Get summaries, questions, answers, solutions, notes, extras, PDF and guide of Class 12 (second year) History textbook, chapter Assam though the Ages which is part of the syllabus of students studying under AHSEC/ASSEB (Assam Board). These solutions, however, should only be treated as references and can be modified/changed.
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Summary
The history of Assam begins in ancient times when it was known as Pragjyotisha and later as Kamrupa. The land has two main valleys formed by the Brahmaputra and Barak rivers. Early people who lived here belonged to different groups. Archaeologists have found stone tools from the Old, New, and Middle Stone Ages, showing that people have lived here for a very long time. The first major kingdom was Kamrupa, ruled by kings like Bhaskar Varman. The economy was based on farming, with rice being the main crop. People also traded goods like timber and cloth with other regions. Society was led by kings, and most people were farmers who also practised crafts like weaving and bamboo work.
In the mediaeval period, the Ahom kingdom became powerful. Society was organised under the Paik system, where adult males had to serve the state. Travellers from other lands visited Assam and wrote about it. An English traveller named Ralph Fitch described the Koch kingdom and its general, Chilarai, who was nicknamed the “Kite-King” because he moved his army very quickly, like a swift kite bird. Another writer, Shihabuddin Talish, described the Ahom capital, Garhgaon, and the customs of its people. During this time, new religious ideas spread. The Sufi saint Azan Pir composed devotional songs called Zikirs, and the reformer Srimanta Sankardev taught a new form of Vaishnavism. The Ahoms also introduced the practice of writing detailed historical chronicles called Buranjis.
In 1826, the British took control of Assam. They introduced new laws and a system of paying taxes in cash, which was difficult for the local people who were used to the Paik system. This led to hardship and several rebellions. Early uprisings were led by figures like Gomdhar Konwar and the Khasi chief Tirat Sing. During the Great Indian Revolt of 1857, a noble named Maniram Dewan tried to organise a rebellion in Assam. He was captured by the British and executed. In the late 1800s, farmers also held large protests against high taxes.
The struggle for India’s freedom, led by Mahatma Gandhi, was also strong in Assam. Many people, including women and students, joined movements like the Civil Disobedience Movement and the Quit India Movement. When India was partitioned in 1947, the district of Sylhet was separated from Assam and joined East Pakistan after a referendum. After independence, Assam became a state of India, and Gopinath Bordoloi became its first chief minister. This marked the beginning of a new period of development, with the establishment of new schools, colleges, and a university.
Textbook solutions
Answer in 100-150 words
1. Make a list of the tools of the Palaeolithic Age of Assam. Did they also know the use of bricks?
Answer: Some stone tools of Palaeolithic culture have been found in the Garo hills, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. These include stone tools, whetstones, grinding stones and pieces of bones.
Assam did not lag behind in preparing them. Some inscriptions and ancient literary works refer to brick houses, and brick temples or temples with brick walls have also been discovered. The discovery of a wall at Ambari, Guwahati, which might have belonged to a period between the 10th-11th Centuries, also indicates the use of brick. Furthermore, brick walls of early Assam have been found at Kundilnagar.
2. Give a brief description of Gargaon as the capital of Medieval Assam.
Answer: Garhgaon was made the capital of Assam by king Suklengmung. The city of Garhgaon had four gates of stone set in mud, from each of which to the Raja’s palace, an extremely strong, high and wide embankment was constructed for the passage of men. Around the city, in place of a wall, there was an encompassing bamboo plantation running continuously for two Kos or more in width. The city appeared to be circular, wide, and an aggregation of villages.
The houses of the inhabitants were built in a scattered fashion. Near the Raja’s palace, on both banks of the Dikhu river, the houses were numerous and there was a narrow bazar road. The inhabitants would store one year’s supply of food of all kinds in their houses. The Raja’s audience hall, called Solong, was 120 cubits long and 30 cubits broad, standing on 66 pillars. Owing to the excess of damp, it was not the custom to make houses on the surface of the ground; they were built on platforms resting on wooden pillars.
