Kohima - Nagaland Capital,

travel story

We had actually stayed in Kohima when we first arrived in Nagaland, but due to trips elsewhere and Susanna getting sick we didn't actually see much so we went back on a day trip along with Magdalene, Elizabeth and her boyfriend Toka.

Kohima is the proud capital of Nagaland. While Dimapur down on the plains is the largest city and the most important commercial part, Kohima situated in hilly land is undoubtedly the cultural and political heart of Nagaland. It may look large on the picture above, but in fact less than 100,000 people live there. The imposing, white building on the hill top to the left is the brand new Police Headquarters.

Despite being a fairly small town Kohima has major trouble supplying it's inhabitant with basic amenities such as electricity and water, especially the latter. In fact the town has more or less given up on delivering tap water and most of Kohima's inhabitants must have water driven to their house by large road tankers. This explains that, whereas Kohima is a wonderfully charming city for the tourist, Dimapur holds a much larger appeal to the locals.

Kohima holds a very special place in world history. This is where the WWII Japanese advance into mainland Asia was finally halted by allied British-led troops. This is the British War Cemetary situated on the exact location of part the battle in 1944. It occupies a high ground with fine views to Kohima town surrounding it.

Much of the initial fighting in the Battle of Kohima was centred around the deputy commisioner's besieged Bungalow, where the war cemetery now is. A big cross has been erected on the spot where the most heavy fighting took place, but the outline of what was originally here has been preserved: A tennis court. Enlarge the picture if you don't see it.

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http://eagersnap.blogspot .com/2007/01/kohima-proud -capital-of-nagaland.html