The person who took Assam to its cultural and political zenith was a king named Rudra Singha, who ruled between 1696 and 1714 AD. He was from the Ahom dynasty which ruled Assam from 1228 to 1821 AD. Having ascended the throne, he had taken the Ahom name Chao Sukrungpha and almost immediately got down to building Assam into a prosperous kingdom. Numerous civil works were undertaken by him. The Joysagar, said to be India’s largest man-made tank with an area of 318 acres, was constructed during his reign. In a significant break from traditional Ahom architecture, which made heavy use of mud, bamboo and wood, Rudra Singha built solid stone structures. The Namdang Stone Bridge, which connects the eastern towns of Sibsagar and Jorhat, is another example. Built in the early eighteenth century, it was incorporated as part of National Highway 37 and continued to carry modern vehicles till a few years ago. The king also built a number of temples, such as the Shiva Doul and Gauri Doul. He established various Satras and also gave royal patronage to the Bihu festival. One must understand that Rudra Singha was a great patron o f Hinduism and the coins minted in his name contained the words “shri shrimadvengar deva rudra simhasya” and “shri shri haragauri padambuja madhukarasya”. The Tungukhia Buranji, a contemporary source, states that Rudra Singha held an assembly where he declared his intention to invade the region between Rangmati and Dhaka. Dhaka, at the time, was an important Mughal city in Bengal. Another reason could be that being a devotee of Shiva, he wanted to include a part of river Ganges into his domain. Closer to Guwahati, alliances were stitched with neighbouring kingdoms — Rajas of Morung, Bana-Vishnupur and Nadiya. For the first time, diplomatic relations were opened with Tripura and help was sought regarding the grand invasion of Mughal territories. Thus, Rudra Singha, in a short span of time, united all the tribes and kingdoms of the North East and a huge army of 4 lakh soldiers began to gather at Guwahati. Assam had a glorious tradition of beating back invaders for over 400 years. Rudra Singha intended to pay the invaders in their own coin. At this critical juncture, Rudra Singha, on whom the whole campaign rested, died a sudden death in 1714. His death is one of the great ‘what ifs’ of Indian history. With a Mughal Empire on its last legs, who knows how much success would have come Rudra Singha’s way. His death leaves us only with conjectures. Thus, Rudra Singha was a multifaceted personality, an able king who excelled at diplomacy, politics and warfare. At the same time, he patronised art and religion, and gave a great fillip to art and architecture during his reign. Assam achieved great heights in the realm of art, architecture, civil works, as well as military prowess during his reign.
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