Prince Andrew,
Duke of York, recently visited Kohima War Cemetery to pay homage to hundreds of
soldiers who lost their lives fighting for the Allied Forces in the Battle of
Kohima in 1944 during World War II. Prince Andrew is the first member of the
British Royal Family to have visited the Cemetery maintained by the
Commonwealth War Graves Commission of which India is one of the seven members.
Many perhaps do
not know the importance of that distant town, Kohima, nestling in the misty
hills of Nagaland in the North East. The Battle of Kohima was fought for around
three months by the Allied Forces who defended India against a determined
Japanese offensive. It was a turning point in the War. Aiming at the railhead
at Dimapur the Japanese made a resolute attempt to break through the defences into
the Brahmaputra Valley and then into India, only to be resisted with strength
and pushed back by the Allied forces. The decisive Battle was fought mostly
around the Kohima collector’s bungalow and his tennis court. Towards the end of
the battle the two enemies happened to face each other from across the two side-lines
of the court, eventually ending up fighting hand-to-hand with huge number of casualties
on both sides. Once Kohima was secured, the Japanese were pushed back down the
Kohima-Imphal Road into Burma, and later from the entire South East Asia.
The Kohima War
Cemetery is beautifully maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The
Cemetery has a lovely garden that overlooks Kohima. The structure, design,
horticulture, etc. are all on the basis of the standards prescribed by the
Commission. At Kohima the Stone of Remembrance, a feature of all War Graves
taken care of by the Commission, has an evocative epitaph which says,
“When you go home tell them of us and say
That for their tomorrow we gave our
today”.
During my tenure
in the North East in 1988-1990 I had the good fortune of visiting Kohima on a
few occasions and visit the War Cemetery. A photograph (now faded) taken
then is being uploaded. I also happened to travel down the historic
Kohima-Imphal Road on which several tough battles were fought to dislodge the
Japanese. The highways authorities, showing an unusual sense of history, have
put up signage ndicating sites of various significant battles, for
example, “the Battle of Zakhama”.
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