Manipur Times recorded the speech of Okram Ibobi, Chief Minister of Manipur delivered on the occasion of Commemoration of 70th Anniversary of ‘the Battle of Imphal 1944. We are happy to share few lines of the recorded speech –
“Commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of Imphal in 2014 is a significant milestone and government of Manipur is please to support these landmark initiative. We pay our respectful homage to the departed souls and reach out to their near and dear ones of those brave soldiers who spent an important part of their lives in these theatre of war. Looking ahead we feel that Manipur’s experience of the Second World War and its related heritage and assets, cemeteries, museum, and memorial battlefields, airfield, bunkers, and trains can be of much interest around the world. Not just to the soldier and the others who were here during the war but even for others such as students, military enthusiastic, tourists interested in history, general tourists etc. The remnants of the Battle of Imphal can hold deep interest. The challenges before us is how well we can tell the story of what happen in Manipur during the war and develop the related heritage in the manner that makes it interesting, attractive and enriching for visitor. We also need to explore how along with preserving the war memorabilia we also further the message of peaceful co-existence in the world. Endowed with unique natural beauty and rich cultural heritage Manipur has potential of becoming one of the best tourist destination attracting both domestic tourists and those from aboard also. By preserving and maintaining the artifacts and exhibits of World War Second Manipur can have a new feather in each gap by becoming a world war second tourism destination. I hope the three month long Commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of Imphal with active participation from the people belonging to different nations of the world will effective drive home the need for peaceful co-existence and fostering of international good will and cooperation. I once again thank all the participants and organizers for these invaluable contribution in making these celebration a grand success”.
