NEWS – Assam Revives Memory of Prithu, the ‘Forgotten Hero’ Who Resisted Bakhtiyar Khilji

HIGHLIGHTS

A New Symbol in Guwahati

• The Assam Cabinet recently decided to name a new flyover in Guwahati after Prithu, a 13th-century Kamrup ruler.
• CM Himanta Biswa Sarma described him as a “timeless reminder that Assam has always defended Bharat’s soul.”

The Legend of Prithu vs. Khilji

• Historical accounts suggest that in 1206 CE, the first Turko-Afghan incursion into Assam, led by Bakhtiyar Khilji, was repulsed.
• A rock inscription at Kanai Barasi Bowa (North Guwahati) records the defeat of “Turks” but does not name a ruler.
• The Persian chronicle Tabaqat-i-Nasiri mentions a defeat at the hands of the “Rae of Kamrud,” possibly linking the ruler to Prithu (or Bartu).
• Historian Kanak Lal Barua (1933) identified Prithu as the king who repelled both Khilji and his deputy Ghiyasuddin Iwaz.

The Making of a Hero

• Prithu’s prominence today is largely due to historian Raktim Patar and his 2021 book Maharaja Prithu: The Unsung Warrior King Who Annihilated Bakhtiyar Khalji.
• Patar, associated with the RSS-affiliated ABISY, has spearheaded seminars and publications to popularise Prithu.
• The effort mirrors the celebration of Lachit Borphukan, another Assamese icon who defeated the Mughals in 1671.

Debates Among Scholars

• Many historians caution that concrete evidence is lacking.
  • I.S. Mumtaza Khatun argues that “Maharaja” may be a later misattribution, with Persian texts only referring to a “chieftain.”
  • Archaeologist Manjil Hazarika stresses the need for more inscriptions and research on this transitional medieval period in Assam.