Historical Context and Significance

The Assam Cabinet's decision to name a new flyover in Guwahati after Prithu, a 13th-century Kamrup ruler, is aimed at honoring the defender of Bharat's soul. Chief Minister highlighted Prithu's role in countering Bakhtiyar Khilji, a military general of Muhammad of Ghori, who led conquests in eastern India and is infamous for sacking Nalanda.

Prithu's Historical Emergence

• Prithu is being projected as an Assamese icon similar to Lachit Borphukan, who famously defeated the Mughal Army in the 1671 Battle of Saraighat.
• The identity of the local ruler who thwarted Khilji's incursion in 1206 CE is unclear. The evidence is based on a rock inscription in Kanai Barasi Bowa and references in Persian chronicles like Tabaqat-i-Nasiri mentioning a ruler named Bartu.
• Historian Kanak Lal Barua suggested in his 1933 work that Prithu Raja might have defeated Khilji's forces in 1206 and later repulsed Ghiyasuddin Iwaz.