STAFF CORRESPONDENT
DIBRUGARH: Maniram Dewan, the hero of the 1857 freedom movement in Assam who was hanged openly at Jorhat, was remembered by the eminent historians of the State. Historians like Professor Rajib Handique, Professor Udayaditya Bharali, Dr.Ajit Kumar Dutta and Dr. Chandan Sharma lauded Maniram for his indelible impact on the life and times of Assam.
Professor Rajib Handique of Gauhati University said that this martyr extraordinaire from Northeast India was popularly known for his brilliance and administrative acumen, being as he was an adviser and administrator both of the Ahom monarchy and the colonial company administration in Assam, besides being a litterateur, entrepreneur and the first Indian tea planter. Professor Handique opined that Maniram Dewan in a way symbolizes the historic connection of Northeast India with mainland India. The significance of his life is that it spanned both the old and the new in terms of polity and economy; as well as the society that was being swept by the momentous changes unleashed by the colonial encounter. In this period of transition, Maniram Dewan's unparalleled capabilities and diligence became quite evident, Professor Handique said. He stated that although Maniram was very close to the British in the earlier days, he gradually became disillusioned with the British because of their policies, which were extractive and didn't consider the welfare of the people. The patriot in him wanted to reinstate the Ahom monarchy in Assam.
Professor Udayaditya Bharali, former Principal of Cotton College, Guwahati stated that Maniram Dewan being the first native capitalist in Assam, tried to challenge the British economically. According to Professor Bharali, in 1837 the tea business was formally started in Assam and in 1839 the East India Company appointed Maniram as the Dewan of Assam Tea Company and two tea gardens were established with his help. But later regarding the issue of bringing workers from outside Assam, a rift was created between him and the British administration which ultimately led to his resignation from the post of Dewan. Then he established two tea gardens at Chinamora in Jorhat district and at Senglung in Sivasagar district in the year 1842. He also tried to develop his own company and started business in some other areas too. Maniram Dewan participated in the famous London exhibition by sending products being manufactured by his company and won gold medal and certificate of merit for the quality of the products. However, Maniram was not able to compete with the British manufactured goods because of the colonial restrictions, Professor Bharali added.
Dr. Ajit Kumar Dutta, who did his doctoral research on Maniram Dewan and authored the book Maniram Dewan and Contemporary Assamese Society, said that Maniram Dewan was sober, proud and arrogant in personality. He maintained good relations with Assam's neighboring hill tribes. Maniram Dewan was attracted by economic modernism and he had the motive for profit and so engaged himself in coal and salt supply, elephant trade, excise mahal and construction work. On Maniram Dewan's effort to restore the Ahom kingdom, Dr. Dutta said that during the revolt of 1857 Maniram found common cause to fight against the British and so planned a strategy with the help of Madhu Mallik, a Bengali gentleman and even established contact with the famous rebel leader of Uttar Pradesh Kanwar Singh. Piyali Baruah was the lieutenant of Maniram in the plan against the British rule where Bahadur Gaonburha and Sheikh Farmud Ali, two influential persons of the Muslim community, joined hands. However, the strong imperial British Government suppressed the uprising and Maniram and Piyali were hanged to death in Jorhat, Dr. Dutta said.
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