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# The Gonds and the Ahoms ## The Gonds * **Garhs:** Each garh, a territory, was controlled by a particular Gond clan. It was further divided into 84 villages (chaurasi), which were then subdivided into barhots (12 villages each). * **Emergence of a Large State:** The emergence of large states grea...

# The Gonds and the Ahoms ## The Gonds * **Garhs:** Each garh, a territory, was controlled by a particular Gond clan. It was further divided into 84 villages (chaurasi), which were then subdivided into barhots (12 villages each). * **Emergence of a Large State:** The emergence of large states greatly impacted Gond society, changing it from a relatively equal structure to a hierarchical one with Brahmanas receiving land grants from Gond rajas, eventually becoming more influential. The Gond chiefs wanted to be recognised as Rajputs, and Aman Das, a Gond raja of Garha Katanga, adopted the title of Sangram Shah. His son, Dalpat, married Princess Durgawati. * **Rani Durgawati:** Dalpat died prematurely. Rani Durgawati became a capable ruler and governed on behalf of her five-year-old son, Bir Narain. Under her rule, the kingdom expanded considerably. However, in 1565, Mughal forces, led by Asaf Khan, attacked Garha Katanga. A resistant force led by Rani Durgawati was formed, but she was defeated and preferred to die rather than surrender. Her son also died soon after. ## The Ahoms * **Migration and State Formation:** The Ahoms migrated to the Brahmaputra Valley from present-day Myanmar in the 13th century. They established a new state by putting down the existing system of landlords (bhuiyans) in the 16th century. They conquered the Chhutiyas (1523) and Koch-Hajo (1581) kingdoms and many other tribes. * **Military Strength:** The Ahoms developed a strong military force, employing firearms such as gunpowder and cannons as early as the 1530s. By the 1660s, they had high-quality firearms. * **Mughal Invasions:** The Ahoms faced many invasions from the southwest. In 1662, Mughal forces under Mir Jumla attacked the Ahom kingdom. Despite a brave defence, the Ahoms were defeated. Mughal control of the region was short-lived. * **Administrative Structure:** The Ahom state relied on forced labor (paiks), who were subject to a census of the population. Each village provided paiks in rotation. Population redistribution from heavily populated areas to less populated areas resulted in weakening of Ahom clans. By the first half of the 17th century, the Ahom administration became quite centralized. **Note:** Some additional, handwritten information is present on the image, about specific locations and numbers (70,000 villages) as well as other observations in the image not perfectly decipherable in order not to create false information.