3. How did Maniram express anti-British Senti ments and with what effects?
Answer: Maniram Dewan, who was said to be the brain behind an uprising, expressed his anti-British sentiments after being disappointed with their policy of discrimination towards the locals, particularly in the distribution of wasteland. He submitted a memorandum to A. J. Mofat Mill, in which he emphasised demands for a better rule in Assam and the restoration of Kanderpeswar Singha to the throne. When no heed was paid to his plea, he went to Calcutta to press the Company government to fulfill his demands, but in vain. While in Calcutta, he learned about the outbreak of the Great Revolt and tried to organise it in Assam as well.
The effect was that a letter he wrote to his supporters in Assam fell into the hands of the British, and Maniram and all his associates were arrested. The British government took prompt action: Kanderpeswar was exiled to Calcutta, while Maniram and Piyali Barua were hanged at Jorhat. They were not even given a chance for appeal in self-defence.
4. Write a note on Azan Pir.
Answer: Azan Pir was a Muslim Saint whose Dargah stands at Saraguri chapori, 22 kilometers from Sibsagar. He was the first to compose Zikir songs in the Assamese language, and about 160 of these Zikirs and Jaris have been collected. His original name was Shahmilan, and he came to Assam in the 17th Century. He used to call Muslims to prayer by giving the Azan and was therefore named Azari Pir. He was punished by king Gadadhar Singha, who, after being convinced by his exceptional spiritual attainments, patronised him in 1686. The Zikirs and Jaris are sung accompanied by rhythmic clapping of palms. On the day of “Urs,” thousands of devotees gather at his Dargah to pay homage.
5. How did the British government try to stop students’ participation in the civil disovedience movement in Assam? What were the effects?
Answer: To stop student participation in the civil disobedience movement, the British government, through the Director of Public Instructions in Assam, Mr. JA Cunningham, issued a circular on May 19th, 1930. This circular was sent to all Heads of schools and colleges and required that parents and students give an undertaking of non-participation in political activities.
The effect of this action was that the circular added fuel to the fire. The movement got intensified, and national schools were founded at Guwahati, Tezpur, Sibsagar, Dibrugarh and Silchar. The government put heavy hands on the participants, but even then, non-cooperation in offices, law courts, and educational institutions continued.
Answer in 250-300 words
6. Give a pen picture of the life of farmers in ancient Assam.
Answer: In ancient Assam, the life of a farmer was deeply rooted in the land and village community, operating under the ultimate authority of the king. While tradition, as stated by Manu, held that an agriculture field belongs to him who first removes its weed, the control of rural areas was vested in the monarch. In tribal regions, land was typically owned by the community, with ownership subdivided among different families.
Farmers generally resided in villages and maintained an aversion for what they considered the heterodox nature of town life. Consequently, all types of farmers, including landless farmers, small peasants, and agri-labourers, confined themselves to the villages. According to Narada, agriculturists held the second rank of importance in rural areas. The economic system included hired labourers, whose pay scale varied from one-tenth to a third or fifth part of the crops. A hired labourer who neglected his duty faced a penalty where the king would impose double as much fine as the wages and pay the same as compensation to the owner of the soil.
The staple crop was paddy, with three varieties—sali, bao, and ahu—being cultivated. However, due to heavy rainfall and frequent floods, farmers did not prefer to grow ravi crops. Besides paddy, the land yielded jute, jack-fruits, amalaka, rudraksa, sugar-cane, and various other fruits and vegetables. The hill people, in particular, preferred Jhum cultivation. The farmer class as a whole was simply dressed and religious by nature. They had some side-occupations like spinning, weaving, beekeeping, and crafts involving cane, bamboo, and wood. They also enjoyed entertainments such as songs, dances, sports, and various festivals, which formed an integral part of their cultural life.
7. Did you find any exggageration in the Account of Ralph Fitch or Sahabuddin Talish?
Answer: The accounts of both Ralph Fitch and Shihabuddin Talish, as presented, contain statements that appear to be exaggerations or require significant qualification.
