Rituraj Borthakur

Sivasagar, Jun 20 (UNI) Imagine a man donned in traditional royal attire, suddenly 'summoning a royal assembly' at the premises of a historic monument and claims to be the king.

This was not a leaf out of a history book, but an incident that took Asom by surprise, creating a flutter among sundry circles.

Nearly 200 years after the curtains fell on the Ahom reign, one Pratap Singha of Sivasagar claimed to be the king at the historic Kareng Ghar in upper Asom's Sivasagar district on Sunday and proclaimed the title of 'Swargadeu' - a title designated to the then Ahom kings, who ruled this northeastern state for 600 years.

A day later, Rajkumar Ajit Narayan Singha, a Jorhat-based descendent of the Tungkhugia Ahom lineage, reacted sharply to the development, saying the claimant has desecrated a pious title which is symbolic of sovereign authority.

Now a 'mauzadar' and a columnist, Mr Ajit Narayan Singha is the great grandson of the last Ahom king Purandhar Singha.

''The act is objectionable. The self-proclaimed 'Ahom swargadeu' has emerged from nowhere. A pious title which denotes sovereign authority has been desecrated,'' Mr Ajit Singha said.

The claimant, backed by over 100 'royal courtiers', is the head of registered NGO christened as the Ahom Raj Chora (meaning Royal Ahom Forum).

Elaborating on the criteria of being a king, Mr Singha said, ''The claimant must undergo the customary coronation ceremony which involves a cycle of rituals, most of which are deft in the present context of things.'' Mr Singh claimed that the claimant did not appear to represent any of the four royal Ahom clans - Dihigia, Somuguria, Parbotia and Tungkhungia.

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