Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Saturday said the Kohima Peace Memorial & Eco-Park should stand as a lasting reminder of the courage, suffering and resilience linked to the Second World War, and called for its preservation as a foundation for promoting peace among future generations.
Speaking at the inauguration of the site at Koimansaki, Rio described the project as historically significant and a symbolic meeting point of remembrance and hope. He said the newly opened Eco-Park, along with earlier components such as the Kohima Peace Memorial and structures highlighting Indo-Japanese friendship, had transformed the area into an important landmark.
Rio noted that while Nagas were not direct participants in the battles, they experienced severe hardship as the conflict reached their villages. He said the war had brought trauma to local communities and intertwined Naga history with global events.
Recalling his family’s links to the war, Rio said his late father served in the British Indian Army and was a recipient of the King George V Medal and the Burma Star. He said his father’s military discipline shaped their upbringing, and that he and his brothers studied at Sainik School as part of their father’s values.
He said many Naga families held similar accounts from that period, including stories of local girls carrying water to British soldiers and receiving ration tins or chocolates, and accounts of Japanese soldiers treating their wounded in nearby locations. He added that while external writers had long documented the Battle of Kohima, more Naga authors, including his former colleague Mogamo Kikko, had recently begun recording local perspectives.
Rio said Japanese interest in the memorial remained strong, with many visitors from Japan offering flowers in remembrance of soldiers who died in Kohima. Referring to the 1,420 graves at the Commonwealth War Cemetery and the 914 Indian soldiers recorded as cremated or unaccounted for, he said civilian suffering during the war was largely undocumented.
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The chief minister also mentioned his visits to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, saying peace parks carried significant emotional weight and highlighted global calls to prevent conflict. He said such memorials, including Kohima’s, should help educate younger generations about the consequences of war.
Rio encouraged schools and colleges to organise guided visits so students could learn from wartime records, diaries and notes, adding that peace should remain a collective aspiration for Nagas.
On Indo-Japanese cooperation, he said Japanese ambassador Suzuki Hiroshi was expected to visit next year. He noted that Japan, through JICA, was supporting several projects in Nagaland, including a sanctioned 400-bed hospital that would be jointly managed by Japanese and Naga medical professionals. He said the facility would offer opportunities for young Nagas to train alongside Japanese experts and encouraged the youth to learn Japanese, which is taught at Nagaland University, to qualify for training and employment programmes.
Rio thanked Kohima Village landowners, the Department of Environment and Forests and architect Richard Belho for their roles in realising the Peace Memorial and Eco-Park. He urged shopkeepers at the site to maintain reasonable pricing, promote Naga products and ensure cleanliness and discipline, adding that Japanese work ethics should serve as an example.
Advisor to the chief minister and IDAN advisor Abu Metha said the Battle of Kohima had shaped world history by halting the Japanese advance to Dimapur and influencing the future of democracy in South Asia. He said the Naga people, though unwillingly drawn into the conflict, had contributed to the victory of democratic forces.
Metha said the community was now using the difficult wartime experience to advocate for unity and peace, adding that the message to the world must remain “never again”.
Environment and Forest Minister CL John delivered the welcome address, the programme was chaired by PCCF & HoFF, DEFCC, Vedpal Singh, and a dedicatory prayer was offered by pastor Visato Yhoshü of Union Baptist Church. Cantabile Choir and Lidi Kro-u presented folk fusion performances.
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