The Loktak Lake, Manipur

The Loktak Lake is the largest freshwater lake in North East India located 50 Kms from Imphal, in the State of Manipur,  famed for the shimmering blue water, labyrinthine boat routes, colourful water plants and the enigmatic phumdis.

Phumdis is an accrual of decay of organic garbage, soil particles thickened into a assorted mix of vegetation, soil and organic matter. During the rainy season the phumdis floats on the water and in the dry season it sinks to the bottom, with the roots deriving its nutrients from the soil, thereby ensuring survival of the biomass. 

However with the installation of the Loktak Hydroelectric Project the water levels remain high all around the year.  This  has created  disturbance in  the feeding of nutrients on lake bottom by the phumdis and hence lead to a loss of biomass and thinning of the islands with each passing year. In the process  two ecological systems have formed in the Loktak Lake , one, the body of open water covering one-third of the area and the other, the phumbi covering the remaining two-third. 

The lake is one of the most intriguing and picturesque eco systems if there ever was one. The length is 35 KM, the breadth of 13 KM, average depth of 2.7 metres and surface area of 287 sq KM. It plays an important role in providing ecological and economic security to the region and closely related with the lives of people in Manipur both socially and culturally. The water body has a  rich in biodiversity and has been designated as Wetland of International importance under Ramsar Convention in 1990. It serves as a source of water for hydro power generation, irrigation and drinking water. The Loktak Lake  is also a source of livelihood for the rural fisherman who live not only in the surrounding areas but also on the phumbis alias phumshongs. The name is derived from Lok “Stream” Tak “end” . The five major rivers of Manipur i.e Manipur river, the Iril, the Thoubal,the Sekmai and the Khuga with a combined catchment area of 7000 sq Km form the main source of water for the Loktak Lake. The ungamed channel or the Thai Barrage is its only outlet.

Fish is a staple diet in Manipur and indigenous fishing methods like Chinese fishing nets,

Longthrai net fishing, electro fishing etc. The most interesting is the indigenous fishing method known as the Azhaphum fishing, a unique age old traditional practice of fishing using phumdi. The Loktak Lake fisherman cut and drift chunks of phumdi fixed to the lake bottom using bamboo poles. An enclosure is built around the phumdi using poles and grass at level higher than the lake water to trap fish inside. This traditional knowledge of fixing phumdi using bamboo poles has been successfully applied in many of the management efforts of the park.

The lake had been inhabited by generations of the community of fisherman who live in traditional huts that precariously stand on bamboo stilts placed on the phumdis in the middle of the water body. Canoes were the only form of transport from the shore to the phumshong. Human activity had severe effects on the eco system of the lake.  A lot has changed over the years since the Loktak Lake (Protection) Act 2006 was introduced by the State authorities in order to conserve the lake and develop the area for tourism.      

The first sight of the Loktak lake was breathtaking, where everything and everyone that was beside this impressive body of water seems to fall into the background. The panoramic view of the lake was mesmerizing and spellbound as we sat hypnotized for a very long time letting our senses absorb the beautiful environs.  The water was crystal clear and upon that floated the phumdis as the winds shifted them, some floating together and some in isolation. A number of fishing canoes could be sighted, with fishermen calm and collective awaiting their next catch.  A lasting desire remained to experience  a night stay in one of the phumshong as it drifts gently with the wind tipping over the lake.  

The Sendra Island Tourist Home with an attached cafeteria, situated in the middle of the lake offers a stunning view of the lake, its rich plant and avian life. The southern part of the lake form the world’s only floating sanctuary the Keibul Lamjao National Park which is as fascinating as the Loktak lake. 

North East India's Commonwealth War Cemeteries - A tribute to the brave.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission had laid out its values and aims a hundred years ago i.e 1917 to ensure that the 1.7 million people who had died in the two world wars will never be forgotten. The CWGC commemorate the war dead by building and maintaining the cemeteries and memories to preservation of the records.

The CWGC owes its existence to the vision and determination of Sir Fabian Ware, support and recognition of the British Royals, designed and architect by Sir Edwin Lutyens, Sir Herbert Baker and Sir Reginald Blomfield with Rudyard Kipling as literary advisor for advising on inscriptions.

