Agrarian System of Medieval Assam

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Despite the formation of the ancient state of Pragjyotisha-Kamarupa in the lower Brahmaputra valley and its existence till at least the middle of the 12th century A.D., political integration of the entire valley was not achieved till the coming of the Ahoms and their establishment of a state here subsequently known as Assam. The Ahoms who came to this valley from the region of Upper Burma and southern Yunan in the beginning of the 13th century formed the nucleus of a small state in the extreme south-eastern part of the Brahmaputra valley and by way of its gradual expansion by subjugating the local tribes, made it a considerably big state so that by the late 17th century it came to cover almost the entire region of the Brahmaputra valley except the extreme western part now represented by the undivided district of Goalpara.

The Ahoms ruled the land till the end of the first quarter of the 19th century covering a period of about six hundred years. During this period the ruling class by way of their inherited proficiencies and follow-up policies of administration systematically utilised the available man- power and converted the jungle lands of Assam into open and extensive cultivable fields; and thereby helped in shaping the socio-economic structure of the land into a consolidated whole which till date characterises the society of Assam. Predominantly characterised by the tribal way of living, the economy of the upper Brahmaputra valley was almost revolutionised with the introduction and extension of the permanent wet-rice cultivation. Not being accustomed to the caste systems at the initial stage, which was the characteristic mostly of the central society of the lower Brahmaputra valley in the period, the Ahoms soon realised the role of caste hierarchy in socio-economic and cultural life and adopted policies to honour it in Assam's agrarian society. This was why both caste and tribe characters remained in the agrarian society of Assam in Medieval period.

The Ahom rulers were adopting a policy of isolation to which Assam's geographical location also largely contributed. This needed the growth of a self-sufficient economy in Assam in the medieval period As a result, peasants in Assam in the period under review had little knowledge of the out-side world and whatever they produced they Remained content with them. But after their contact with the Mughals this isolation slowly melted, although modernisation of the agrarian society of Assam came only after the British occupation of the land.

Methods and appliances of production introduced by the ruling Aboms were comparatively advanced to those of the local tribes. But the system of their manpower utilisation was feudalistic. Industry, trade and money circulation were limited Distinctions between man and man on the basis of caste and political status were maintained in socio-cultural life, which led to the growth of a privileged class in the society. Thus, slowly social classes based on the ritual status of caste, and political and economic standard appeared in the agrarian social structure, which, however, led to socio-economic transition in the state towards the close of our period.

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