Monday, March 19, 2018

Battlefield Tourism and Manipur



Introduction:
     Tourism is a growing phenomenon worldwide, fuelled by both the growth of the entertainment industry and the increase in international travel.
          Despite the fact that statistics concerning directly the impact that 2nd World War have had on tourism are limited, there are still some remarkable figures. Countries like UK, Australia, and America have an increasingly interest in studying and developing the Battle-induced tourism. Given the existence of this type of tourism and the potentially significant economic value of this strand of tourism to the economy, understanding the drivers of Battle-induced tourism and exploiting its effect are crucial issues to comprehend.

International attention:
        The momentum for publicity of  Imphal Campaign of WW-2 pick up from 2013 when the National Army Museum of the UK  voted the twin Battles of Kohima and Imphal as the Greatest Battle of Britain on 20 April 2013.
       Since then many films based on the battle of Imphal were produced and screen “ Imphal- 1944” produce and Directed by Japanese Actor/Director based in London, Junichi Kajioka and Bollywood Film “Rangoon” are worth mentioning. “Imphal-1944” travels the world for various Film festivals and bags “Best Short Period Drama award” and “Best Producer Award” in Monaco International Film Festival, 2014.
                Battle of Imphal  and Tourism Potential:-
     Battle of Imphal, which starts from march 19, 1944 to July 6th , 1944  has lot of potential to induce tourism. In this battle Indians were fighting on both side. The participation of INA is another aspect which will attract lot of Indians. Some facts which need to ponder from the perspective of Tourism are:
  3 Japanese divisions were involved in the campaign. A total of 120,000 Japanese soldiers reached the hills and valley of Manipur.
  40,000 soldiers were registered as Indian National Army soldiers
  A total of more than 2,50,000 British, Indian , Americans, Canadians, Australian, Africans, Chinese and Burmese participate the campaign as allied force.
  More than 60 % of Indians and Gurkhas who died in the battles were never recovered from the battlefields and hence they are listed in Rangoon Memorial as Missing in Action.
  There are five locations where 5 Victoria Cross were awarded in Manipur.
  The Two Cemeteries and one memorial under the Commonwealth War Graves
   Commission is the epitome of Battle Tourism in Manipur.
The Major battles that fought in Manipur are:
       Battle of Sangshak
       Battle of Kanglatongbi
       Battle of Red Hill
       Battle of Nungshigum
       Battle of Kameng
       Battle of Tengnoupal/ Shenam Saddle
       Battle of Bishenpur and Ningthoukhong
       Battle of Modbung
       Battle of Torbung
       Battle of Silchar Track
Other than these battle fought on land, there was an Air Battle fought almost everyday between Allieds and the Japanese above the skies of Manipur till June 17, 1944.
Conclusion :-
  In the very near future, the battlefield locations, war time Jeep tracks, plane crash sites  (General Wingate crash site in highest priority ), colonial structures (Slim cottage in first priority), Landmarks and locations which are associated with important incidents of the war will bring and attract the highest number of foreign tourist. This locations need deeper research and development at par with international standards.
Manipur with its unique beauty, indulgence to Great War  and a historical association with one of the Greatest battles of South East Asia in World War 2 makes it a high ground for making films from Bollywood as well as Hollywood. Developing infrastructure and propagating the unique history of the war to the world will definitely make it conducive for Tourism growth in the long run.

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