kamakhya temple and two Ahom-era monuments of Sivasagar — Rang Ghar and Shiva Dol — will also feature in the tableau. The tableau will portray a scene from the 1671 epic battle of Saraighat near Gauhati (now Guwahati) where Lachit is seen leading his army on a boat with a few of his lieutenants. He galvanized his army for a decisive battle on Brahmaputra river and inflicted a heavy defeat on the Mughal army. “The tableau will portray the bravery of the Lachit and Ahom army which inflicted heavy defeat on the mighty Mughals to save the motherland. But before all, the Assam tableau is also about the culture and identity of Assam,” state cultural affairs minister Bimal Borah told TOI on Sunday.