Battle of Kohima

Battle of Kohima

The historic Battle of Kohima, the outcome of which – along with that of the simultaneous Battle of Imphal – had not only changed the course of the Second World War but had also hugely impacted on global politics in the post-War period, is into its 75th anniversary. It was in March 1944 that the Japanese Army had launched Operation U-Go, an attack on Assam which was intended at inspiring a rising against the British rule in India.

The Japanese had aimed to break through the British lines, capturing supplies on the way, and pour down the Brahmaputra Valley into mainland India. This well-drawn plan that Emperor Hirohito’s army had however faltered on the stubborn defence of Kohima, then headquarters of the Naga Hills district of Assam, which soon came to be known as the ‘Stalingrad of the East.’ The Japanese invaders, who had managed to arrive on India’s eastern border after the successful expedition of Burma (present-day Myanmar) in May 1942, had initially mooted the idea of entering the Assam plains by advancing through the Hukawng Valley, so that one of the first things it could lay hands on was the Digboi oil refinery, its surrounding oilfields and the coal mines of Makum, Ledo and Margherita.

They had named it ‘Operation 21’, but it had to be called off. Even as the Japanese took time to draw up further plans, the British Army had already taken strong measures to defend Eastern India – Assam and Manipur – with General Slim’s Fourteenth Army taking position all over. But despite that, the Japanese began marching forward, from March 8, 1944 to be precise, reaching Kohima on April 3. While the battle reached an eyeball-to-eyeball situation on the Kohima Ridge, it later came to be also known as the Battle of the Tennis Court, one that finally saw the British troops emerge victorious, not however before the sacrifice of a large number of young soldiers.

Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio has identified the 75th anniversary of the historic Battle of Kohima as a major tourism event in his state in the next few months. Presenting the state budget for 2019-20 in Kohima on Monday, Rio has put the Commonwealth War Memorial in the heart of the state capital on priority, stating that it would be a centre of attraction in the current year.

Describing the Commonwealth War Memorial as a ‘standout landmark’ of the heart of the state capital, Nagaland chief minister Rio has said that this patch of land reminds one and all of the epic battle that had not only changed the course of the Second World War, but of global politics itself in the post-War period. The Battle of Kohima that began on April 4, 1944, and will remain an integral part of the human history for all time to come.

The state government has already set up a State Level Committee and a Working Committee to commemorate the 75th Anniversary, and a year-long commemorative calendar of activities is being drawn up. According to the chief minister, Nagaland would be holding a series of events, functions, services, seminars and festivals in partnership and collaboration with Governments and NGOs of Great Britain, Japan, Myanmar, and the United States, apart from the Union ministries of Defence, Home and Tourism.

The events are also expected to attract a large number of War veterans, students, families of those buried here and of course the local communities. As Rio has said, the aim is to convert this milestone year as an opportunity to tap into the potentials of war and heritage tourism in a manner that will give a thrust to the tourism economy of the state.

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