In the medieval Assam, Paiks were

The history of Assam is the history of a confluence of people from the east, west, south, and the north ; the confluence of the Tibeto-Burman (Sino-Tibetan), Indo Aryan and Austroasiatic cultures. Key Points The Ahom state depended upon forced labour . Those forced to work for the state were called Paiks . A census of the population was taken. Each village had to send a number of Paiks by rotation. People from heavily populated areas were shifted to less populated places. Ahom clans were thus broken up. By the first half of the seventeenth century, the administration became quite centralised. Hence, in medieval Assam, Paiks were forced labourers.