By preserving the memory of the dead with simple dignity and true equality irrespective of military or civil rank, race and creed,   the Commission hopes to encourage future generation to remember the sacrifice made by so many.

Today the Commission cares for cemeteries and memorials in 154 countries and the values and aims are as relevant as they were a hundred years ago.The commission operates through the financial support of the member states United Kingdom Canada Australia New Zealand, India and South Africa.

India is a home to many of the war cemetery maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commissions and incidentally four of them are located in the North Eastern part of India.

Kohima War Cemetery is a memorial dedicated to the soldiers of the 2^nd Division of the Allied Forces who died in the second  world war in April 1944. It is located in the city of Kohima, the capital of the Indian State of Nagaland. The cemetery is built in the same place where the Japanese 15^th Army attacked the British forces with an intent to prevent an attack on Burma by the English. The battle was fought fiercely resulting  in heavy casualties on both sides. In 2013 the British National Army Museum voted, based on a national survey  the Battle of Kohima and Imphal  as Britain’s greatest battle ever.

The cemetery consisting of 1420 burials of the Second World War, 1082 English, 330 Indian 3 Australians and 5 Canadian is built in peaceful surroundings with well manicured lawns in which roses bloom. The cemetery has been designed along a sloping ground consisting a series of terraces. These terraces contain stone markers distinctly visible with a white wash embedded with bronze plaques carrying the name of each Commonwealth soldier who died in the Kohima battlefield.

There are two memorial crosses, one at the upper end and other at the lower end of the cemetery. The upper memorial commemorates the name of the 917 Indian soldiers consisting of Sikh and Hindu soldiers who were part of the British Indian Army were cremated as per their religious rites.

The epitaph inscribed on the memorial reads :

“ Here around the tennis court of the Deputy Commissioner, lie men who fought in the battle of Kohima in which they and their comrades finally halted the invasion of India by the forces of Japan in April 1944”

The lower end memorial is dedicated to the 2^nd Division of the British Army. The epitaph titled Kohima Epitaph reads “ When you go home tell them of us and say for your tomorrow we gave our today”, a world famous verse attributed  to John Maxwell and thought to have inspired by the epitaph written by Simonides to honour the Spartans who fell at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC .
           

During second world war the Japanese Army occupied Burma for defeating the Commonwealth forces. Burma became a launching pad to attack Manipur and Assam so as to contain the Chinese air operations across the Himalayas. The British knowing the strategic position of Imphal formed the 23^rd Indian Division to counter the attack of the Japanese.

Japan attacked Manipur in the spring of April 1944 and laid siege over Imphal for three months with the battle ending in June 1944 leaving thousands of soldiers dead from both sides.

Earl Lord Mountbatten described the battle fought in Imphal and Kohima as “ probably one of the greatest battle in history”.

In memory, the Imphal war cemetery was built and maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission located in Deulahland, 10 KM from the Imphal Airport. There are 1600 commonwealth burials consisting of 1300 English, 10 Canadians, 5 Americans, 220 Indians, 40 East Africans, 10 West Africans and 10 Burmese. Originally the Imphal War Cemetery was a burial site for 950 soldiers who died in the battle. Additionally the Army Graves Service brought in graves from other burial sites.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has also built war cemetery near the Oil Township of Digboi in the Indian State of Assam mainly for burial from the hospitals or graves from Panitola, Jorhat, Marghetia, Tinsukia and Ledo where permanent maintenance of graves could not be assured. The US Military at Shinguvoiyang in Burma also has its contribution of graves. 

The burials at the Digboi war cemetery consists of 197 from commonwealth countries, one Italian one American and one Belgian buried during the second world war.

The war cemetery nestled in the foothills of Nabagarha, Silphukhuri, Guwahati in the Indian State of Assam is another cemetery built and maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission for burials mainly brought from various military hospitals in the area.

Presently burials are for 486 Commonwealth servicemen, 24 Chinese war graves, 25 unidentified and 2 non war graves. Guwahati was the only commonwealth cemetery till 2012 that had graves of Japanese soldiers, the victors and the vanquished laying side by side in harmony. The eleven graves of Japanese were exhumed in 2012 and the remains flown to Japan for a formal burial in their native country.

The historic sites are visited by locals , tourists and war veterans to pay homage to the brave and indeed is a lasting tribute to these brave men who gave their lives so distant from their homeland.