<P> Maniram Dutta Baruah, popularly known as Maniram Dewan (17 April 1806--26 February 1858), was an Assamese nobleman in British India . He was one of the first people to establish tea gardens in Assam . A loyal ally of the British East India Company in his early years, he was hanged by the British for conspiring against them during the 1857 uprising . He was popular among the people of Upper Assam as "Kalita Raja" (king of the Kalita caste). </P> <P> Maniram was born into a Kalita family that had migrated from Kannauj to Assam in the early 16th century . His paternal ancestors held high offices in the Ahom court . The Ahom rule had weakened considerably following the Moamoria rebellion (1769--1806). During the Burmese invasions of Assam (1817 - 1826), Maniram's family sought asylum in Bengal, which was under the control of the British East India Company . The family returned to Assam under the British protection, during the early days of the First Anglo - Burmese War (1824 - 1826). The East India Company defeated the Burmese and gained the control of Assam through the Treaty of Yandabo (1826). </P> <P> Early in his career, Maniram became a loyal associate of the British East India Company administration under David Scott, the Agent of the Governor General in North East India . In 1828, the 22 - year - old Maniram was appointed as a tehsildar and a sheristadar of Rangpur under Scott's deputy Captain John Bryan Neufville . </P> <P> Later, Maniram was made a borbhandar (Prime Minister) by Purandar Singha, the titular ruler of Assam during 1833--1838 . He continued to be an associate of Purandar's son Kamaleswar Singha and grandsom Kandarpeswar Singha . Maniram became a loyal confidante of Purandar Singha, and resigned from the posts of sheristadar and tehsildar, when the king was deposed by the British . </P>

Who was the leader of the 1857 revolt in assam