Ralph Fitch, who visited the Koch kingdom, described its people as all gentiles who would kill nothing. He claimed they maintained hospitals for sheep, goats, dogs, cats, birds, and for all living creatures, keeping them until they died of old age and even giving meat to the ants. Edward Gait, a later historian, finds it difficult to explain the statement made by this traveler regarding the great tenderness shown by the people for animal life. Gait suggests Fitch’s claim that Sukladhvaj was the Raja merely shows the extent of his power, and that Naranarayan, being deeply religious, might have established such hospitals under Jain or Vaishnava influence.
Shihabuddin Talish’s account of Assam, Fathyah-i-Ibriyah, contains even more pronounced exaggerations. He describes the king as an insane fellow who was more sunk in conceit and pride and more addicted to shedding blood than his ancestors, claiming that for a slight fault he would execute a whole family and on the least suspicion he would kill a whole generation. He further asserts that the people of the country do not belong to any faith, have no restriction as regards castes and food, and that except for human flesh they eat every kind of meat. Talish characterizes them as unrivalled in cruelty, deception, and rudeness. The text itself signals the hyperbolic nature of these claims by prompting the reader to identify the exaggerations within his account.
8. “Buranjis are an authentic and dependable source of history”. Do you agree?
Answer: The Buranjis, a unique contribution of the Ahoms, are regarded as a valuable and largely trustworthy source of history. The Ahom kings encouraged their chroniclers to provide a systematic and complete study of important events with accurate information. The very word Buranji means a store-house of knowledge, and the information they contain regarding incidents, dates, and chronology is often confirmed by other sources like rock inscriptions, copper plates, coins, and Persian chronicles. They are rich in detail, supplying evidence not only of kings and dynasties but also of culture and civilisation, and even record intimate talks of ministers, secrets of the royal court, and diplomatic correspondence.
However, their authenticity and dependability are not absolute. The text notes that the dates of Buranjis are not always dependable. A significant limitation is their scope; they do not speak much of the common people, a focus that was reinforced when King Siva Singha directed that Buranjis should contain only the names and transactions of the king. Furthermore, in most Buranjis, the authors are not mentioned, which makes it difficult to judge whether they are impartial or not. The fact that Kirtichandra Barbarua, a powerful official, destroyed many Buranjis in a bonfire because one of them mentioned he was a false Ahom demonstrates that their content was politically sensitive and could be suppressed or eliminated. Therefore, while Buranjis are an indispensable and authentic source for the history of Assam, they must be approached with a critical understanding of their limitations, biases, and the political contexts in which they were created and preserved.
9. What steps the British take to ward colonialisation of Assam? How did it effect on the country side?
Answer: The British took decisive political, administrative, and economic steps to establish their colonial rule in Assam. The process began in earnest after the Anglo-Burmese war, when the British, by misappropriating Clause 2 of the Treaty of Yandaboo of 1826, initiated the annexation of Assam and her dependencies and neighbours both in plains and hills. They established new administrative measures, placing Assam under the government of Bengal and appointing a commissioner at Guwahati. This structure was further solidified with the creation of six districts and, in 1874, the formation of the province of Assam, which incorporated Sylhet and all hitherto annexed hill tracts. A key legislative measure was the Inner Line Regulation Act of 1873, which controlled movement into the hill areas.
These colonial policies had profound effects on the countryside. The common people, accustomed to the traditional paik and Khel systems, felt uncomfortable with the new land revenue system which required them to pay tax in cash. They were not used to any deal in cash and found it difficult to collect Rs.2/- per year to pay the land revenue. The British also levied taxes on formerly tax-free (Nishkar) lands and stopped grants to temples. This new market-based economy was difficult for the masses to cope with, and the influx of cheaper foreign goods badly affected cottage industries, leading to widespread poverty and indebtness in the rural areas. The arrival of Mahajans and moneylenders to the nook and corner of Assam added to the miseries of the people. Simultaneously, the introduction of tea plantations and mining changed the landscape, leading to the emergence of new townships and a tendency among people to adopt modern lifestyles. This also created a demand for labour, which, when not met by the local populace, resulted in an oxdus of the labourers from outside Assam.
