2026 · Q37
Which one of the following statements with regard to the Moidams, built by the Tai-Ahom kingdom and inscribed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, is/are correct?
- 1.They acted as army fortresses.
- 2.They were recreation centres of the Royals and Nobles.
- 3.They were burial grounds of the Royals and Nobles.
- 4.They were battle drill centres of the Royals and Nobles.
- (a)1 only
- (b)1 and 3
- (c)3 only
- (d)2 and 4
Show answer and explanationHide answer and explanation
Only statement 3 is correct, so (c) is the answer. Moidams are the burial mounds of the Ahom royalty and nobility, concentrated at Charaideo in Sivasagar district of Assam, each consisting of a vaulted brick or stone chamber holding the body together with grave goods, covered by an earth mound and enclosed by a wall, and the site became India's first cultural World Heritage inscription from the Northeast in 2024.
- Statements 1, 2 and 4 are all wrong because they assign a military or recreational function to what is a funerary complex. The Ahom kingdom did build fortifications and earthworks, the ramparts and ditches associated with the Battle of Saraighat being the well known example, but those are separate structures and are not moidams.
- Options (a), (b) and (d) therefore all rest on transferring functions from other Ahom remains to the burial mounds.
Easy · Current Affairs Inspired · Art and Culture · Heritage Listing and Conservation