Photo Courtesy: nenow
Guwahati: A historic training ground for Ahom warriors is disappearing. Located in Assam's Charaideo district, the Bhojo site spans 129 bighas and features earthen formations used for guerrilla warfare drills. The Assam Tourism Department recognizes the area as a vital military heritage site. These man-made mounds show how medieval soldiers practiced concealment and surprise attacks.
The Ahom kingdom ruled the Brahmaputra Valley from the thirteenth century until 1826. Their military success relied on adapting to rivers, forests, and wetlands rather than rigid battlefield formations. These tactics stopped Mughal expansion. Today, the site remains unprotected. Lack of fencing has invited illegal occupation. Vegetable farmers now plow over the ancient mounds. Flattened earth means lost history. Archeologists cannot relocate these formations like museum exhibits, as their value relies on the original spatial arrangement.
The site gained official status as a protected monument in the 2000s, but that status currently means nothing on the ground. The Tai Ahom Yuba Parishad has demanded immediate government intervention. They view the encroachment as an attack on historical inheritance rather than a simple land dispute. Experts suggest the state must perform a detailed survey, map the trenches, and establish a buffer zone.
Local participation could save the area. Officials have been urged to install signage and involve the community to prevent further damage. The Tai Ahom Yuba Parishad stated: "Such demands should be viewed not merely as a dispute over encroachment but as a call to preserve a historical inheritance." The loss of these mounds would erase key evidence of how the Ahom people defended their kingdom for centuries.
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