10. Draw a map of Assam and locate the historical places in it. Also mention the importance of two of such places.
Answer:
The importance of two historical places is as follows:
Hajo/Hazo: Hajo remains a pilgrimage site for Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and others. A rare integration and communal harmony exist there, where the Dargah and the Hayagriba Madav Temple stand at the same site without any discomfort from either side.
Tezpur: The temple ruins of Dahaparbatiya at Tezpur possess the unique distinction of having the remnants of one of the oldest temples of Assam. The pride of this complex is the door frame of stone with exclusive designs of Gupta art.
11. Draw a map of Assam and put X sign of the spots where archaeological speciments are found. Also write briefly about the specimens which attracted you most.
Answer:
Among the most notable specimens are:
The Dahaparbatiya Door Frame: Found in Tezpur, this stone door frame is the pride of a temple complex that contains remnants of one of the oldest temples in Assam. It features exclusive designs of Gupta art.
The Ambari Wall: A wall 26 meters in length and 45 centimeters in breadth was discovered at Ambari, Guwahati. This discovery, along with sculptures found there, shows a marked influence of Gupta art and suggests the use of brick in a period between the 10th-11th Centuries.
12. Draw a map of Assam locating the sites of the following and write the historical importance of any two of them (not more than 50 words on each)
(a) Haruperswar
(b) Hajo
(c) Sadiya
(d) Silchar
(e) Bhalukpung
(f) Guwahati
(g) Goalpara
(h) Barpeta
(i) Sibsagarh
(j) Jorhat
Answer:
The historical importance of two of these sites is:
Guwahati: Many sculptures have been dug out at Ambari, Guwahati, with a marked influence of Gupta art. Its centrical position made it necessary for the British to make Guwahati the headquarters of Assam.
Sibsagar: The ruins of some temples found at Sibsagar are assigned to the 9th or 10th Centuries. The cannons of the Ahom kingdom are now kept near the DC’s court at Sibsagar for public audience.
Extras
Additional MCQs
1. Which river enters Assam from the north-east frontier and traverses a distance of about 805 kilometres?
(a) Ganges
(b) Brahmaputra
(c) Barak
(d) Mahanadi
Answer: (b) Brahmaputra
30. Which statement is NOT true about the Buranjis?
(a) They were composed by Ahom chroniclers
(b) They always recorded dates with complete accuracy
(c) They include court correspondence
(d) They sometimes omit authors’ names
Answer: (b) They always recorded dates with complete accuracy
Additional Questions and Answers
1. What ancient name of Assam is found in the Ramayana?
Answer: The ancient name of Assam found in the Ramayana is Pragjyotisha.
44. Describe the rise of Sufi traditions in Assam and their influence on communal harmony.
Answer: Sufism became popular in Assam, much like the Bhakti Movement. Its philosophy was based on Islam but was also influenced by the Indian environment, including within itself some Indian practices, ideas, and philosophy. Sufis believed that none can approach God without the assistance of a pir, and many pirs came to Assam at different periods. They used music, song, and dance with ecstasy to revere and remember God.
The rise of these traditions had a significant influence on communal harmony. Because Sufism was influenced by the local environment, saints of the Bhakta cult among the Hindus and Sufi saints and scholars could mix freely with each other and serve the society. The Dargahs of Sufi pirs attract people of all castes, creeds, and communities to this day. For example, the Dargah of Azan Pir at Saraguri chapori and the Dargah of the five Pirs at Dhubri are holy places that attract people from all walks of life. Azan Pir, the first Muslim saint to compose Zikir songs in the Assamese language, is a testament to this cultural integration.
A rare integration and communal harmony exist at Hajo, where the Dargah and the Hayagriba Madav Temple stand at the same site without any discomfort from either side, serving as a powerful symbol of the influence of these traditions.
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