 Following this, the use of Tai fell away entirely and Indo-European Assamese became the main language spoken within the kingdom.In 1826, British East India troops occupied the now-fallen Ahom kingdom, and Assamese was initially used as the primary language of instruction within schools, with English and Hindi to be introduced as second languages to the pupils.Assamese was thought to have become the "lingua franca", however, upon contact with the people from the Naga Hills, it was clear that Nagamese, which was viewed as "pidgin Assamese", was the "lingua franca" of the Naga Hills that was spoken by the majority, if not the entirety, of the population.