King Nara-abrayan conquered Nepal in 1540 and Abom kings had complete sway or the Mishmi country south of the Himalayas. (viii) King Indrapal's mother Durlabha, had her father's kingdom about the Parakurim Kunda at the foot of the Himalayas, perhaps cover- ing the whole stretch of land between present Chian and India proper (pp. 198-9). The old saying that history repeats itsell' has perhaps been too old now to be true. As a matter of fact, history never repeats itself, though historical conditions may. History of Asam eis perhaps a witness to this fact. It may probably be little more than a pious wish to say that Asam is coming back to her own in any near future. She has become less and less physically, which fact has so badly told upon the mind of her children. They cannot believe all that they had begin, and they fight shy of peeping beyond the last seven centuries or past the Ahom rule. Even one history of Asam in the proper sense has not been forthcoming till this day, though institution like the Publication Board are sinking colossal amounts of good public money annually in encouraging few works of any worth But even histories have miracles. Let us hope such a miracle will act favourably to bring Asam to her own from the moribund state she has been in. Let us not despair the people, to quote Henderson, who now, "seeing the greatness which was theirs, and at the sume time not shut- ting their eyes to the mistakes and weaknes which were also indis- putably theirs, may rise again to greater things, while to the strangers at their gates it will bring a better understanding and all that follows in its train." "History is philosophy teaching by examples', and the history of Asim has indeed so many things to teach at least her own people. I cannot over-estimate the patronage of Sri Surek Candra Raj khowa, our' sometime Student and now the Director of Public Instruc- tion, Asam, but for which this work could not expect to see the light of day; and no less that of the present authorities of the G. S. Press, Madras, who have inherited and transmitted to me the same warmth of sympathy which my friend G. Srinivasacari, now of sacred memory, bore personally to me. I cannot thank them adequately, but I can simply remember them that virtue is its own reward. My son Sinsin Sarat Mangal (Nandan) carns my blessings by helping me in pre- paring the Index, and the Ministry of S.R. & C.A., New Delhi, have my gratitude for their kind offer of an aid towards 50% of the cost of production of NLHAL January 1, 1964 DEWAR NOG
