Sobhapati Samom
KEIBI, April 13
[dropcap]L[/dropcap]aying wreaths and offering floral tributes to the departed souls of the war heroes, Manipur on Sunday remembered the historic ‘Nungsigum Battle’ of the fierce battles of World War (WW) II in Imphal valley in April 1944, by holding an anniversary ceremony.
The function was held at the community hall of the foothill village Keibi, about 20 km north of Imphal on Sunday. The Convenor of the 70th anniversary of battle of Imphal Dr Th Dhabali, co-convenor Arambam Angamba Singh, War witness Moirangthem Meetei of Keibi Khullen and Secretary A Achoubi Singh of the Keibi Khullen development committee were the chief guest, president and guests of honour of the simple but meaningful function which was organised by the Manipur Tourism Forum (MTF) and WW II Imphal campaign foundation in association with the Government of Manipur.
A visiting world war veteran’s families led by the curator of WW II cemetery at Kohima Bob Cook and New Delhi based noted film maker Utpal Bordoloi also attended the ceremony.The day was remembered as part of the ongoing 3 month-long commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the historic Battle of Imphal. After the United Kingdom’s National Army Museum has named WW II battles fought in Imphal and Kohima as the greatest ever battle involving British forces, Manipur began to observe the anniversary which is scheduled to conclude on June 28 this year.
The ‘Nungsigum Battle’ according to records, was fought for about a week between the allied forces and Japanese army to capture and recapture massif of Nungsigum, towering 1000 ft over the plain and dominating several road junctions as well as the principal 4 Corps airstrips, into which supplies poured daily. The battle claims more than 250 lives.
In fact, the fierce battles of WW II has changed the lives of Manipur’s population. Manipur’s only airport at Tulihal and the 200-km Imphal-Moreh highway were built during WW II.
The Battle of Imphal, two months longer than the one in Kohima, was fought from March-July in 1944, involving about 2,00,000 soldiers including pilots of both allied and Japanese forces.
The Japanese, who fought along side some Indian nationalists, eventually lost 53,000 dead and missing in the battles. The British forces sustained 12,500 casualties at Imphal while the fighting at Kohima cost them another 4,000 casualties.
