Seventy years of the Battle of Imphal to be commemorated

KOLKATA: Earlier this year, an elderly gentleman walked up to the war memorial at Kangla Tongbi on the Imphal-Kohima Road in Manipur and raised a toast with a half-finished bottle of rum. For the uninitiated, the bottle of rum dates back 70 years to 1944 when the father of this gentleman led a handful of men of the Army Ordnance Corps to repulse a series of attacks by the Japanese over three days. The time gained in this way helped the Allied troops to move back with equipment and made a stand against the Japanese. The conflict that followed was known as the Battle of Imphal. On April 20, 2013, the combined battle of Imphal/Kohima was named as Britain's Greatest Battle by the National Army Museum of the UK.

The officer who repulsed the Japanese attacks at Kangla Tongbi was apparently enjoying the rum when the Japanese attacked for the first time. He corked the bottle and kept it aside with plans to enjoy it after the battle. He never got the opportunity. Seventy years later, his son returned to the battleground with the unfinished bottle of rum and raised a toast to the brave officers and men who fought the Battle of Imphal. It is believed that nearly 200,000 Japanese, Britons, Indians, Gorkhas and men from several other nations clashed in the hills and valleys of Manipur between March and July, 1944.

The Manipur Tourism Forum (MTF) and the Second World War Imphal Campaign Foundation have been organizing the 70th anniversary commemoration of the Battle of Imphal this year. Manipur chief minister O Ibobi Singh is the chief patron. On Friday, there will be memorial services at the Imphal Indian War Cemetery, Hatta and Imphal War Cemetery, Dewlahland. Saturday will mark the closing ceremony of the three month long commemoration of the Battle of Imphal.

"Those who have confirmed their presence at the memorial service include the Governor of Manipur, British Deputy High Commissioner with his military attache, Australian Deputy High Commissioner with the First Secretary (Defence), High Commission of Australia, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Japan, US Consul General with the Military Attache, H Slim, grandson of Late Field Marshal W Slim, veterans of the Battle of Imphal who still survive and those who were witness to it," a source in MTF said.

Manipur is probably the only state in the country to have started something known as War Tourism. From Imphal, visitors can take several tours to places where battles were fought between the Allied Forces and the Japanese aided by the Indian National Army. These include the Battle of Imphal Tour, The Tiddim Road Tour — White Tigers, Black Cats and A Springing Tiger, The Shenam Saddle Tour — On the Road to Burma/Myanmar, The Battle of Sangshak Tour, The INA Tour and the Victoria Cross Tour. In addition to this, there are two walks. One is The Point 5846/Laimaton Trek and the other is the Nungshigum/Hill 3833 Trek. Those taking The Tiddim Road Tour will also visit the place where the INA hoisted the first tricolour, featuring a springing tiger for the first time on the Mainland.