Chandramohan Kakati
It dates back to the 14th century. Jongalbalahu was one of the most powerful and famous Tiwa traditional rulers of central Assam like his worthy father Arimatta. Many narratives cluster around his heroic adventures and Tiwas are always proud of Jongalbalahu alias Jakanka, the second son of Arimatta. His name is a household word amongst the Tiwas. Arimatta who belonged to the Jitary dynasty had ruled the Kumoi Kingdom, which covered then the entire Mayong region. While extending his kingdom and its adjoining areas, Arimatta had to fight many battles with other chieftains and in the process, he killed one powerful king Ramchandra whose actual identity was not known to him. Subsequently, Arimatta came to know that Ramchandra was his father. Hence, he went on a self-exile. During his self-exiled period, Arimatta came into conflict with Jongalbalahu that led to a fierce battle where Arimatta succumbed to grievous injuries. Thus, the self-exiled period had cost Arimatta dearly…! Jongalbalahu knew the identity of his father Arimatta from his mother Gangawati after the battle was over. His remorse for patricidal killing knew no bounds. Devout Shiva worshipper as he was, Jongalbalahu offered puja for atonement. Immediately after the tragic incident as also not being satisfied ruling a small principality, Jongalbalahu had changed his seat of power from East Boghora to the Roha area to establish a stable centralized administration. Virtually, he extended his control over a vast area towards Khagarijan (Nagaon) and beyond up to the Rongagorah area in the east that spreads over to the Brahmaputra on the north. One can never lose sight of the fact that his brave warrior father Arimatta besides being the ruler of the Kumoi region, had administered his control over the Rangia area of lower Assam and more especially he extended his sway up to northern Assam that includes Abar Pahar region of present Itanagar area. His name is also associated with a Nishi legend related to Hita Fort in present Itanagar, the capital town of Arunachal Pradesh.
However, besides being a powerful ruler of central Assam's greater region with indomitable courage, grit, valour and adroit handling of state affairs, Jongalbalahu was invincible on the following counts: First, he was a popular Tiwa hero, second, he was armed with a god-gifted sword; third, ramparts he constructed near Roha was impregnable one guarded by his faithful soldiers and fourth, sentinels so engaged might have had used fox-holes around the ramparts to keep a vigil on movements of enemies. All these factors had baffled his adversaries thereby Jongalbalahu incurred the wrath of the Kachari Trios of Dimapur, Maibang and Cachar. Threat to Jongalbalahu's life was looming large every passing day, but his god-gifted sword and his impregnable fortress stood as a stumbling block to the Kachari Kings. So Dimapur King Meghnarayan diplomatically (can be called Machiavellian diplomacy) hatched a devious plan to kill Jongalbalahu at any cost. Accordingly, he had given his daughter Sukumala Konwari in marriage to Jongalbalahu showing fake friendship gesture with the sole intention to get hold of the said God-gifted sword. Sukumala also managed to obtain the sword for being dispatched to her father. But alas! Jongalbalahu was unaware of that secret plan. Now some Tiwa scholars of repute have earned the reputation of throwing some light on Tiwa hero Jongalbalahu and his planned killing by vested circles of that period vis-à-vis his immense popularity as a historical figure. Now, the time has come that the present historians need to focus on it without any prejudice and establish Jongalbalahu as Tiwa hero of the 14th century historically.
It is an open secret that Kachari kings could not tolerate the meteoric rise of Jongalbalahu who established his capital in a suitable place near Roha where ramparts were constructed encircling the capital complex which was named after the king known as Jongalbalahu Garh. Though intermittent attacks and counter-attacks were going on, Kacharis avoided direct confrontation with Jongalbalahu initially on the grounds mentioned in the earlier para.
Since combined Kachori forces failed to penetrate the fortified fortress, Kachari king Meghnarayan became restless and issued directives to dig out a tunnel below the rampart. After the tunnel was dug out, Kachari soldiers entered the royal residence overpowering Tiwa soldiers. Being caught unaware, unarmed Jongalbalahu somehow managed to come out and submerged himself in the nearby Kollong river to escape his pursuers and emerged at Roha to quench his thirst and again dived back and emerged at Jagi for a while, but he was brutally killed by the Kacharis with bamboo spears at Kajalimukh. Braveheart Jongalbalahu had scripted another history diving in the river Kollong covering a long distance of more than 50 miles (now more than 80 km) at a stretch right from Roha to Kajalimukh. Apart from being a powerful ruler, Jongalbalahu's mastery over diving was amazing. Thenceforth, the place where he quenched his thirst and the place where he emerged next has been known as Roha and Jagi respectively. The tragic end of Jongalbalahu had saddened the Tiwas, but they refrained from reprisal, though infamous the incident was! Instead, Tiwas commemorated that 'sad' day with deep reverence to the great soul leaving no room for belligerency that had impacted maintaining cordial and peaceful relationship amongst the chieftains of various principalities of that time towards cementing the bond of 'golden' friendship. It is a matter of deep regret that historians of the past could not unravel the truth to establish Tiwa hero Jongalbalahu as a historical figure without distorting historical facts. It's time to have a relook at our glorious past of ours. We need to project Jongalbalahu as a Tiwa hero historically who belonged to one of the most colourful tribes of Assam whose name and fame is indelibly imprinted in Tiwa psyches.
One can say with a matter of pride that Assam Government had already completed a project installing a life-size statue of Jongalbalahu inside the Garh premises which was conceived and designed by renowned sculptor Biren Singha. We ever remain grateful to all Tiwa organizations and renowned persons of the Tiwa community who had wholeheartedly lent support to this laudable project. The formal unveiling of the said statue on November 7, 2020, can be treated as a red-letter day in the annals of Tiwa history. Now, the capital site of Jongalbalahu has been transformed into a heritage site for tourist destinations. As such, it is reiterated that present historians need to throw more light on Jongalbalahu and while doing so it is also imperative to see that his proud father Arimatta is not ignored since he also carved out a niche for himself while extending his vast empire despite constant hostilities from adversaries.
We need to have a strong sense of history to highlight the feats done by our past heroes to inspire our new generation. To keep alive the memory of Tiwa Bravehearts and their ideology, we genuinely need strong and visionary thinking. Though parochial as it seems, one can dare to admit that Jongalbalahu did play a crucial role as the symbol of unity thereby scripted history in golden letters in the pages of Morigaon history. While remembering our proud sons and to know the memorabilia of famous warriors, we should keep in mind that we are living in a colourful society which has great diversity with mutual love and unity. Our most revered great saint and social reformer Mahapurush Sankardeva has taught us to bask in the sunshine of love and brotherhood to establish an egalitarian society.
Doll's Queen