Recently, during the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee, a proposal has been made to include the ‘Moidams’ of the Ahom dynasty in the World Heritage Site list.
India is hosting this session for the first time in July 2024 in New Delhi.
The UNESCO World Heritage List currently includes 1,199 properties from 168 countries.
Moidams:
These are the tombs (13th-19th century) built for the royal families of the Ahom kingdom inCharaideo district of Assam.
They were constructed mainly of mud, bricks and stone. The outer structure usually consisted of a mound of earth, often surrounded by a brick or stone wall.
It used to bury the mortal remains of members of the royal families of the Ahom kingdom.
After the 18th century, the Ahom rulers adopted the Hindu cremation system and started burying the cremated bones and ashes at Charaideo.
These burial practices of the Ahom dynasty are comparable to the ancient royal tombs of China and the pyramids of the Egyptian pharaohs.
Ahom Kingdom:
The Ahom kingdom was founded in the year 1228 in the Brahmaputra valley of Assam and maintained its sovereignty for 600 years.
It was founded by the 13th century ruler Chaolung Sukapha in the year 1253.
Charaideo was their early capital, located 400 km east of Guwahati.
The Ahom dynasty ruled for nearly 600 years, until the British annexed Assam through the Treaty of Yandaboo in 1826.
Political System:
The Ahoms established a new empire by suppressing the old political system of bhuiyans (landlords).
The state was dependent on forced labour. Those who did this kind of labor for the state were called Paik.
Society:
The Ahom society was divided into clans or games. Often several villages were controlled under one game.
The people of the Ahom kingdom worshipped their own tribal deities, yet they accepted Hinduism and the Assamese language.
The Ahom kings, however, did not completely abandon their traditional beliefs after adopting Hinduism.
Military Strategy:
The entire contingent of the Ahom army consisted of infantry, navy, artillery, elephants, cavalry, and spies.
The main armament consisted of bows and arrows, swords, spears, guns, gunpowder firearms and cannons.
The Ahom soldiers were skilled in guerrilla warfare. He also learnt the technique of building boat bridges in the Brahmaputra.
The Ahom navy led by Lachit Borphukan defeated the Mughal army commanded by Ram Singh I during the reign of Aurangzeb at the Battle of Saraighat in 1671.
Lachit Borphukan Gold Medal is awarded to the best cadet of the National Defence Academy.
The medal was introduced in 1999 to inspire defence personnel to emulate the valour and sacrifice of Borphukan.
UNESCO World Heritage Sites:
A World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by UNESCO because of its unique cultural or physical significance.
The list of World Heritage Sites is prepared by the ‘World Heritage Programme’, administered by the ‘World Heritage Committee’ of UNESCO.
This list is related to an international treaty called ‘Convention relating to the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage’ adopted by UNESCO in the year 1972.
India has 42 World Heritage Sites (34 cultural, 7 natural and 1 mixed site). The latest destinations include Shantiniketan (2023) and the Holy Temple of Hoysala (2023).
