Saikia was a Paik officer of the Ahom militia who led a hundred paiks.[1] The Koch kingdom had a similar system in place. As it was a purely administrative position, the title holder could belong to diverse ethnic groups or religions. Today, this title is used as a surname by Assamese people of various ethnic origins.[2] The post of Saikia in the Paik system was higher in rank to the Bora (in charge of 20 paiks) but lower in rank to the Hazarika (in charge of a thousand paiks).