Question

In what ways was the history of the Gonds different from that of the Ahoms? Were there any similarities?

Answer 1

 The history of the Gonds was different from that of the Ahoms in the following ways:

• The Gonds lived in a vast forested region called Gondwana. The Ahoms migrated to the Brahmaputra valley from present-day Myanmar in the 13th century.
• The Gonds practised shifting cultivation. The Ahoms did not practise this type of cultivation.
• The Gond society was not as much developed as the Ahom’s. The Ahoms built a large state by using firearms. They could even make high-quality gunpowder and cannons.
• Ahom society was very sophisticated. Poets and scholars were given land grants. Theatre was encouraged. We do not find these things in Gond society.

There were many similarities between the Gonds and Ahoms:

• Both were capable of building large states.
• Both had to face Mughal attack. Despite their brave defence, both were defeated by the Mughals.
•  Both of them granted land to the Brahmanas, who became very influential.
• We find the administration centralised in the history of the Gonds as well as the Ahoms.